IB 

Union Calendar No. 507 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2131 

[Report No. 113–676, Part I] 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to enhance American competitiveness through the encouragement of high-skilled immigration, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2013 

Mr. ISSA (for himself, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. COBLE, Mr. 

ROKITA, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. HOLDING, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. 

CHABOT, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. HANNA, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, and Mr. TERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce, 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 

DECEMBER 15, 2014 

Additional sponsors: Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. 

ROONEY, Mr. HULTGREN, Mr. COOK, and Mr. WITTMAN

DECEMBER 15, 2014 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

DECEMBER 15, 2014 

The Committee on Education and the Workforce discharged; committed to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered 

to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 23, 2013] 


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A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to enhance 

American competitiveness through the encouragement of 

high-skilled immigration, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Supplying Knowledge5 based Immigrants and Lifting Levels of STEM Visas Act’’ 

6 or the ‘‘SKILLS Visa Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

8 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. 

TITLE I—IMMIGRANT VISA REFORMS 

Sec. 101. Immigrant visas for certain advanced STEM graduates. 

Sec. 102. Immigrant visas for entrepreneurs. 

Sec. 103. Additional employment-based immigrant visas. 

Sec. 104. Employment creation immigrant visas. 

Sec. 105. Family-sponsored immigrant visas. 

Sec. 106. Elimination of diversity immigrant program. 

Sec. 107. Numerical limitation to any single foreign state. 

Sec. 108. Physicians. 

Sec. 109. Permanent priority dates. 

Sec. 110. Set-aside for health care workers. 

TITLE II—NONIMMIGRANT VISA REFORMS 

Sec. 201. H–1B visas. 

Sec. 202. L visas. 

Sec. 203. O visas. 

Sec. 204. Mexican and Canadian professionals. 

Sec. 205. H-1B1 and E-3 Visas. 

Sec. 206. Students. 

Sec. 207. Extension of employment eligibility while visa extension petition pending. 

Sec. 208. Fraud detection and prevention fee. 

Sec. 209. Technical correction. 

TITLE III—REFORMS AFFECTING BOTH IMMIGRANT AND 

NONIMMIGRANT VISAS 

Sec. 301. Prevailing wages. 

Sec. 302. Streamlining petitions for established employers. 

9 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

10 It is the sense of the Congress that: 


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1 (1) Our Nation’s future economic prosperity in 

2 the global economy is strongly linked to the ability of 

3 our schools to educate students in the science, tech4 nology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) sub5 jects. 

6 (2) A portion of application fees paid by em7 ployers seeking to hire foreign workers should be de8 voted to supporting improvements in STEM edu9 cation in the United States, including computer 

10 science education, at the elementary, secondary, and 

11 university levels in order to reduce our dependence on 

12 foreign workers over time. 

13 (3) Such funds should be used to support— 

14 (A) building the capacity of every State to 

15 improve student achievement in STEM subjects, 

16 especially in the most high-need school districts; 

17 (B) supporting innovation in STEM edu18 cation through partnerships between elementary 

19 and secondary schools, universities, non-profits, 

20 businesses, and informal education and commu21 nity-based partners; 

22 (C) broadening the diversity and capacity 

23 of the STEM education pipeline in the United 

24 States through scholarships and other forms of 


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1 assistance to American students who study in 

2 these subjects; and 

3 (D) improving and promoting STEM edu4 cation for underrepresented populations, includ5 ing economically disadvantaged individuals in 

6 STEM fields. 

7 TITLE I—IMMIGRANT VISA 

8 REFORMS 

9 SEC. 101. IMMIGRANT VISAS FOR CERTAIN ADVANCED STEM 

10 GRADUATES. 

11 (a) WORLDWIDE LEVEL OF IMMIGRATION.—Section 

12 201(d)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

13 U.S.C. 1151(d)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘140,000,’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘140,000 in fiscal years through 2013 and 

15 195,000 beginning in fiscal year 2014, reduced for any fis16 cal year beginning in fiscal year 2014 by the number by 

17 which the number of visas under section 201(e) would have 

18 been reduced in that year pursuant to section 203(d) of the 

19 Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act 

20 (8 U.S.C. 1151 note) if section 201(e) had not been repealed 

21 by section 106 of the SKILLS Visa Act,’’. 

22 (b) PREFERENCE ALLOCATION FOR EMPLOYMENT23 BASED IMMIGRANTS.—Section 203(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

24 1153(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para2 graph (9); and 

3 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(6) ALIENS HOLDING DOCTORATE DEGREES

6 FROM U.S. DOCTORAL INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU7 CATION IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, OR

8 MATHEMATICS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Visas shall be made 

10 available, in a number not to exceed 55,000, re11 duced for any fiscal year by the number by 

12 which the number of visas under section 201(e) 

13 would have been reduced in that year pursuant 

14 to section 203(d) of the Nicaraguan Adjustment 

15 and Central American Relief Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 

16 note) if section 201(e) had not been repealed by 

17 section 106 of the SKILLS Visa Act, plus any 

18 visas not required for the classes specified in 

19 paragraph (1), to qualified immigrants who— 

20 ‘‘(i) hold a doctorate degree in a field 

21 of science, technology, engineering, or math22 ematics from a United States doctoral insti23 tution of higher education, or have success24 fully completed a dental, medical, or veteri25 nary residency program (within the sumVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:57 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2131.RH H2131

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1 mary group of residency programs in the 

2 Department of Education’s Classification of 

3 Instructional Programs taxonomy), have re4 ceived a medical degree (MD) in a program 

5 that prepares individuals for the inde6 pendent professional practice of medicine 

7 (series 51.12 in the Department of Edu8 cation’s Classification of Instructional Pro9 grams taxonomy), have received a dentistry 

10 degree (DDS, DMD) in a program that pre11 pares individuals for the independent pro12 fessional practice of dentistry/dental medi13 cine (series 51.04 in the Department of 

14 Education’s Classification of Instructional 

15 Programs taxonomy), have received a vet16 erinary degree (DVM) in a program that 

17 prepares individuals for the independent 

18 professional practice of veterinary medicine 

19 (series 51.24 in the Department of Edu20 cation’s Classification of Instructional Pro21 grams taxonomy), or have received an osteo22 pathic medicine/osteopathy degree (DO) in 

23 a program that prepares individuals for the 

24 independent professional practice of osteo25 pathic medicine (series 51.19 in the DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:57 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2131.RH H2131

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1 ment of Education’s Classification of In2 structional Programs taxonomy) from an 

3 institution that is described in subclauses 

4 (I), (III), and (IV) of subparagraph 

5 (B)(iii); and 

6 ‘‘(ii) have taken not less than 85 per7 cent of the courses required for such degrees, 

8 including all courses taken by correspond9 ence (including courses offered by tele10 communications) or by distance education, 

11 while physically present in the United 

12 States. 

13 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

14 paragraph, paragraph (7), and sections 

15 101(a)(15)(F)(i)(I) and 212(a)(5)(A)(iii)(III): 

16 ‘‘(i) The term ‘distance education’ has 

17 the meaning given such term in section 103 

18 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

19 U.S.C. 1003). 

20 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘field of science, tech21 nology, engineering, or mathematics’ means 

22 a field included in the Department of Edu23 cation’s Classification of Instructional Pro24 grams taxonomy within the summary 

25 groups of computer and information 


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1 sciences and support services, engineering, 

2 biological and biomedical sciences, mathe3 matics and statistics, physical sciences, and 

4 the series geography and cartography (series 

5 45.07), advanced/graduate dentistry and 

6 oral sciences (series 51.05) and nursing (se7 ries 51.38). 

