I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3476 

To provide incentives for economic growth, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2011 

Mr. HANNA (for himself and Mr. KEATING) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide incentives for economic growth, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘American Growth, Recovery, Empowerment, and Entre6 preneurship Act’’ or the ‘‘AGREE Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—EXTENDING TAX RELIEF FOR SMALL BUSINESSES 

Sec. 101. Extension of bonus depreciation; temporary 100 percent expensing 

for certain business assets. 

Sec. 102. Extension of increased expensing limitations and treatment of certain 

real property as section 179 property. 

Sec. 103. Temporary exclusion of 100 percent of gain on certain small business 

stock. 

TITLE II—ENCOURAGING CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH AND 

INNOVATION 

Sec. 201. Extension of research credit; alternative simplified research credit increased and made permanent. 

Sec. 202. Enhanced research credit for domestic manufacturers. 

TITLE III—PROVIDING COMMON-SENSE TAX INCENTIVES FOR 

VETERANS 

Sec. 301. Veterans franchise fee credit. 

Sec. 302. Publication of information by Department of Veterans Affairs and 

Small Business Administration. 

TITLE IV—REGULATORY RELIEF FOR SMALL COMPANIES 

Sec. 401. Exemption from the internal control reporting and assessment requirements. 

TITLE V—REDUCING BARRIERS TO HIGH-SKILLED LEGAL 

IMMIGRATION 

Sec. 501. Numerical limitation to any single foreign state. 

TITLE VI—PROTECTING AMERICAN BUSINESS AGAINST ILLEGAL 

COUNTERFEITING 

Sec. 601. Preventing the importation of counterfeit products and infringing devices. 

1 TITLE I—EXTENDING TAX 

2 RELIEF FOR SMALL BUSINESSES 

3 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF BONUS DEPRECIATION; TEM4 PORARY 100 PERCENT EXPENSING FOR CER5 TAIN BUSINESS ASSETS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 168(k) 

7 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2014’’ in subpara9 graph (A)(iv) and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2016’’, and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2013’’ each place 

2 it appears and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2015’’. 

3 (b) TEMPORARY 100 PERCENT EXPENSING.—Para4 graph (5) of section 168(k) of the Internal Revenue Code 

5 of 1986 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘2013’’ and inserting ‘‘2016’’, 

7 and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘2012’’ each place it appears in 

9 the text and heading and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

10 (c) EXTENSION OF ELECTION TO ACCELERATE THE

11 AMT CREDIT IN LIEU OF BONUS DEPRECIATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subclause (II) of section 

13 168(k)(4)(D)(iii) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

14 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘2013’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘2015’’. 

16 (2) ROUND 3 EXTENSION PROPERTY.—Para17 graph (4) of section 168(k) of such Code is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following new subpara19 graph: 

20 ‘‘(J) SPECIAL RULES FOR ROUND 3 EX21 TENSION PROPERTY.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of 

23 round 3 extension property, this paragraph 

24 shall be applied without regard to— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the limitation described in 

2 subparagraph (B)(i) thereof, and 

3 ‘‘(II) the business credit increase 

4 amount under subparagraph (E)(iii) 

5 thereof. 

6 ‘‘(ii) TAXPAYERS PREVIOUSLY ELECT7 ING ACCELERATION.—In the case of a tax8 payer who made the election under sub9 paragraph (A) for its first taxable year 

10 ending after March 31, 2008, a taxpayer 

11 who made the election under subparagraph 

12 (H)(ii) for its first taxable year ending 

13 after December 31, 2008, or a taxpayer 

14 who made the election under subparagraph 

15 (I)(iii) for its first taxable year ending 

16 after December 31, 2010— 

17 ‘‘(I) the taxpayer may elect not 

18 to have this paragraph apply to round 

19 3 extension property, but 

20 ‘‘(II) if the taxpayer does not 

21 make the election under subclause (I), 

22 in applying this paragraph to the tax23 payer the bonus depreciation amount, 

24 maximum amount, and maximum in25 crease amount shall be computed and 


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1 applied to eligible qualified property 

2 which is round 3 extension property. 

