I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3692 

To establish an entrepreneur-based immigrant category for alien entrepreneurs who have completed or are in the process of completing a 

degree in Science, Engineering, Math or a technology-related field. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 15, 2011 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself and Mr. BASS of New Hampshire) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish an entrepreneur-based immigrant category for 

alien entrepreneurs who have completed or are in the 

process of completing a degree in Science, Engineering, 

Math or a technology-related field. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Immigration and Nat5 uralization Investment Ventures for Engineering, Science, 

6 and Technology in America Act of 2011’’ or ‘‘INVEST 

7 in America Act.’’ 


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1 SEC. 2. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR 

2 CERTAIN STEM ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS, 

3 SPOUSES, AND CHILDREN. 

4 The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by 

5 inserting after section 216A the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 216B. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS 

7 FOR CERTAIN STEM ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS, 

8 SPOUSES, AND CHILDREN. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—Each fiscal 

11 year, the status of not more than 9,940 aliens hav12 ing status under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) or 

13 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) shall be adjusted to that of an 

14 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if 

15 each such alien files an application, at such time and 

16 in such manner as the Secretary of Homeland Secu17 rity may require, that includes information sufficient 

18 to prove that the alien has fulfilled the following re19 quirements: 

20 ‘‘(A) The alien is in the process of com21 pleting, or has completed within the most re22 cent 3 years preceding the date of application, 

23 a graduate level degree in science, technology, 

24 engineering, math or a related academic dis25 cipline from an accredited United States colVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:28 Dec 23, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3692.IH H3692

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1 lege, university or other institute of higher edu2 cation. 

3 ‘‘(B) The alien establishes and engages in 

4 a new commercial enterprise (including a lim5 ited partnership) that is relevant to the area of 

6 study of paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(C) The alien submits a business plan 

8 (which may be updated and modified as a result 

9 of market conditions as long as the criteria 

10 specified in this section are met), which in11 cludes the creation of no less than 5 new full12 time jobs and a minimum of 90 total work 

13 months for United States citizens or aliens law14 fully admitted for permanent residence or other 

15 immigrants lawfully authorized to be employed 

16 in the United States (other than the immigrant 

17 and the immigrant’s spouse, sons, or daughters) 

18 within 5 years and provides the prevailing wage 

19 level for the occupational classification in the 

20 area of employment. 

21 ‘‘(D) The alien is admissible as an immi22 grant, except that the numerical limitations of 

23 sections 201 and 202 shall not apply to the ad24 justment of aliens to lawful permanent resident 

25 status under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONAL BASIS FOR STATUS.—Not2 withstanding any other provision of this Act, an 

3 alien entrepreneur (as defined in subsection (g)(1)), 

4 alien spouse, and alien child (as defined in sub5 section (g)(2)) shall be considered, at the time of ob6 taining the status of an alien lawfully admitted for 

7 permanent residence, to have obtained such status 

8 on a conditional basis subject to the provisions of 

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) AT TIME OF OBTAINING PERMANENT

12 RESIDENCE.—At the time an alien entre13 preneur, alien spouse, or alien child obtains per14 manent resident status on a conditional basis 

15 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Home16 land Security shall provide for notice to such an 

17 entrepreneur, spouse, or child respecting the 

18 provisions of this section and the requirements 

19 of subsection (c)(1) to have the conditional 

20 basis of such status renewed, and the require21 ments of subsection (d)(1) to have the condi22 tional basis of such status removed. 

23 ‘‘(B) AT TIME OF REQUIRED PETITION.— 

24 In addition, the Secretary of Homeland Secu25 rity shall attempt to provide notice to such an 


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1 entrepreneur, spouse, or child, at or about the 

2 beginning of the 90-day period described in 

3 subsection (e)(2)(A), of the requirements of 

4 subsection (c)(1) and (d)(1). 

5 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE

6 NOTICE.—The failure of the Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security to provide a notice under 

8 this paragraph shall not affect the enforcement 

9 of the provisions of this section with respect to 

10 such an entrepreneur, spouse, or child. 

