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[House Report 112-410]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

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.

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

    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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\22 C.F.R. sec. 41.51(b)(2).
    \3\See 8 C.F.R. sec. 214.2(e)(19)-(20).
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    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\
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    \4\See Foreign Affairs Manual sec. 41.51 Exhibit 1.
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    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 Committee 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\See 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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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''.
    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 E-1 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.

                          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.

                                  
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