3 The amounts described in subclause (II) 

4 shall be computed separately from any 

5 amounts computed with respect to eligible 

6 qualified property which is not round 2 ex7 tension property. 

8 ‘‘(iii) TAXPAYERS NOT PREVIOUSLY

9 ELECTING ACCELERATION.—In the case of 

10 a taxpayer who neither made the election 

11 under subparagraph (A) for its first tax12 able year ending after March 31, 2008, 

13 nor made the election under subparagraph 

14 (H)(ii) for its first taxable year ending 

15 after December 31, 2008, nor made the 

16 election under subparagraph (I)(iii) for its 

17 first taxable year ending after December 

18 31, 2010— 

19 ‘‘(I) the taxpayer may elect to 

20 have this paragraph apply to its first 

21 taxable year ending after December 

22 31, 2011, and each subsequent tax23 able year, and 

24 ‘‘(II) if the taxpayer makes the 

25 election under subclause (I), this 


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1 paragraph shall only apply to eligible 

2 qualified property which is round 3 

3 extension property. 

4 ‘‘(iv) ROUND 3 EXTENSION PROP5 ERTY.—For purposes of this subpara6 graph, the term ‘round 3 extension prop7 erty’ means property which is eligible 

8 qualified property solely by reason of the 

9 extension of the application of the special 

10 allowance under paragraph (1) pursuant to 

11 the amendments made by section 101(a) of 

12 the American Growth, Recovery, Empower13 ment, and Entrepreneurship Act (and the 

14 application of such extension to this para15 graph pursuant to the amendment made 

16 by section 101(c)(1) of such Act).’’. 

17 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) The heading for subsection (k) of section 

19 168 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amend20 ed by striking ‘‘JANUARY 1, 2013’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘JANUARY 1, 2016’’. 

22 (2) The heading for clause (ii) of section 

23 168(k)(2)(B) of such Code is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘PRE-JANUARY 1, 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘PRE-JANU25 ARY 1, 2016’’. 


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1 (3) Paragraph (5) of section 168(l) of such 

2 Code is amended— 

3 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub4 paragraph (A), 

5 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

6 subparagraph (B), and 

7 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

8 the following new subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(B) by substituting ‘January 1, 2013’ for 

10 ‘January 1, 2016’ in clause (i) thereof, and’’. 

11 (4) Subparagraph (C) of section 168(n)(2) of 

12 such Code is amended by striking ‘‘January 1, 

13 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2016’’. 

14 (5) Subparagraph (D) of section 1400L(b)(2) 

15 of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘January 1, 

16 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2016’’. 

17 (6) Subparagraph (B) of section 1400N(d)(3) 

18 of such Code is amended by striking ‘‘January 1, 

19 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2016’’. 

20 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall apply to property placed in service after 

22 December 31, 2011, in taxable years ending after such 

23 date. 


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1 SEC. 102. EXTENSION OF INCREASED EXPENSING LIMITA2 TIONS AND TREATMENT OF CERTAIN REAL 

3 PROPERTY AS SECTION 179 PROPERTY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 179(b) of the Internal 

5 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘2010 or 2011’’ each place it 

7 appears in paragraph (1)(B) and (2)(B) and insert8 ing ‘‘2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, or 2014’’, 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘2012’’ each place it appears in 

10 paragraph (1)(C) and (2)(C) and inserting ‘‘2015’’, 

11 and 

12 (3) by striking ‘‘2012’’ each place it appears in 

13 paragraph (1)(D) and (2)(D) and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

14 (b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Subparagraph (A) of 

15 section 179(b)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

16 is amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2015’’. 

17 (c) COMPUTER SOFTWARE.—Section 179(d)(1)(A)(ii) 

18 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by strik19 ing ‘‘2013’’ and inserting ‘‘2016’’. 

20 (d) ELECTION.—Section 179(c)(2) of the Internal 

21 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘2013’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘2016’’. 

