19–006 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 112–410 

TO ALLOW OTHERWISE ELIGIBLE ISRAELI NATIONALS TO RECEIVE E–2 

NONIMMIGRANT VISAS IF SIMILARLY SITUATED UNITED STATES NATIONALS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR SIMILAR NONIMMIGRANT STATUS IN 

ISRAEL 

MARCH 8, 2012.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. SMITH of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 3992] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 3992) to allow otherwise eligible Israeli nationals to receive 

E-2 nonimmigrant visas if similarly situated United States nationals are eligible for similar nonimmigrant status in Israel, having 

considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommends that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 1 

Background and Need for the Legislation ............................................................. 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 3 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures ...................................................... 3 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate .......................................................... 3 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 4 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 5 

Purpose and Summary 

H.R. 3992 makes Israeli nationals eligible to receive E-2 nonimmigrant visas. 


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1Section 101(a)(15)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

2 22 C.F.R. sec. 41.51(b)(2). 

3See 8 C.F.R. sec. 214.2(e)(19)–(20). 4See Foreign Affairs Manual sec. 41.51 Exhibit 1. 5See letter from F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman, House Judiciary Committee and 

John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee, to Robert Zoellick, Ambassador, United States Trade Representative, July 10, 2003, found at H.R. Rep. No. 108–224, pt. 

2, at 46–47 (2003). 

Background and Need for the Legislation 

‘‘E-2’’ visas are nonimmigrant visas available for treaty investors. 

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a visa is available to 

an alien who is: 

entitled to enter the United States under and in pursuance 

of the provisions of a treaty of commerce and navigation 

between the United States and the foreign state of which 

he is a national, and the spouse and children of any such 

alien if accompanying or following to join him . . . solely 

to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in 

which he has invested . . . a substantial amount of capital....1

Alien employees of a treaty investor may receive E-2 visas if they 

are coming to the U.S. ‘‘to engage in duties of an executive or supervisory character, or, if employed in a lesser capacity, if the employee has special qualifications that make the services to be rendered essential to the efficient operation of the enterprise.’’ 2 There 

is no numerical cap on E-2 visas. In fiscal year 2010, 25,500 aliens 

(including dependents) were granted E-2 visas. An alien may be admitted initially for a period of 2 years, and can apply for extensions 

in 2-year increments.3

The U.S. has entered into treaties of commerce containing language similar to the E-2 visas since at least 1815, when we entered 

into a Convention to Regulate Commerce with the United Kingdom. Currently, the nationals of more than 75 countries are eligible 

for E-2 status, including Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, 

Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia 

& Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Taiwan, Columbia, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Costa Rica, Croatia, 

Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Grenada, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, 

Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, 

Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, 

Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, 

Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Singapore, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, 

Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, the Ukraine and the United Kingdom.4

In the past, countries became eligible for the E-2 program 

through treaties signed with the U.S. However, in 2003 the Judiciary Committee reached an understanding with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) that no immigration provisions were to be included in future trade agreements.5 Thus, henceforth, legislation 

would be required to add countries to the E-2 program. In 2005, 

Chairman Sensenbrenner introduced legislation (H.R. 3647) to 

make Denmark eligible for the E-2 program. The Judiciary ComVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:59 Mar 08, 2012 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR410.XXX HR410

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mittee passed the bill by voice vote, as did the House. The Senate 

never acted. However, in 2008, the USTR agreed to add Denmark 

to the E-2 program based on a treaty signed before the agreement 

between USTR and the Judiciary Committee was reached. 

H.R. 3992 would add Israel to the E-2 program (Israelis are already eligible for ‘‘E-1’’ (treaty trader) visas pursuant to a 1954 

treaty). 

Hearings 

The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 3992. 

Committee Consideration 

On February 28, 2012, the Committee met in open session and 

ordered the bill H.R. 3992 favorably reported without amendment, 

by voice vote, a quorum being present. 

Committee Votes 

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there were 

no recorded votes during the Committee’s consideration of H.R. 

3992. 

Committee Oversight Findings 

In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the findings 

and recommendations of the Committee, based on oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report. 

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures 

Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does not provide new 

budgetary authority or increased tax expenditures. 

Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate 

In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with respect to 

the bill, H.R. 3992, the following estimate and comparison prepared 

by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, March 7, 2012. 

Hon. LAMAR SMITH, CHAIRMAN, 

Committee on the Judiciary, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3992, a bill ‘‘To allow otherwise eligible Israeli nationals to receive E-2 nonimmigrant visas 

if similarly situated United States nationals are eligible for similar 

nonimmigrant status in Israel’’. 


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If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sunita D’Monte, who can 

be reached at 226–2840. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF, DIRECTOR. 

Enclosure 

cc: Honorable John Conyers, Jr. 

Ranking Member 

H.R. 3992—a bill ‘‘To allow otherwise eligible Israeli nationals to 

receive E-2 nonimmigrant visas if similarly situated United 

States nationals are eligible for similar nonimmigrant status in 

Israel’’ 

As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on 

February 28, 2012 

H.R. 3992 would permit nationals of Israel to enter the United 

States temporarily under the E-2 visa program if Israel extends reciprocal treatment to U.S. nationals. Enacting H.R. 3992 would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. 

However, CBO estimates that the net effects would be insignificant 

for each year and over the 2012–2022 period. Enacting the bill 

would not affect revenues. 

The E-2 visa allows nonimmigrant investors to enter the United 

States temporarily to oversee a business in which they have made 

a significant investment. Under the bill, if an Israeli national applied for the E-2 visa, the Department of State would charge a 

$390 fee to cover the cost of adjudicating the application and processing the visa. Israeli nationals are already eligible for a similar 

visa category—the E-1 visa for nonimmigrant traders. Based on information from the Department of State about the number of 

Israeli citizens who received E-1 visas and the ratio of E-2 to E1 visas in countries comparable to Israel, CBO expects that under 

the bill the department would issue about 500 additional E-2 visas 

each year and collect about $200,000 in additional fees annually. 

The department is authorized to collect and spend such fees without further appropriation, so the net impact on Federal spending 

would not be significant. 

H.R. 3992 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on State, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sunita D’Monte. The 

estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

Performance Goals and Objectives 

The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 3992 makes 

Israeli nationals eligible to receive E-2 nonimmigrant visas. 


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Advisory on Earmarks 

In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, H.R. 3992 does not contain any congressional 

earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 

in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI. 

Section-by-Section Analysis 

The following discussion describes the bill as reported by the 

Committee. 

Sec. 1. Nonimmigrant Traders and Investor from Israel 

Section 1 of the bill deems Israel to be a foreign state described 

in section 101(a)(15)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act for 

purposes of clauses (i) and (ii) of the section if the government of 

Israel provides similar nonimmigrant status to nationals of the 

United States. 

Æ 


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