8 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘United States doctoral 

9 institution of higher education’ means an 

10 institution that— 

11 ‘‘(I) is described in section 101(a) 

12 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

13 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)) or is a propri14 etary institution of higher education 

15 (as defined in section 102(b) of such 

16 Act (20 U.S.C. 1002(b))); 

17 ‘‘(II) was classified by the Car18 negie Foundation for the Advancement 

19 of Teaching on January 1, 2013, as a 

20 doctorate-granting university with a 

21 very high or high level of research ac22 tivity or classified by the National 

23 Science Foundation after the date of 

24 enactment of this paragraph, pursuant 

25 to an application by the institution, as 


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1 having equivalent research activity to 

2 those institutions that had been classi3 fied by the Carnegie Foundation as 

4 being doctorate-granting universities 

5 with a very high or high level of re6 search activity; 

7 ‘‘(III) has been in existence for at 

8 least 10 years; and 

9 ‘‘(IV) is accredited by an accred10 iting body that is itself accredited ei11 ther by the Department of Education 

12 or by the Council for Higher Edu13 cation Accreditation. 

14 ‘‘(C) LABOR CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

16 (ii), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

17 may not approve a petition filed for classi18 fication of an alien under subparagraph (A) 

19 unless the Secretary of Homeland Security 

20 is in receipt of a determination made by the 

21 Secretary of Labor pursuant to the provi22 sions of section 212(a)(5)(A), except that the 

23 Secretary of Homeland Security may, when 

24 the Secretary deems it to be in the national 

25 interest, waive this requirement. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT DEEMED SATIS2 FIED.—The requirement of clause (i) shall 

3 be deemed satisfied with respect to an em4 ployer and an alien in a case in which a 

5 certification made under section 

6 212(a)(5)(A)(i) has already been obtained 

7 with respect to the alien by that employer. 

8 ‘‘(7) ALIENS HOLDING MASTER’S DEGREES FROM

9 U.S. DOCTORAL INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

10 IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, OR MATHE11 MATICS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any visas not required 

13 for the classes specified in paragraphs (1) and 

14 (6) shall be made available to the classes of 

15 aliens who— 

16 ‘‘(i) hold a master’s degree in a field of 

17 science, technology, engineering, or mathe18 matics from a United States doctoral insti19 tution of higher education that was either 

20 part of a master’s program that required at 

21 least 2 years of enrollment or part of a 5- 

22 year combined baccalaureate-master’s degree 

23 program in such field; 

24 ‘‘(ii) have taken not less than 85 per25 cent of the master’s degree courses in a field 


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1 of science, technology, engineering, or math2 ematics, including all courses taken by cor3 respondence (including courses offered by 

4 telecommunications) or by distance edu5 cation, while physically present in the 

6 United States; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) hold a baccalaureate degree in a 

8 field of science, technology, engineering, or 

9 mathematics. 

10 ‘‘(B) LABOR CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

12 (ii), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

13 may not approve a petition filed for classi14 fication of an alien under subparagraph (A) 

15 unless the Secretary of Homeland Security 

16 is in receipt of a determination made by the 

17 Secretary of Labor pursuant to the provi18 sions of section 212(a)(5)(A), except that the 

19 Secretary of Homeland Security may, when 

20 the Secretary deems it to be in the national 

21 interest, waive this requirement. 

22 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT DEEMED SATIS23 FIED.—The requirement of clause (i) shall 

24 be deemed satisfied with respect to an em25 ployer and an alien in a case in which a 


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1 certification made under section 

2 212(a)(5)(A)(i) has already been obtained 

3 with respect to the alien by that employer. 

4 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions in 

5 paragraph (6)(B) shall apply for purposes of 

6 this paragraph.’’. 

7 (c) ALIENS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE PROFES8 SIONS HOLDING ADVANCED DEGREES OR ALIENS OF EX9 CEPTIONAL ABILITY.—Section 203(b)(2)(A) of such Act (8 

10 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph 

11 (1),’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (6), (7), and (8),’’. 

12 (d) SKILLED WORKERS, PROFESSIONALS, AND OTHER

13 WORKERS.—Section 203(b)(3)(A) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1153(b)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1) and 

15 (2),’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (1), (2), (6), and (7),’’. 

16 (e) PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING IMMIGRANT STA17 TUS.—Section 204(a)(1)(F) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

18 1154(a)(1)(F)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘(F)’’ and inserting ‘‘(F)(i)’’; 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘or 203(b)(3)’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘203(b)(3), 203(b)(6), or 203(b)(7)’’; 

22 (3) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’; and 

24 (4) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The following processing standards shall apply 

2 with respect to petitions under clause (i) relating to alien 

3 beneficiaries qualifying under paragraph (6) or (7) of sec4 tion 203(b): 

5 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

6 adjudicate such petitions not later than 60 days after 

7 the date on which the petition is filed. In the event 

8 that additional information or documentation is re9 quested by the Secretary during such 60-day period, 

10 the Secretary shall adjudicate the petition not later 

11 than 30 days after the date on which such informa12 tion or documentation is received. 

13 ‘‘(II) The petitioner shall be notified in writing 

14 within 30 days of the date of filing if the petition 

15 does not meet the standards for approval. If the peti16 tion does not meet such standards, the notice shall in17 clude the reasons therefore and the Secretary shall 

18 provide an opportunity for the prompt resubmission 

19 of a modified petition.’’. 

20 (f) LABOR CERTIFICATION AND QUALIFICATION FOR

21 CERTAIN IMMIGRANTS.—Section 212(a)(5) of such Act (8 

22 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)) is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

24 (A) in clause (ii)— 


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1 (i) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘, or’’ 

2 at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

3 (ii) in subclause (II), by striking the 

4 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (iii) by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(III) holds a doctorate degree in 

8 a field of science, technology, engineer9 ing, or mathematics from a United 

10 States doctoral institution of higher 

11 education (as defined in section 

12 203(b)(6)(B)(iii)).’’; 

13 (B) by redesignating clauses (ii) through 

14 (iv) as clauses (iii) through (v), respectively; 

15 (C) by inserting after clause (i) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(ii) JOB ORDER.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An employer 

19 who files an application under clause 

20 (i) shall submit a job order for the 

21 labor the alien seeks to perform to the 

22 State workforce agency in the State in 

23 which the alien seeks to perform the 

24 labor. The State workforce agency shall 

25 post the job order on its official agency 


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1 website for a minimum of 30 days and 

2 not later than 3 days after receipt 

3 using the employment statistics system 

4 authorized under section 15 of the 

5 Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49 et 

6 seq.). 