23 (e) SPECIAL RULES FOR TREATMENT OF QUALIFIED

24 REAL PROPERTY.—Section 179(f)(1) of the Internal Rev25 enue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘2010 or 2011’’ 

26 and inserting ‘‘2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, or 2014’’. 


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1 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

3 December 31, 2011. 

4 SEC. 103. TEMPORARY EXCLUSION OF 100 PERCENT OF 

5 GAIN ON CERTAIN SMALL BUSINESS STOCK. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 1202(a) 

7 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2012’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘January 1, 2015’’, and 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘AND 2011’’ in the heading 

11 thereof and inserting ‘‘, 2011, 2012, 2013, AND 2014’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall apply to stock acquired after December 

14 31, 2011. 

15 TITLE II—ENCOURAGING CUT16 TING-EDGE RESEARCH AND 

17 INNOVATION 

18 SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF RESEARCH CREDIT; ALTERNATIVE 

19 SIMPLIFIED RESEARCH CREDIT INCREASED 

20 AND MADE PERMANENT. 

21 (a) EXTENSION OF CREDIT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B) of section 

23 41(h)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2011’’ and in25 serting ‘‘December 31, 2012’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph 

2 (D) of section 45C(b)(1) of such Code is amended 

3 by striking ‘‘December 31, 2011’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘December 31, 2012’’. 

5 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

6 by this subsection shall apply to amounts paid or in7 curred after December 31, 2011. 

8 (b) ALTERNATIVE SIMPLIFIED RESEARCH CREDIT

9 INCREASED AND MADE PERMANENT.— 

10 (1) INCREASED CREDIT.—Subparagraph (A) of 

11 section 41(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

12 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘14 percent (12 per13 cent in the case of taxable years ending before Janu14 ary 1, 2009)’’ and inserting ‘‘20 percent’’. 

15 (2) CREDIT MADE PERMANENT.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (h) of sec17 tion 41 of such Code is amended by redesig18 nating the paragraph (2) relating to computa19 tion of taxable year in which credit terminates 

20 as paragraph (4) and by inserting before such 

21 paragraph the following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION NOT TO APPLY TO ALTER23 NATIVE SIMPLIFIED CREDIT.—Paragraph (1) shall 

24 not apply to the credit determined under subsection 

25 (c)(5).’’. 


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1 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Para2 graph (4) of section 41(h) of such Code, as re3 designated by subparagraph (A), is amended to 

4 read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(4) COMPUTATION FOR TAXABLE YEAR IN

6 WHICH CREDIT TERMINATES.—In the case of any 

7 taxable year with respect to which this section ap8 plies to a number of days which is less than the total 

9 number of days in such taxable year, the amount de10 termined under subsection (c)(1)(B) with respect to 

11 such taxable year shall be the amount which bears 

12 the same ratio to such amount (determined without 

13 regard to this paragraph) as the number of days in 

14 such taxable year to which this section applies bears 

15 to the total number of days in such taxable year.’’. 

16 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

17 by this subsection shall apply to taxable years end18 ing after December 31, 2010. 

19 SEC. 202. ENHANCED RESEARCH CREDIT FOR DOMESTIC 

20 MANUFACTURERS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 41, as amended by section 

22 201, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

23 by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i) and by 

24 inserting after subsection (f) the following new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(g) ENHANCED CREDIT FOR DOMESTIC MANUFAC2 TURERS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a qualified 

4 domestic manufacturer, this section shall be applied 

5 by increasing the 20 percent amount in subsection 

6 (a)(1) by the bonus amount. 

7 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED DOMESTIC MANUFACTURER.— 

8 For purposes of this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

10 domestic manufacturer’ means a taxpayer who 

11 has domestic production gross receipts which 

12 are more than 50 percent of total production 

13 gross receipts. 

14 ‘‘(B) DOMESTIC PRODUCTION GROSS RE15 CEIPTS.—The term ‘domestic production gross 

16 receipts’ has the meaning given to such term 

17 under section 199(c)(4). 