11 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION OF STATUS IF FINDING THAT

12 QUALIFYING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IMPROPER.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an alien en14 trepreneur with permanent resident status on a con15 ditional basis under subsection (a), if the Secretary 

16 of Homeland Security determines, before the 60- 

17 month anniversary of the alien’s obtaining the status 

18 of lawful admission for permanent residence, that— 

19 ‘‘(A) the establishment of the commercial 

20 enterprise was intended solely as a means of 

21 evading the immigration laws of the United 

22 States; 

23 ‘‘(B)(i) the alien did not establish and en24 gage in a new commercial enterprise relevant to 

25 the graduate level degree in science, technology, 


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1 engineering, math or a related academic dis2 cipline; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the alien was not sustaining the ac4 tions described in clause (i) throughout the pe5 riod of the alien’s residence in the United 

6 States; or 

7 ‘‘(C) the alien was otherwise not con8 forming to the requirements of this section, 

9 then the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

10 so notify the alien involved and, subject to para11 graph (2), shall terminate the permanent resi12 dent status of the alien (and the alien spouse 

13 and alien child) involved as of the date of the 

14 determination. 

15 ‘‘(2) HEARING IN REMOVAL PROCEEDING.—Any 

16 alien whose permanent resident status is terminated 

17 under paragraph (1) may request a review of such 

18 determination in a proceeding to remove the alien. 

19 In such proceeding, the burden of proof shall be on 

20 the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish, by 

21 a preponderance of the evidence, that a condition de22 scribed in paragraph (1) is met. 

23 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS OF TIMELY PETITION AND

24 INTERVIEW FOR RENEWAL OF CONDITION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order for the conditional 

2 basis established under subsection (a) for an alien 

3 entrepreneur, alien spouse, or alien child to be re4 newed— 

5 ‘‘(A) the alien entrepreneur must submit 

6 to the Secretary of Homeland Security, during 

7 the period described in subsection (e)(2), a peti8 tion which requests the renewal of such condi9 tional basis and which states, under penalty of 

10 perjury, the facts and information described in 

11 subsection (e)(1); and 

12 ‘‘(B) in accordance with subsection (e)(3), 

13 the alien entrepreneur must appear for a per14 sonal interview before an officer or employee of 

15 the Service respecting the facts and information 

16 described in subsection (e)(1). 

17 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION OF PERMANENT RESIDENT

18 STATUS FOR FAILURE TO FILE PETITION OR HAVE

19 PERSONAL INTERVIEW.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an alien 

21 with permanent resident status on a conditional 

22 basis under subsection (a), if— 

23 ‘‘(i) no petition is filed with respect to 

24 the alien in accordance with the provisions 

25 of paragraph (1)(A); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) unless there is good cause shown, 

2 the alien entrepreneur fails to appear at 

3 the interview described in paragraph 

4 (1)(B) (if required under subsection 

5 (e)(3)), the Secretary of Homeland Secu6 rity shall terminate the permanent resident 

7 status of the alien (and the alien’s spouse 

8 and children if it was obtained on a condi9 tional basis under this section) as of the 

10 30 month anniversary of the alien’s lawful 

11 admission for permanent residence. 

12 ‘‘(B) HEARING IN REMOVAL PRO13 CEEDING.—In any removal proceeding with re14 spect to an alien whose permanent resident sta15 tus is terminated under subparagraph (A), the 

16 burden of proof shall be on the alien to estab17 lish compliance with the conditions of para18 graphs (1)(A) and (1)(B). 

19 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION AFTER PETITION AND

20 INTERVIEW.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If— 

22 ‘‘(i) a petition is filed in accordance 

23 with the provisions of paragraph (1)(A); 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the alien entrepreneur appears at 

2 any interview described in paragraph 

3 (1)(B), the Secretary of Homeland Secu4 rity shall make a determination, within 90 

5 days of the date of the such filing or inter6 view (whichever is later), as to whether the 

7 facts and information described in sub8 section (e)(1) and alleged in the petition 

9 are true with respect to the qualifying 

10 commercial enterprise. 