7 ‘‘(II) LINKS.—The Secretary of 

8 Labor shall include links to the official 

9 websites of all State workforce agencies 

10 on a single webpage of the official 

11 website of the Department of Labor.’’; 

12 and 

13 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(vi) PROCESSING STANDARDS FOR

15 ALIEN BENEFICIARIES QUALIFYING UNDER

16 PARAGRAPHS (6) AND (7) OF SECTION

17 203(b).—The following processing standards 

18 shall apply with respect to applications 

19 under clause (i) relating to alien bene20 ficiaries qualifying under paragraph (6) or 

21 (7) of section 203(b): 

22 ‘‘(I) The Secretary of Labor shall 

23 adjudicate such applications not later 

24 than 180 days after the date on which 

25 the application is filed. In the event 


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1 that additional information or docu2 mentation is requested by the Secretary 

3 during such 180-day period, the Sec4 retary shall adjudicate the application 

5 not later than 60 days after the date 

6 on which such information or docu7 mentation is received. 

8 ‘‘(II) The applicant shall be noti9 fied in writing within 60 days of the 

10 date of filing if the application does 

11 not meet the standards for approval. If 

12 the application does not meet such 

13 standards, the notice shall include the 

14 reasons therefore and the Secretary 

15 shall provide an opportunity for the 

16 prompt resubmission of a modified ap17 plication.’’; and 

18 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘(2) or 

19 (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘(2), (3), (6), or (7)’’. 

20 (g) GAO STUDY.—Not later than June 30, 2019, the 

21 Comptroller General of the United States shall provide to 

22 the Congress the results of a study on the use by the Na23 tional Science Foundation of the classification authority 

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1 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

2 1153(b)(6)(B)(iii)(II)), as added by this section. 

3 (h) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The Secretary of Home4 land Security shall make available to the public on the offi5 cial website of the Department of Homeland Security, and 

6 shall update not less than monthly, the following informa7 tion (which shall be organized according to month and fis8 cal year) with respect to aliens granted status under para9 graph (6) or (7) of section 203(b) of the Immigration and 

10 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)), as added by this sec11 tion: 

12 (1) The name, city, and State of each employer 

13 who petitioned pursuant to either of such paragraphs 

14 on behalf of one or more aliens who were granted sta15 tus in the month and fiscal year to date. 

16 (2) The number of aliens granted status under 

17 either of such paragraphs in the month and fiscal 

18 year to date based upon a petition filed by such em19 ployer. 

20 (3) The occupations for which such alien or 

21 aliens were sought by such employer and the job titles 

22 listed by such employer on the petition. 

23 (i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

24 section shall take effect on October 1, 2013, and shall apply 

25 with respect to fiscal years beginning on or after such date. 


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1 Nothing in the preceding sentence shall be construed to pro2 hibit the Secretary of Homeland Security from accepting 

3 before such date petitions under section 204(a)(1)(F) of the 

4 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(F)) 

5 relating to alien beneficiaries qualifying under paragraph 

6 (6) or (7) of section 203(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) 

7 (as added by this section). 

8 SEC. 102. IMMIGRANT VISAS FOR ENTREPRENEURS. 

9 (a) PREFERENCE ALLOCATION FOR EMPLOYMENT10 BASED IMMIGRANTS.—Section 203(b) of the Immigration 

11 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)) is amended by in12 serting after paragraph (7) (as added by section 101 of this 

13 Act) the following: 

14 ‘‘(8) ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Visas shall be made 

16 available, in a number not to exceed 10,000, plus 

17 any visas not required for the classes specified in 

18 paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), to the following 

19 classes of aliens: 

20 ‘‘(i) VENTURE CAPITAL-BACKED START21 UP ENTREPRENEURS.— 

22 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An alien is 

23 described in this clause if the alien in24 tends to engage in a new commercial 


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1 enterprise (including a limited part2 nership) in the United States— 

3 ‘‘(aa) with respect to which 

4 the alien has completed an invest5 ment agreement requiring an in6 vestment in the enterprise in an 

7 amount not less than $500,000, 

8 subject to subclause (III), on the 

9 part of— 

10 ‘‘(AA) a venture capital 

11 fund whose investment ad12 viser is a qualified venture 

13 capital entity; or 

14 ‘‘(BB) 2 or more quali15 fied angel investors; and 

16 ‘‘(bb) which will benefit the 

17 United States economy and, dur18 ing the 3-year period beginning 

19 on the date on which the visa is 

20 issued under this paragraph, 

21 will— 

22 ‘‘(AA) create full-time 

23 employment for at least 5 

24 United States workers within 

25 the enterprise; and 


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1 ‘‘(BB) raise not less 

2 than an additional 

3 $1,000,000 in capital invest4 ment, subject to subclause 

5 (III), or generate not less 

6 than $1,000,000 in revenue, 

7 subject to subclause (III). 

8 ‘‘(II) DEFINITIONS.—For pur9 poses of this clause: 

10 ‘‘(aa) INVESTMENT.—The 

11 term ‘investment’ does not include 

12 any assets acquired, directly or 

13 indirectly, by unlawful means. 

14 ‘‘(bb) INVESTMENT AD15 VISER.—The term ‘investment ad16 viser’ has the meaning given such 

17 term under section 202(a)(11) of 

18 the Investment Advisers Act of 

19 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-2(a)(11)). 

20 ‘‘(cc) QUALIFIED ANGEL IN21 VESTOR.—The term ‘qualified 

22 angel investor’ means an indi23 vidual who— 

24 ‘‘(AA) is an accredited 

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1 tion 230.501(a) of title 17, 

2 Code of Federal Regulations 

3 (as in effect on April 1, 

4 2010)); 

5 ‘‘(BB) is a United 

6 States citizen or an alien 

7 lawfully admitted to the 

8 United States for permanent 

9 residence; and 

10 ‘‘(CC) has made at least 

11 2 investments during the 3 

12 year period before the date of 

13 a petition by the qualified 

14 immigrant for classification 

15 under this paragraph. 

16 ‘‘(dd) QUALIFIED VENTURE

17 CAPITAL ENTITY.—The term 

18 ‘qualified venture capital entity’ 

19 means, with respect to a qualified 

20 immigrant, an entity that— 

21 ‘‘(AA) serves as an in22 vestment adviser to a venture 

23 capital fund that is making 

24 an investment under this 

25 paragraph; 


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1 ‘‘(BB) has its primary 

2 office location or principal 

3 place of business in the 

4 United States; 

5 ‘‘(CC) is owned and 

6 controlled, directly or indi7 rectly, by individuals the 

8 majority of whom are United 

9 States citizens or aliens law10 fully admitted to the United 

11 States for permanent resi12 dence; 

13 ‘‘(DD) has been advis14 ing one or more venture cap15 ital funds for a period of at 

16 least 2 years before the date 

17 of the petition for classifica18 tion under this paragraph; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(EE) advises one or 

21 more venture capital funds 

22 that have made at least 2 in23 vestments of not less than 

24 $500,000 in each of the 2 

25 years before the date of the 


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1 petition for classification 

2 under this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(ee) VENTURE CAPITAL

4 FUND.—The term ‘venture capital 

5 fund’ means an entity— 

6 ‘‘(AA) that is classified 

7 as a ‘venture capital oper8 ating company’ under sec9 tion 2510.3–101(d) of title 

10 29, Code of Federal Regula11 tions (as in effect on Janu12 ary 1, 2013) or has manage13 ment rights in its portfolio 

14 companies to the extent re15 quired by such section if the 

16 venture capital fund were 

17 classified as a venture cap18 ital operating company; 

19 ‘‘(BB) has capital com20 mitments of not less than 

21 $10,000,000; and 

22 ‘‘(CC) whose general 

23 partner or managing member 

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1 viduals the majority of whom 

2 are United States citizens or 

3 aliens lawfully admitted to 

4 the United States for perma5 nent residence. 