18 ‘‘(C) TOTAL PRODUCTION GROSS RE19 CEIPTS.—The term ‘total production gross re20 ceipts’ means the gross receipts of the taxpayer 

21 which are described in section 199(c)(4), deter22 mined— 

23 ‘‘(i) without regard to whether prop24 erty described in subparagraph (A)(i)(I) or 

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1 duced, grown, or extracted in the United 

2 States, 

3 ‘‘(ii) by substituting ‘any property de4 scribed in section 168(f)(3)’ for ‘any quali5 fied film’ in subparagraph (A)(i)(II) there6 of, and 

7 ‘‘(iii) without regard to whether any 

8 construction described in subparagraph 

9 (A)(ii) thereof or services described in sub10 paragraph (A)(iii) thereof were performed 

11 in the United States. 

12 ‘‘(3) BONUS AMOUNT.—For purposes of para13 graph (1), the bonus amount shall be determined as 

14 follows: 

‘‘If the percentage of total production gross 

receipts which are domestic production 

gross receipts is: 

The bonus 

amount is: 

More than 50 percent and not more than 60 percent.2 percentage points 

More than 60 percent and not more than 70 percent.4 percentage points 

More than 70 percent and not more than 80 percent.6 percentage points 

More than 80 percent and not more than 90 percent.8 percentage points 

More than 90 percent ............................................ 10 percentage 

points.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

16 this section shall apply to expenditures paid or incurred 

17 in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2011. 


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1 TITLE III—PROVIDING COMMON2 SENSE TAX INCENTIVES FOR 

3 VETERANS 

4 SEC. 301. VETERANS FRANCHISE FEE CREDIT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub6 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

7 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

8 section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 45S. VETERANS FRANCHISE FEE CREDIT. 

10 ‘‘(a) VETERANS FRANCHISE FEE CREDIT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, 

12 the veterans franchise fee credit determined under 

13 this section for the taxable year is an amount equal 

14 to 25 percent of the qualified franchise fees paid or 

15 incurred by a veteran during the taxable year. 

16 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The amount allowed as a 

17 credit under paragraph (1) with respect to the pur18 chase of any franchise shall not exceed $100,000. 

19 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION WHERE FRANCHISE NOT 100 PER20 CENT VETERAN-OWNED.—In the case of any franchise in 

21 which veterans do not own 100 percent of the stock or 

22 of the capital or profits interests of the franchise, the cred23 it under subsection (a) shall be the credit amount deter24 mined under such subsection, multiplied by the same ratio 

25 as— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the stock or capital or profits interests of 

2 the franchise held by veterans, bears 

3 ‘‘(2) to the total stock or capital or profits in4 terests of the franchise. 

5 For purposes of this subsection, the spouse of a veteran 

6 shall be treated as a veteran. 

7 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED FRANCHISE FEE.—For purposes of 

8 this section, the term ‘qualified franchise fee’ means any 

9 one-time fee required by the franchisor when entering into 

10 a franchise agreement with a veteran as the franchisee. 

11 ‘‘(d) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

12 section, the terms ‘franchise’, ‘franchisee’, ‘franchisor’, 

13 and ‘franchise fee’ have the meanings given such terms 

14 in part 436 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations (as 

15 in effect on January 1, 2009). 

16 ‘‘(e) VETERAN.—The term ‘veteran’ has the meaning 

17 given such term by section 101 of title 38, United States 

18 Code. 

19 ‘‘(f) ELECTION.—This section shall not apply to a 

20 taxpayer for any taxable year if such taxpayer elects to 

21 have this section not apply for such taxable year.’’. 

22 (b) CREDIT TO BE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS

23 CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

24 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of para25 graph (35), by striking the period at the end of paragraph 


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1 (36) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the 

2 following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(37) the veterans franchise fee credit deter4 mined under section 45S(a).’’. 

5 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

6 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

7 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add8 ing at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45S. Veterans franchise fee credit.’’. 

9 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall apply to taxable years ending after De11 cember 31, 2010. 

12 SEC. 302. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION BY DEPARTMENT 

13 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND SMALL BUSI14 NESS ADMINISTRATION. 