11 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL OF CONDITIONAL BASIS IF

12 FAVORABLE DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary 

13 of Homeland Security determines that such 

14 facts and information are true, the Secretary of 

15 Homeland Security shall so notify the alien in16 volved and shall renew the conditional basis of 

17 the alien’s status effective as of the 30 month 

18 anniversary of the alien’s lawful admission for 

19 permanent residence. 

20 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION IF ADVERSE DETER21 MINATION.—If the Secretary of Homeland Se22 curity determines that such facts and informa23 tion are not true, the Secretary of Homeland 

24 Security shall so notify the alien involved and, 

25 subject to subparagraph (D), shall terminate 


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1 the permanent resident status of an alien entre2 preneur, alien spouse, or alien child as of the 

3 date of the determination. 

4 ‘‘(D) HEARING IN REMOVAL PRO5 CEEDING.—Any alien whose permanent resident 

6 status is terminated under subparagraph (C) 

7 may request a review of such determination in 

8 a proceeding to remove the alien. In such pro9 ceeding, the burden of proof shall be on the 

10 Secretary of Homeland Security to establish, by 

11 a preponderance of the evidence, that the facts 

12 and information described in subsection (e)(1) 

13 and alleged in the petition are not true with re14 spect to the qualifying commercial enterprise. 

15 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS OF TIMELY PETITION AND

16 INTERVIEW FOR REMOVAL OF CONDITION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order for the conditional 

18 basis established under subsection (a) for an alien 

19 entrepreneur, alien spouse, or alien child to be re20 moved— 

21 ‘‘(A) the alien entrepreneur must submit 

22 to the Secretary of Homeland Security, during 

23 the period described in subsection (e)(2), a peti24 tion which requests the removal of such condi25 tional basis and which states, under penalty of 


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1 perjury, the facts and information described in 

2 subsection (e)(1); and 

3 ‘‘(B) in accordance with subsection (e)(3), 

4 the alien entrepreneur must appear for a per5 sonal interview before an officer or employee of 

6 the Service respecting the facts and information 

7 described in subsection (e)(1). 

8 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION OF PERMANENT RESIDENT

9 STATUS FOR FAILURE TO FILE PETITION OR HAVE

10 PERSONAL INTERVIEW.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an alien 

12 with permanent resident status on a conditional 

13 basis under subsection (a), if— 

14 ‘‘(i) no petition is filed with respect to 

15 the alien in accordance with the provisions 

16 of paragraph (1)(A); or 

17 ‘‘(ii) unless there is good cause shown, 

18 the alien entrepreneur fails to appear at 

19 the interview described in paragraph 

20 (1)(B) (if required under subsection 

21 (e)(3)), the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity shall terminate the permanent resident 

23 status of the alien (and the alien’s spouse 

24 and children if it was obtained on a condi25 tional basis under this section) as of the 


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1 60 month anniversary of the alien’s lawful 

2 admission for permanent residence. 

3 ‘‘(B) HEARING IN REMOVAL PRO4 CEEDING.—In any removal proceeding with re5 spect to an alien whose permanent resident sta6 tus is terminated under subparagraph (A), the 

7 burden of proof shall be on the alien to estab8 lish compliance with the conditions of para9 graphs (1)(A) and (1)(B). 

10 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION AFTER PETITION AND

11 INTERVIEW.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If— 

13 ‘‘(i) a petition is filed in accordance 

14 with the provisions of paragraph (1)(A); 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the alien entrepreneur appears at 

17 any interview described in paragraph 

18 (1)(B), the Secretary of Homeland Secu19 rity shall make a determination, within 90 

20 days of the date of the such filing or inter21 view (whichever is later), as to whether the 

22 facts and information described in sub23 section (e)(1) and alleged in the petition 

24 are true with respect to the qualifying 

25 commercial enterprise. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REMOVAL OF CONDITIONAL BASIS IF

2 FAVORABLE DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary 

3 of Homeland Security determines that such 

4 facts and information are true, the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security shall so notify the alien in6 volved and shall remove the conditional basis of 

7 the alien’s status effective as of the 60 month 

8 anniversary of the alien’s lawful admission for 

9 permanent residence. 