6 ‘‘(III) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

7 Effective for the first fiscal year that 

8 begins more than 6 months after the 

9 date of the enactment of this clause, 

10 and for each fiscal year thereafter, the 

11 amounts described in subclauses (I) 

12 and (II) shall be increased by the per13 centage (if any) by which the Con14 sumer Price Index for the month of 

15 June preceding the date on which such 

16 increase takes effect exceeds the Con17 sumer Price Index for the same month 

18 of the preceding calendar year. An in19 crease described in the preceding sen20 tence shall apply to aliens filing peti21 tions under section 204(a)(1)(H) on or 

22 after the date on which the increase 

23 takes effect. For purposes of this clause, 

24 the term ‘Consumer Price Index’ means 

25 the Consumer Price Index for all urban 


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1 consumers published by the Depart2 ment of Labor. 

3 ‘‘(ii) TREATY INVESTORS.—Immi4 grants who have been issued a visa or other5 wise provided nonimmigrant status under 

6 section 101(a)(15)(E)(ii) (not including 

7 alien employees of the treaty investor) who 

8 have maintained that status for a min9 imum of 10 years and have benefitted the 

10 United States economy and created full11 time employment for not fewer than 5 

12 United States workers for a minimum of 10 

13 years. 

14 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(i) The term ‘full-time employment’ 

17 has the meaning given such term in para18 graph (5). 

19 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘United States worker’ 

20 means an employee (other than the immi21 grant or the immigrant’s spouse, sons, or 

22 daughters) who— 

23 ‘‘(I) is a citizen or national of the 

24 United States; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) is an alien who is lawfully 

2 admitted for permanent residence, is 

3 admitted as a refugee under section 

4 207, is granted asylum under section 

5 208, or is an immigrant otherwise au6 thorized to be employed in the United 

7 States.’’. 

8 (b) PROCEDURES FOR GRANTING IMMIGRANT STA9 TUS.—Section 204(a)(1)(H) of the Immigration and Na10 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(H)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘section 203(b)(5)’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘paragraph (5) or (8) of section 203(b)’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’. 

15 (c) CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

17 (A) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

18 216A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1186b) is amended— 

20 (i) in the section heading, by striking 

21 ‘‘ENTREPRENEURS,’’ and inserting ‘‘INVES22 TORS,’’. 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ 

24 each place such term appears and inserting 

25 ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’; 


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1 (iii) by striking ‘‘entrepreneur’’ each 

2 place such term appears and inserting ‘‘in3 vestor’’; and 

4 (iv) In subsection (c)(3)(A), by striking 

5 ‘‘the such filing’’ and inserting ‘‘such fil6 ing’’. 

7 (B) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The item relat8 ing to section 216A in the table of contents of the 

9 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

10 1101 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 216A. Conditional permanent resident status for certain alien investors, 

spouses, and children.’’. 

11 (2) CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS

12 FOR CERTAIN ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS, SPOUSES, AND

13 CHILDREN.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title II of 

15 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1181 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec17 tion 216A the following: 

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

19 FOR CERTAIN ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS, 

20 SPOUSES, AND CHILDREN. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 ‘‘(1) CONDITIONAL BASIS FOR STATUS.—Not23 withstanding any other provision of this Act, an alien 

24 entrepreneur (as defined in subsection (f)(1) of this 


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1 section), alien spouse, and alien child (as defined in 

2 subsection (f)(2) of this section) shall be considered, at 

3 the time of obtaining the status of an alien lawfully 

4 admitted for permanent residence, to have obtained 

5 such status on a conditional basis subject to the provi6 sions of this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) AT TIME OF OBTAINING PERMANENT

9 RESIDENCE.—At the time an alien entrepreneur, 

10 alien spouse, or alien child obtains permanent 

11 resident status on a conditional basis under 

12 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Secu13 rity shall provide for notice to such an entre14 preneur, spouse, or child respecting the provi15 sions of this section and the requirements of sub16 section (c)(1) of this section to have the condi17 tional basis of such status removed. 

18 ‘‘(B) AT TIME OF REQUIRED PETITION.—In 

19 addition, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

20 shall attempt to provide notice to such an entre21 preneur, spouse, or child, at or about the begin22 ning of the 90-day period described in subsection 

23 (d)(2)(A) of this section, of the requirements of 

24 subsection (c)(1) of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE NO2 TICE.—The failure of the Secretary of Homeland 

3 Security to provide a notice under this para4 graph shall not affect the enforcement of the pro5 visions of this section with respect to such an en6 trepreneur, spouse, or child. 

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

8 QUALIFYING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IMPROPER.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an alien entre10 preneur with permanent resident status on a condi11 tional basis under subsection (a) of this section, if the 

12 Secretary of Homeland Security determines, before 

13 the third anniversary of the alien’s obtaining the sta14 tus of lawful admission for permanent residence, 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(A) the required investment in the com17 mercial enterprise under section 

18 203(b)(8)(A)(i)(I) was intended solely as a 

19 means of evading the immigration laws of the 

20 United States; 

21 ‘‘(B)(i) any requisite capital to be invested 

22 under section 203(b)(8)(A)(i)(I) had not been in23 vested, or was not actively in the process of being 

24 invested; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the alien was not sustaining the ac2 tions described in clause (i) throughout the pe3 riod of the alien’s residence in the United States; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(C) the alien was otherwise not conforming 

6 to the requirements of section 203(b)(8)(A)(i); 

7 then the Secretary of Homeland Security shall so no8 tify the alien involved and, subject to paragraph (2), 

9 shall terminate the permanent resident status of the 

10 alien (and the alien spouse and alien child) involved 

11 as of the date of the determination. 

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

13 alien whose permanent resident status is terminated 

14 under paragraph (1) may request a review of such de15 termination in a proceeding to remove the alien. In 

16 such proceeding, the burden of proof shall be on the 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security to establish, by a 

18 preponderance of the evidence, that a condition de19 scribed in paragraph (1) is met. 

20 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS OF TIMELY PETITION AND

21 INTERVIEW FOR REMOVAL OF CONDITION.— 

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

23 basis established under subsection (a) of this section 

24 for an alien entrepreneur, alien spouse, or alien child 

25 to be removed— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the alien entrepreneur must submit to 

2 the Secretary of Homeland Security, during the 

3 period described in subsection (d)(2), a petition 

4 which requests the removal of such conditional 

5 basis and which states, under penalty of perjury, 

6 the facts and information described in subsection 

7 (d)(1); and 

8 ‘‘(B) in accordance with subsection (d)(3), 

9 the alien entrepreneur must appear for a per10 sonal interview before an officer or employee of 

11 the Department of Homeland Security respecting 

12 the facts and information described in subsection 

13 (d)(1). 