15 The Administrator of the Small Business Administra16 tion and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall publicize 

17 in mailings and brochures sent to veterans service organi18 zations and veteran advocacy groups information regard19 ing discounted franchise fees under section 45S of the In20 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 and other information about 

21 the program established under amendments made by this 

22 Act. 


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1 TITLE IV—REGULATORY RELIEF 

2 FOR SMALL COMPANIES 

3 SEC. 401. EXEMPTION FROM THE INTERNAL CONTROL RE4 PORTING AND ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 404 of the Sarbanes6 Oxley Act of 2002 (15 U.S.C. 7262) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(d) EXEMPTION.—Subsection (b) shall not apply to 

9 any issuer until the earlier of— 

10 ‘‘(1) such time as the issuer has total revenues 

11 of $250,000,000; and 

12 ‘‘(2) the expiration of the 5-year period begin13 ning on the date of the initial public offering of that 

14 issuer.’’. 

15 (b) STUDY AND REPORT.— 

16 (1) STUDY.—The Securities and Exchange 

17 Commission shall conduct a study— 

18 (A) to determine how the Commission 

19 could reduce the burden of complying with sec20 tion 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 

21 for companies, the market capitalization of 

22 which is between $250,000,000 and 

23 $1,000,000,000 for the relevant reporting pe24 riod while maintaining investor protections for 

25 such companies; and 


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1 (B) to assess the annual cost of compliance 

2 with that section 404(b) for all companies 

3 whose market capitalization is less than or 

4 equal to $1,000,000,000. 

5 (2) REPORT.—The Securities and Exchange 

6 Commission shall submit a report to Congress on 

7 the results of the study conducted under paragraph 

8 (1) not later than 9 months after the date of enact9 ment of this Act. 

10 TITLE V—REDUCING BARRIERS 

11 TO HIGH-SKILLED LEGAL IM12 MIGRATION 

13 SEC. 501. NUMERICAL LIMITATION TO ANY SINGLE FOR14 EIGN STATE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(a)(2) of the Immi16 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘AND

19 EMPLOYMENT-BASED’’; 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘(3), (4), and (5),’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘(3) and (4),’’; 

22 (3) by striking ‘‘subsections (a) and (b) of sec23 tion 203’’ and inserting ‘‘section 203(a)’’; 

24 (4) by striking ‘‘7’’ and inserting ‘‘15’’; and 


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1 (5) by striking ‘‘such subsections’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘such section’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 202 of the 

4 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘both sub7 sections (a) and (b) of section 203’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘section 203(a)’’; 

9 (2) by striking subsection (a)(5); and 

10 (3) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES FOR COUNTRIES AT CEILING.— 

13 If it is determined that the total number of immigrant 

14 visas made available under section 203(a) to natives of 

15 any single foreign state or dependent area will exceed the 

16 numerical limitation specified in subsection (a)(2) in any 

17 fiscal year, in determining the allotment of immigrant visa 

18 numbers to natives under section 203(a), visa numbers 

19 with respect to natives of that state or area shall be allo20 cated (to the extent practicable and otherwise consistent 

21 with this section and section 203) in a manner so that, 

22 except as provided in subsection (a)(4), the proportion of 

23 the visa numbers made available under each of paragraphs 

24 (1) through (4) of section 203(a) is equal to the ratio of 

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1 tive paragraph to the total number of visas made available 

2 under section 203(a).’’. 

3 (c) COUNTRY-SPECIFIC OFFSET.—Section 2 of the 

4 Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 (8 U.S.C. 1255 

5 note) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsection 

7 (e))’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (d))’’; and 

8 (2) by striking subsection (d) and redesignating 

9 subsection (e) as subsection (d). 

10 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall take effect as if enacted on September 

12 30, 2011, and shall apply to fiscal years beginning with 

13 fiscal year 2012. 

14 (e) TRANSITION RULES FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED

15 IMMIGRANTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the succeeding 

17 paragraphs of this subsection and notwithstanding 

18 title II of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.), the following rules shall apply: 

20 (A) For fiscal year 2012, 15 percent of the 

21 immigrant visas made available under each of 

22 paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 203(b) of 

23 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) shall be allotted to 

24 immigrants who are natives of a foreign state 

25 or dependent area that was not one of the two 


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1 states with the largest aggregate numbers of 

2 natives obtaining immigrant visas during fiscal 

3 year 2010 under such paragraphs. 