10 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION IF ADVERSE DETER11 MINATION.—If the Secretary of Homeland Se12 curity determines that such facts and informa13 tion are not true, the Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security shall so notify the alien involved and, 

15 subject to subparagraph (D), shall terminate 

16 the permanent resident status of an alien entre17 preneur, alien spouse, or alien child as of the 

18 date of the determination. 

19 ‘‘(D) HEARING IN REMOVAL PRO20 CEEDING.—Any alien whose permanent resident 

21 status is terminated under subparagraph (C) 

22 may request a review of such determination in 

23 a proceeding to remove the alien. In such pro24 ceeding, the burden of proof shall be on the 

25 Secretary of Homeland Security to establish, by 


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1 a preponderance of the evidence, that the facts 

2 and information described in subsection (e)(1) 

3 and alleged in the petition are not true with re4 spect to the qualifying commercial enterprise. 

5 ‘‘(e) DETAILS OF PETITION AND INTERVIEW.— 

6 ‘‘(1) CONTENTS OF PETITION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) Each petition under subsection 

8 (c)(1)(A) shall contain facts and information 

9 demonstrating that the alien— 

10 ‘‘(i) established and engaged in a new 

11 commercial enterprise relevant to the grad12 uate level degree in science, technology, en13 gineering, math or a related academic dis14 cipline; 

15 ‘‘(ii) sustained the actions described 

16 in clause (i) throughout the period of the 

17 alien’s residence in the United States; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) either— 

19 ‘‘(I) created no less than 2 new 

20 full-time jobs for United States citi21 zens or aliens lawfully admitted for 

22 permanent residence or other immi23 grants lawfully authorized to be em24 ployed in the United States (other 

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1 grant’s spouse, sons, or daughters) for 

2 the duration of a 6-month minimum 

3 prior to the filing of the petition and 

4 provides the prevailing wage level for 

5 the occupational classification in the 

6 area of employment; or 

7 ‘‘(II) invested not less than 

8 $200,000 in the new commercial en9 terprise. 

10 ‘‘(B) Each petition under subsection 

11 (d)(1)(A) shall contain facts and information 

12 demonstrating that the alien— 

13 ‘‘(i) established and engaged in a new 

14 commercial enterprise relevant to the grad15 uate level degree in science, technology, en16 gineering, math or a related academic dis17 cipline; 

18 ‘‘(ii) sustained the actions described 

19 in clause (i) throughout the period of the 

20 alien’s residence in the United States; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) either— 

22 ‘‘(I) created no less than 5 new 

23 full-time jobs and a minimum of 90 

24 total work months for a United States 

25 citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for 


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1 permanent residence or other immi2 grants lawfully authorized to be em3 ployed in the United States (other 

4 than the immigrant and the immi5 grant’s spouse, sons, or daughters) 

6 within 5 years and provides the pre7 vailing wage level for the occupational 

8 classification in the area of employ9 ment; or 

10 ‘‘(II) invested not less than 

11 $500,000 in the new commercial en12 terprise. 

13 ‘‘(C) is otherwise conforming to the re14 quirements of this section. 

15 ‘‘(2) PERIOD FOR FILING PETITION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 subparagraph (B)— 

18 ‘‘(i) the petition under subsection 

19 (c)(1)(A) must be filed during the 90-day 

20 period before the 36 month anniversary of 

21 the alien’s lawful admission for permanent 

22 residence; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the petition under subsection 

24 (d)(1)(A) must be filed during the 90-day 

25 period before the 60 month anniversary of 


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1 the alien’s lawful admission for permanent 

2 residence. 

3 ‘‘(B) DATE PETITIONS FOR GOOD

4 CAUSE.—Such a petition may be considered if 

5 filed after such date, but only if the alien estab6 lishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of 

7 Homeland Security good cause and extenuating 

8 circumstances for failure to file the petition 

9 during the period described in subparagraph 

10 (A). 