14 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION OF PERMANENT RESIDENT

15 STATUS FOR FAILURE TO FILE PETITION OR HAVE

16 PERSONAL INTERVIEW.— 

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

18 with permanent resident status on a conditional 

19 basis under subsection (a) of this section, if— 

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

21 the alien in accordance with the provisions 

22 of paragraph (1)(A); or 

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

24 the alien entrepreneur fails to appear at the 

25 interview described in paragraph (1)(B) (if 


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1 required under subsection (d)(3) of this sec2 tion), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

3 shall terminate the permanent resident sta4 tus of the alien (and the alien’s spouse and 

5 children if it was obtained on a conditional 

6 basis under this section or section 216A) as 

7 of the third anniversary of the alien’s lawful 

8 admission for permanent residence. 

9 ‘‘(B) HEARING IN REMOVAL PROCEEDING.— 

10 In any removal proceeding with respect to an 

11 alien whose permanent resident status is termi12 nated under subparagraph (A), the burden of 

13 proof shall be on the alien to establish compli14 ance with the conditions of subparagraphs (A) 

15 and (B) of paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION AFTER PETITION AND

17 INTERVIEW.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If— 

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

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

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the alien entrepreneur appears at 

23 any interview described in paragraph 

24 (1)(B); 


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1 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall make 

2 a determination, within 90 days of the date of 

3 such filing or interview (whichever is later), as 

4 to whether the facts and information described in 

5 subsection (d)(1) and alleged in the petition are 

6 true with respect to the qualifying commercial 

7 enterprise. 

8 ‘‘(B) REMOVAL OR EXTENSION OF CONDI9 TIONAL BASIS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

11 in clause (ii), if the Secretary of Homeland 

12 Security determines that such facts and in13 formation are true, including demonstrating 

14 that the alien complied with subsection 

15 (d)(1)(B)(i), the Secretary shall so notify 

16 the alien involved and shall remove the con17 ditional basis of the alien’s status effective 

18 as of the third anniversary of the alien’s 

19 lawful admission for permanent residence. 

20 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—If the petition dem21 onstrates that the facts and information are 

22 true, including demonstrating that the alien 

23 is in compliance with section (d)(1)(B)(ii), 

24 then the Secretary of Homeland Security 

25 may, in the Secretary’s discretion, extend 


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1 the conditional status for an additional 

2 year at the end of which— 

3 ‘‘(I) the alien must file a petition 

4 within 30 days after the fourth anni5 versary of the alien’s lawful admission 

6 for permanent residence demonstrating 

7 that the alien complied with subsection 

8 (d)(1)(B)(i) and the Secretary shall re9 move the conditional basis of the 

10 alien’s status effective as of such fourth 

11 anniversary; or 

12 ‘‘(II) the conditional status shall 

13 terminate. 

14 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION IF ADVERSE DETER15 MINATION.—If the Secretary of Homeland Secu16 rity determines that such facts and information 

17 are not true, the Secretary shall so notify the 

18 alien involved and, subject to subparagraph (D), 

19 shall terminate the permanent resident status of 

20 an alien entrepreneur, alien spouse, or alien 

21 child as of the date of the determination. 

22 ‘‘(D) HEARING IN REMOVAL PROCEEDING.— 

23 Any alien whose permanent resident status is 

24 terminated under subparagraph (C) may request 

25 a review of such determination in a proceeding 


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1 to remove the alien. In such proceeding, the bur2 den of proof shall be on the Secretary of Home3 land Security to establish, by a preponderance of 

4 the evidence, that the facts and information de5 scribed in subsection (d)(1) of this section and 

6 alleged in the petition are not true with respect 

7 to the qualifying commercial enterprise. 

8 ‘‘(d) DETAILS OF PETITION AND INTERVIEW.— 

9 ‘‘(1) CONTENTS OF PETITION.—Each petition 

10 under subsection (c)(1)(A) shall contain facts and in11 formation demonstrating that— 

12 ‘‘(A)(i) any requisite capital to be invested 

13 under section 203(b)(8)(A)(i)(I) had been in14 vested, or was actively in the process of being in15 vested; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the alien sustained the actions de17 scribed in clause (i) throughout the period of the 

18 alien’s residence in the United States; 

19 ‘‘(B)(i) the alien created the employment re20 quired under section 203(b)(8)(A)(i)(I)(bb)(AA); 

21 or 

22 ‘‘(ii) the alien is actively in the process of 

23 creating the employment required under section 

24 203(b)(8)(A)(i)(I)(bb)(AA) and will create such 

25 employment before the fourth anniversary of the 


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1 alien’s lawful admission for permanent resi2 dence; and 

3 ‘‘(C) the alien is otherwise conforming to 

4 the requirements of section 203(b)(8)(A)(i). 

5 ‘‘(2) PERIOD FOR FILING PETITION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) 90-DAY PERIOD BEFORE SECOND ANNI7 VERSARY.—Except as provided in subparagraph 

8 (B), the petition under subsection (c)(1)(A) of 

9 this section must be filed during the 90-day pe10 riod before the third anniversary of the alien’s 

11 lawful admission for permanent residence. 

12 ‘‘(B) DATE PETITIONS FOR GOOD CAUSE.— 

13 Such a petition may be considered if filed after 

14 such date, but only if the alien establishes to the 

15 satisfaction of the Secretary of Homeland Secu16 rity good cause and extenuating circumstances 

17 for failure to file the petition during the period 

18 described in subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(C) FILING OF PETITIONS DURING RE20 MOVAL.—In the case of an alien who is the sub21 ject of removal hearings as a result of failure to 

22 file a petition on a timely basis in accordance 

23 with subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Home24 land Security may stay such removal proVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:57 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2131.RH H2131

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1 ceedings against an alien pending the filing of 

2 the petition under subparagraph (B). 

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

4 under subsection (c)(1)(B) shall be conducted within 

5 90 days after the date of submitting a petition under 

6 subsection (c)(1)(A) and at a local office of the De7 partment of Homeland Security, designated by the 

8 Secretary of Homeland Security, which is convenient 

9 to the parties involved. The Secretary, in the Sec10 retary’s discretion, may waive the deadline for such 

11 an interview or the requirement for such an interview 

12 in such cases as may be appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF PERIOD FOR PURPOSES OF NATU14 RALIZATION.—For purposes of title III, in the case of an 

15 alien who is in the United States as a lawful permanent 

16 resident on a conditional basis under this section, the alien 

17 shall be considered to have been admitted as an alien law18 fully admitted for permanent residence and to be in the 

19 United States as an alien lawfully admitted to the United 

20 States for permanent residence. 

21 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) The term ‘alien entrepreneur’ means an 

23 alien who obtains the status of an alien lawfully ad24 mitted for permanent residence (whether on a condiVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:57 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2131.RH H2131

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1 tional basis or otherwise) under section 

2 203(b)(8)(A)(i)(I) of this title. 

3 ‘‘(2) The term ‘alien spouse’ and the term ‘alien 

4 child’ mean an alien who obtains the status of an 

5 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

6 (whether on a conditional basis or otherwise) by vir7 tue of being the spouse or child, respectively, of an 

8 alien entrepreneur. 