4 (B) For fiscal year 2013, 10 percent of the 

5 immigrant visas made available under each of 

6 such paragraphs shall be allotted to immigrants 

7 who are natives of a foreign state or dependent 

8 area that was not one of the two states with the 

9 largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining 

10 immigrant visas during fiscal year 2011 under 

11 such paragraphs. 

12 (C) For fiscal year 2014, 10 percent of the 

13 immigrant visas made available under each of 

14 such paragraphs shall be allotted to immigrants 

15 who are natives of a foreign state or dependent 

16 area that was not one of the two states with the 

17 largest aggregate numbers of natives obtaining 

18 immigrant visas during fiscal year 2012 under 

19 such paragraphs. 

20 (2) PER-COUNTRY LEVELS.— 

21 (A) RESERVED VISAS.—With respect to 

22 the visas reserved under each of subparagraphs 

23 (A) through (C) of paragraph (1), the number 

24 of such visas made available to natives of any 

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1 propriate fiscal year may not exceed 25 percent 

2 (in the case of a single foreign state) or 2 per3 cent (in the case of a dependent area) of the 

4 total number of such visas. 

5 (B) UNRESERVED VISAS.—With respect to 

6 the immigrant visas made available under each 

7 of paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 203(b) of 

8 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) and not reserved 

9 under paragraph (1), for each of fiscal years 

10 2012, 2013, and 2014, not more than 85 per11 cent shall be allotted to immigrants who are na12 tives of any single foreign state. 

13 (3) SPECIAL RULE TO PREVENT UNUSED

14 VISAS.—If, with respect to fiscal year 2012, 2013, or 

15 2014, the operation of paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

16 this subsection would prevent the total number of 

17 immigrant visas made available under paragraph (2) 

18 or (3) of section 203(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

19 1153(b)) from being issued, such visas may be 

20 issued during the remainder of such fiscal year with21 out regard to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this sub22 section. 

23 (4) RULES FOR CHARGEABILITY.—Section 

24 202(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(b)) shall apply 


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1 in determining the foreign state to which an alien is 

2 chargeable for purposes of this subsection. 

3 TITLE VI—PROTECTING AMER4 ICAN BUSINESS AGAINST IL5 LEGAL COUNTERFEITING 

6 SEC. 601. PREVENTING THE IMPORTATION OF COUNTER7 FEIT PRODUCTS AND INFRINGING DEVICES. 

8 Notwithstanding section 1905 of title 18, United 

9 States Code— 

10 (1) if United States Customs and Border Pro11 tection suspects a product of being imported or ex12 ported in violation of section 42 of the Act entitled 

13 ‘‘An Act to provide for the registration and protec14 tion of trademarks used in commerce, to carry out 

15 the provisions of certain international conventions, 

16 and for other purposes’’, approved July 5, 1946 

17 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Trademark Act of 

18 1946’’) (15 U.S.C. 1124), and subject to any appli19 cable bonding requirements, the Secretary of Home20 land Security is authorized to share information on, 

21 and unredacted samples of, products and their pack22 aging and labels, or photos of such products, pack23 aging and labels, with the rightholders of the trade24 mark suspected of being copied or simulated, for 


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1 purposes of determining whether the products are 

2 prohibited from importation under that section; and 

3 (2) upon seizure of material by United States 

4 Customs and Border Protection imported in viola5 tion of subsection (a)(2) or subsection (b) of section 

6 1201 of title 17, United States Code, the Secretary 

7 of Homeland Security is authorized to share infor8 mation about, and provide samples to affected par9 ties, subject to any applicable bonding requirements, 

10 as to the seizure of material designed to circumvent 

11 technological measures or protection afforded by a 

12 technological measure that controls access to or pro13 tects the owner’s work protected by copyright under 

14 such title. 

Æ 


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