11 ‘‘(C) FILING OF PETITIONS DURING RE12 MOVAL.—In the case of an alien who is the sub13 ject of removal hearings as a result of failure 

14 to file a petition on a timely basis in accordance 

15 with subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Home16 land Security may stay such removal pro17 ceedings against an alien pending the filing of 

18 the petition under subparagraph (B). 

19 ‘‘(3) PERSONAL INTERVIEW.—The interview 

20 under subsection (c)(1)(B) and (d)(1)(B) shall be 

21 conducted within 90 days after the date of submit22 ting a petition under subsection (c)(1)(A) and 

23 (d)(1)(A), respectively, and at a local office of the 

24 Service, designated by the Secretary of Homeland 

25 Security, which is convenient to the parties involved. 


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1 The Secretary of Homeland Security, in the Sec2 retary of Homeland Security’s discretion, may waive 

3 the deadline for such an interview or the require4 ment for such an interview in such cases as may be 

5 appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(f) TREATMENT OF PERIOD FOR PURPOSES OF

7 NATURALIZATION.—For purposes of title III, in the case 

8 of an alien who is in the United States as a lawful perma9 nent resident on a conditional basis under this section, the 

10 alien shall be considered to have been admitted as an alien 

11 lawfully admitted for permanent residence and to be in 

12 the United States as an alien lawfully admitted to the 

13 United States for permanent residence. 

14 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ALIEN ENTREPRENEUR.—The term ‘alien 

16 entrepreneur’ means an alien who obtains the status 

17 of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi18 dence (whether on a conditional basis or otherwise) 

19 under this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) ALIEN SPOUSE; ALIEN CHILD.—The term 

21 ‘alien spouse’ and the term ‘alien child’ mean an 

22 alien who obtains the status of an alien lawfully ad23 mitted for permanent residence (whether on a condi24 tional basis or otherwise) by virtue of being the 


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1 spouse or child, respectively, of an alien entre2 preneur. 

3 ‘‘(3) COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE.—The term 

4 ‘commercial enterprise’ includes a limited partner5 ship. 

6 ‘‘(4) INVESTMENT.—The term ‘investment’ in7 cludes investments by venture capitalists, qualified 

8 angel investors, or the entrepreneur, and also in9 cludes reinvested profits. 

10 ‘‘(5) FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.—The term 

11 ‘full-time employment’ means employment in a posi12 tion that requires at least 35 hours of service per 

13 week at any time, regardless of who fills the posi14 tion.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, and again not later than 

18 10 years after the date of enactment, the Comptroller 

19 General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 

20 report on the entrepreneur-based immigrant category es21 tablished under section 216B of the Immigration and Na22 tionality Act. 

23 (b) CONTENTS.—A report described in subsection (a) 

24 shall include information regarding— 


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1 (1) the number of immigrant entrepreneurs who 

2 have obtained conditional permanent residency under 

3 the entrepreneur-based immigrant category; 

4 (2) the number of jobs created through the pro5 gram; 

6 (3) the titles and wages of the created employ7 ment positions; 

8 (4) the length of employment for the created 

9 employment positions; 

10 (5) the number of immigrant entrepreneurs who 

11 were approved for removal of conditional permanent 

12 residence status at the end of the 5 year conditional 

13 status period; 

14 (6) the economic impact of the commercial ac15 tivity generated in the United States as a result of 

16 immigrant entrepreneurs; and 

17 (7) any additional information regarding the ef18 fects of the Program. 

19 SEC. 4. RECRUIT, RETAIN, AND INVEST STRATEGIC PLAN. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home22 land Security, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Sec23 retary of Education shall jointly submit a strategic plan 

24 to be known as the ‘‘Recruitment, Retainment, and Invest25 ment Strategic Plan’’ to Congress. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The strategic plan described in sub2 section (a) shall study and recommend coordinated strate3 gies to attract the highest skilled and most talented for4 eign nationals to immigrate to the United States in order 

5 to create American jobs and grow the United States econ6 omy. 

Æ 


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