9 ‘‘(3) The term ‘commercial enterprise’ includes a 

10 limited partnership.’’. 

11 (B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

12 contents for such Act is amended by inserting 

13 after the item relating to section 216A the fol14 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 216B. Conditional permanent resident status for certain alien entrepreneurs, spouses, and children.’’. 

15 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

16 section shall take effect on October 1, 2013, and shall apply 

17 with respect to fiscal years beginning on or after such date. 

18 SEC. 103. ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRANT 

19 VISAS. 

20 (a) WORLDWIDE LEVEL OF EMPLOYMENT-BASED IM21 MIGRANTS.—Section 201(d)(1)(A) of the Immigration and 

22 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(d)(1)(A)), as amended by 

23 section 101, is further amended by striking ‘‘195,000’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘235,000’’. 


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1 (b) PRIORITY WORKERS.—Section 203(b)(1) of such 

2 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘28.6 per3 cent of such worldwide level,’’ and inserting ‘‘40,040,’’. 

4 (c) ALIENS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE PROFES5 SIONS HOLDING ADVANCED DEGREES OR ALIENS OF EX6 CEPTIONAL ABILITY.—Section 203(b)(2)(A) of such Act (8 

7 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘28.6 percent 

8 of such worldwide level,’’ and inserting ‘‘55,040,’’. 

9 (d) SKILLED WORKERS, PROFESSIONALS, AND OTHER

10 WORKERS.—Section 203(b)(3)(A) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

11 1153(b)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘28.6 percent of such 

12 worldwide level,’’ and inserting ‘‘55,040,’’. 

13 (e) CERTAIN SPECIAL IMMIGRANTS.—Section 

14 203(b)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(4)) is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘7.1 percent of such worldwide level,’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘9,940,’’. 

17 (f) EMPLOYMENT CREATION.—Section 203(b)(5)(A) of 

18 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(A)) is amended by striking 

19 ‘‘7.1 percent of such worldwide level,’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘9,940,’’. 

21 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

22 section shall take effect on October 1, 2013, and shall apply 

23 with respect to fiscal years beginning on or after such date. 


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1 (h) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR EMPLOYMENT2 BASED IMMIGRANTS.—Section 245 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

3 1255) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(n) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS FOR EMPLOYMENT5 BASED IMMIGRANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PETITION.—An alien who has status under 

7 subparagraph (H)(i)(b), (L), or (O)(i) of section 

8 101(a)(15) or who has status under subparagraph (F) 

9 or (M) of such section and who has received optional 

10 practical training after completion of the alien’s 

11 course of study, and any eligible dependents of such 

12 alien, who has filed a petition or on whose behalf a 

13 petition has been filed for immigrant status pursuant 

14 to subparagraph (E), (F), (G), or (H) of section 

15 204(a)(1), may concurrently, or at any time there16 after, file an application with the Secretary of Home17 land Security for adjustment of status if such petition 

18 has been approved, regardless of whether an immi19 grant visa is immediately available at the time the 

20 application is filed. 

21 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—An application filed pursu22 ant to paragraph (1) may not be approved until the 

23 date on which an immigrant visa becomes available.’’. 

24 SEC. 104. EMPLOYMENT CREATION IMMIGRANT VISAS. 

25 (a) CHANGES TO THE GENERAL PROGRAM.— 


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1 (1) CAPITAL.—Section 203(b)(5)(C) of the Immi2 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(C)) 

3 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(iv) CAPITAL DEFINED.—For pur5 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘capital’ 

6 does not include any assets acquired, di7 rectly or indirectly, by unlawful means.’’. 

8 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Such section, as 

9 amended by paragraph (1), is further amended by 

10 adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(v) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(I) INITIAL ADJUSTMENT.—As of 

13 the date of enactment of the SKILLS 

14 Visa Act, the amount specified in the 

15 first sentence of clause (i) shall be in16 creased by the percentage (if any) by 

17 which the Consumer Price Index for 

18 the month preceding such enactment 

19 date exceeds the Consumer Price Index 

20 for the same month of calendar year 

21 1990. The increase described in the 

22 preceding sentence shall apply to aliens 

23 filing petitions under section 

24 204(a)(1)(H) on or after such enact25 ment date. 


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1 ‘‘(II) SUBSEQUENT ADJUST2 MENTS.—Effective for the first fiscal 

3 year that begins more than 6 months 

4 after the date of the enactment of this 

5 clause, and for each fiscal year there6 after, the amount described in sub7 clause (I) (as of the last increase to 

8 such amount) shall be increased by the 

9 percentage (if any) by which the Con10 sumer Price Index for the month of 

11 June preceding the date on which such 

12 increase takes effect exceeds the Con13 sumer Price Index for the same month 

14 of the preceding calendar year. An in15 crease described in the preceding sen16 tence shall apply to aliens filing peti17 tions under section 204(a)(1)(H) on or 

18 after the date on which the increase 

19 takes effect. 

20 ‘‘(III) DEFINITION.—For purposes 

21 of this clause, the term ‘Consumer 

22 Price Index’ means the Consumer Price 

23 Index for all urban consumers pub24 lished by the Department of Labor.’’. 


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1 (3) FLEXIBILITY FOR JOB CREATION TIME PE2 RIOD.— 

3 (A) REMOVAL OF CONDITIONAL BASIS IF FA4 VORABLE DETERMINATION.—Section 

5 216A(c)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nation6 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b(c)(3)(B)), is amended 

7 to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(B) REMOVAL OR EXTENSION OF CONDI9 TIONAL BASIS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

11 under clause (ii), if the Secretary of Home12 land Security determines that such facts 

13 and information are true, including dem14 onstrating that the alien complied with sec15 tion (d)(1)(B)(i), the Secretary shall so no16 tify the alien involved and shall remove the 

17 conditional basis of the alien’s status effec18 tive as of the second anniversary of the 

19 alien’s lawful admission for permanent resi20 dence. 

21 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—If the petition dem22 onstrates that the facts and information are 

23 true, including demonstrating that the alien 

24 is in compliance with section (d)(1)(B)(ii), 

25 then the Secretary of Homeland Security 


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1 may in the Secretary’s discretion extend the 

2 conditional status for an additional year at 

3 the end of which— 

4 ‘‘(I) the alien must file a petition 

5 within 30 days after the third anniver6 sary of the alien’s lawful admission for 

7 permanent residence demonstrating 

8 that the alien complied with section 

9 (d)(1)(B)(i) and the Secretary shall re10 move the conditional basis of the 

11 alien’s status effective as of such third 

12 anniversary; or 

13 ‘‘(II) the conditional status shall 

14 terminate.’’. 

15 (B) CONTENTS OF PETITION.—Section 

16 216A(d)(1) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b(d)(1)) is 

17 amended— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub19 paragraph (A); 

20 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (B) 

21 as subparagraph (C); and 

22 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

23 (A) the following: 

24 ‘‘(B)(i) created the employment required 

25 under section 203(b)(5)(A)(ii); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is actively in the process of creating 

2 the employment required under section 

3 203(b)(5)(A)(ii) and will create such employ4 ment before the third anniversary of the alien’s 

5 lawful admission for permanent residence; and’’. 

6 (4) TARGETED EMPLOYMENT AREAS.— 

7 (A) TARGETED EMPLOYMENT AREA DE8 FINED.—Section 203(b)(5)(B)(ii) of the Immi9 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

10 1153(b)(5)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘(of at 

11 least 150 percent of the national average rate)’’. 

12 (B) SET-ASIDE FOR TARGETED EMPLOY13 MENT AREA.—Section 203(b)(5)(B) of the Immi14 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1153(b)(5)(B)) is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(iv) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, 

18 the term ‘an area which has experienced 

19 high unemployment’ means an area which 

20 has an unemployment rate of at least 150 

21 of the national average rate. Such an area 

22 must fit entirely within a geographical unit 

23 that the Secretary of Labor has determined 

24 has an unemployment rate of at least 150 

25 percent of the national average rate (and 


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1 which determination has not been super2 seded by a later determination in which the 

3 Secretary of Labor has found that the unit 

4 did not have an unemployment rate of at 

5 least 150 percent of the national average 

6 rate). The Secretary of Labor shall set forth 

7 a uniform methodology for determining 

8 whether an area an area qualifies as having 

9 experienced unemployment of at least 150 

10 percent of the national average rate. It shall 

11 be within the discretion of the Secretary of 

12 Homeland Security to determine whether 

13 any particular area has experienced high 

14 unemployment for purposes of this para15 graph, and the Secretary shall not be bound 

16 by the determination of any other govern17 mental or nongovernmental entity that a 

18 particular area has experienced high unem19 ployment for purposes of this paragraph.’’. 

20 (b) REGIONAL CENTERS.— 

21 (1) PERMANENT REAUTHORIZATION OF THE RE22 GIONAL CENTER PILOT PROGRAM.—Section 610 of the 

23 Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Ju24 diciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 

25 1993 (8 U.S.C. 1153 note) is amended— 


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1 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘PILOT’’; and 

3 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘until 

4 September 30, 2015’’. 

5 (2) PERSONS BARRED FROM INVOLVEMENT IN

6 REGIONAL CENTERS.— 

7 (A) PROHIBITION.—Such section 610 is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(e)(1) No person who— 

10 ‘‘(A) has been convicted of an aggravated felony 

11 (as defined in section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration 

12 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43))); 

13 ‘‘(B) would be inadmissible under section 

14 212(a)(3) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)) if they 

15 were an alien seeking admission; or 

16 ‘‘(C) has been convicted of violating, or found to 

17 have violated, a fraud provision of the Federal securi18 ties laws (as such term is defined under section 3 of 

19 the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c)), 

20 shall knowingly be permitted by any regional center to be 

21 involved with the regional center as its principal, represent22 ative, administrator, owner, officer, board member, man23 ager, executive, general partner, fiduciary, member, or in 

24 other similar position of substantive authority for the oper25 ations, management, or promotion of the regional center. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall require 

2 such attestations and information (including biometric in3 formation), and shall perform such criminal record checks 

4 and other background checks with respect to a regional cen5 ter, and persons involved in a regional center as described 

6 in paragraph (1), as the Secretary, in the Secretary’s dis7 cretion, considers appropriate to determine whether the re8 gional center is in compliance with paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(3) The Secretary may terminate any regional center 

10 from the program under this section if the Secretary deter11 mines that— 

12 ‘‘(A) the regional center is in violation of para13 graph (1); 

14 ‘‘(B) the regional center has provided any false 

15 attestation or information under paragraph (2), or 

16 continues to allow any person who was involved with 

17 the regional center as described in paragraph (1) to 

18 continue to be involved with the regional center if the 

19 regional center knows that the person has provided 

20 any false attestation or information under paragraph 

21 (2); or 

22 ‘‘(C) the regional center fails to provide an attes23 tation or information requested by the Secretary 

24 under paragraph (2), or continues to allow any per25 son who was involved with the regional center as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:57 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2131.RH H2131

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1 scribed in paragraph (1) to continue to be involved 

2 with the regional center if the regional center knows 

3 that the person has failed to provide an attestation or 

4 information requested by the Secretary under para5 graph (2). 

6 ‘‘(4) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘re7 gional center’ shall, in addition to the regional center itself, 

8 include any commercial enterprise or job creating enter9 prise in which a regional center has invested.’’. 

10 (B) COMPLIANCE WITH SECURITIES

11 LAWS.—Such section 610, as amended by sub12 paragraph (A), is further amended by adding at 

13 the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(f)(1) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall not 

15 approve an application for regional center designation or 

16 regional center amendment that does not certify that the 

17 regional center and all parties to the regional center are 

18 in and will maintain compliance with Federal securities 

19 laws (as such term is defined under section 3 of the Securi20 ties Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c)). 

21 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall imme22 diately terminate the designation of any regional center 

23 that does not provide the certification described in para24 graph (1) on an annual basis. 


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1 ‘‘(3) In addition to any other authority provided to 

2 the Secretary of Homeland Security regarding the program 

3 described in this section, the Secretary may suspend or ter4 minate the designation of any regional center if the Sec5 retary determines that the regional center, or any party to 

6 the regional center: 

7 ‘‘(A) is permanently or temporarily enjoined by 

8 order, judgment, or decree of any court of competent 

9 jurisdiction in connection with the purchase or sale 

10 of a security; 

11 ‘‘(B) is subject to any order of the Securities and 

12 Exchange Commission that bars such person from as13 sociation with an entity regulated by the Securities 

14 and Exchange Commission, or constitutes a final 

15 order based on violations in connection with the pur16 chase or sale of a security; 

17 ‘‘(C) has been convicted of violating, or found to 

18 have violated, a fraud provision of the Federal securi19 ties laws (as such term is defined under section 3 of 

20 the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c)); 

21 or 

22 ‘‘(D) knowingly submitted or caused to be sub23 mitted a certification described in paragraphs (1) or 

24 (2) of this subsection that contained an untrue state25 ment of material fact, or omitted to state a material 


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1 fact necessary, in order to make the statements made, 

2 in light of the circumstances under which they were 

3 made, not misleading. 

4 ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 

5 impair or limit the authority of the Securities and Ex6 change Commission under the Federal securities laws. 

7 ‘‘(5) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ‘party 

8 to the regional center’ shall include, in addition to the re9 gional center itself, its agents, servants, employees, attor10 neys, or any persons in active concert or participation with 

11 the regional center.’’. 

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except for the amendments 

14 made by paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), the 

15 amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall 

16 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act 

17 and shall apply— 

18 (A) to aliens filing petitions under section 

19 204(a)(1)(H) of the Immigration and Nation20 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(H)) on or after 

21 such date; 

22 (B) to a regional center (and any person 

23 involved with or a party to a regional center) 

24 designated before, on, or after such date; and 


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1 (C) to any application to designate a re2 gional center, and any person involved with or 

3 a party to the regional center, that is pending on 

4 such date. 

5 (2) DEFINITION OF ‘‘CAPITAL’’.—The amendment 

6 made by subsection (a)(1) shall take effect on the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (3) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—The amendment 

9 made by subsection (a)(2) shall take effect as provided 

10 in section 203(b)(5)(C)(v) of the Immigration and 

11 Nationality Act, as added by subsection (a)(2) of this 

12 section. 

13 SEC. 105. FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMIGRANT VISAS. 

14 (a) WORLDWIDE LEVEL OF FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMI15 GRANTS.—Section 201(c)(1) of the Immigration and Na16 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(c)(1)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 

18 ‘‘480,000,’’ and inserting ‘‘480,000 in fiscal years 

19 through 2013, 505,000 beginning in fiscal year 2014 

20 through fiscal year 2023, and 440,000 beginning in 

21 fiscal year 2024,’’; and 

22 (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 

23 ‘‘226,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘226,000 in fiscal years 

24 through 2013, 251,000 beginning in fiscal year 2014 


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1 through fiscal year 2023, and 186,000 beginning in 

2 fiscal year 2024.’’. 

3 (b) PREFERENCE ALLOCATION FOR FAMILY-SPON4 SORED IMMIGRANTS.—Section 203(a)(2) of such Act (8 

5 U.S.C. 1153(a)(2)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘114,200,’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘139,200,’’; 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘226,000,’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘226,000 in fiscal years through 2013, 251,000 begin10 ning in fiscal year 2014 through fiscal year 2023, 

11 and 186,000 beginning in fiscal year 2024,’’; and 

12 (3) by striking ‘‘77’’ and inserting ‘‘81.13’’. 

13 (c) BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF CITIZENS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(a) of such Act (8 

15 U.S.C. 1153(a)) is amended— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘23,400,’’ 

17 and all that follows through the period at the end 

18 and inserting ‘‘23,400.’’; and 

19 (B) by striking paragraph (4). 

20 (2) CLASSIFICATION PETITIONS.—Section 

21 204(a)(1)(A)(i) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

22 1154(a)(1)(A)(i)) is amended by striking ‘‘(1), (3), or 

23 (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) or (3)’’. 

24 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

25 section shall take effect on October 1, 2013, and shall apply 


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1 with respect to fiscal years beginning on or after such date, 

2 except that the amendments made by subsection (c)(1) shall 

3 take effect on October 1, 2023. 

4 SEC. 106. ELIMINATION OF DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT PRO5 GRAM. 

6 (a) WORLDWIDE LEVEL OF DIVERSITY IMMIGRANTS.— 

7 Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

8 U.S.C. 1151) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of para11 graph (1); 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of para13 graph (2) and inserting a period; and 

14 (C) by striking paragraph (3); and 

15 (2) by striking subsection (e). 

16 (b) ALLOCATION OF DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISAS.— 

17 Section 203 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking subsection (c); 

19 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘(a), (b), or 

20 (c),’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) or (b),’’; 

21 (3) in subsection (e), by striking paragraph (2) 

22 and redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2); 

23 (4) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘(a), (b), or (c)’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘(a) or (b)’’; and 


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1 (5) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘(a), (b), and 

2 (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) and (b)’’. 

3 (c) PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING IMMIGRANT STA4 TUS.—Section 204 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) by striking subsection (a)(1)(I); and 

7 (2) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘(a), (b), or 

8 (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) or (b)’’. 

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

10 section shall take effect on October 1, 2013, and shall apply 

11 with respect to fiscal years beginning on or after such date. 

12 SEC. 107. NUMERICAL LIMITATION TO ANY SINGLE FOR13 EIGN STATE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(a)(2) of the Immigra15 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152(a)(2)) is amend16 ed— 

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

18 EMPLOYMENT-BASED’’; 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘(3), (4), and (5),’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘(3) and (4),’’; 

21 (3) by striking ‘‘subsections (a) and (b) of section 

22 203’’ and inserting ‘‘section 203(a)’’; 

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

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

25 ‘‘such section’’. 


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

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

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘both sub5 sections (a) and (b) of section 203’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘section 203(a)’’; 

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

8 (3) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol9 lows: 

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

11 If it is determined that the total number of immigrant visas 

12 made available under section 203(a) to natives of any single 

13 foreign state or dependent area will exceed the numerical 

14 limitation specified in subsection (a)(2) in any fiscal year, 

15 in determining the allotment of immigrant visa numbers 

16 to natives under section 203(a), visa numbers with respect 

17 to natives of that state or area shall be allocated (to the 

18 extent practicable and otherwise consistent with this section 

19 and section 203) in a manner so that, except as provided 

20 in subsection (a)(4), the proportion of the visa numbers 

21 made available under each of paragraphs (1) through (4) 

22 of section 203(a) is equal to the ratio of the total number 

23 of visas made available under the respective paragraph to 

24 the total number of visas made available under section 

25 203(a).’’. 


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1 (c) COUNTRY-SPECIFIC OFFSET.—Section 2 of the Chi2 nese Student Protection Act of 1992 (8 U.S.C. 1255 note) 

3 is amended— 

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

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

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

7 subsection (e) as subsection (d). 

8 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 

9 section shall take effect on October 1, 2013. 

10 SEC. 108. PHYSICIANS. 

11 (a) PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION OF THE CONRAD

12 STATE 30 PROGRAM.—Section 220(c) of the Immigration 

13 and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 (Public 

14 Law 103–416; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘and before September 30, 2015’’. 

16 (b) ALLOTMENT OF CONRAD 30 WAIVERS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 214(l) of the Immi18 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(l)) is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(4)(A)(i) A State shall be allotted a total of 35 waiv21 ers under paragraph (1)(B) for a fiscal year if 90 percent 

22 of the waivers available to the State were used in the pre23 vious fiscal year. 

24 ‘‘(ii) When an allotment has occurred under clause (i), 

25 the State shall be allotted an additional 5 waivers under 


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1 paragraph (1)(B) for each subsequent fiscal year if 90 per2 cent of the waivers available to the State were used in the 

3 previous fiscal year, except that if the State is allotted 60 

4 or more waivers for a fiscal year, the State shall be eligible 

5 for the additional 5 waivers under this clause only if 90 

6 percent of the waivers available to all States receiving at 

7 least 1 waiver under paragraph (1)(B) were used in the 

8 previous fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(B) Any increase in allotments under subparagraph 

10 (A) shall be maintained indefinitely, unless in a fiscal year, 

11 the total number of such waivers granted is 5 percent lower 

12 than in the last year in which there was an increase in 

13 the number of waivers allotted pursuant to this paragraph, 

14 in which case— 

15 ‘‘(i) the number of waivers allotted shall be de16 creased by 5 for all States beginning in the next fiscal 

17 year; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) each additional 5 percent decrease in such 

19 waivers granted from the last year in which there was 

20 an increase in the allotment, shall result in an addi21 tional decrease of 5 waivers allotted for all States, 

22 provided that the number of waivers allotted for all 

23 States shall not drop below 30.’’. 


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1 (2) ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTERS.—Section 

2 214(l)(1)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

3 (8 U.S.C. 1184(l)(1)(D)) is amended— 

4 (A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

5 end; 

6 (B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at 

7 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a request by an inter10 ested State agency— 

11 ‘‘(I) the head of such agency deter12 mines that the alien is to practice medicine 

13 in, or be on the faculty of a residency pro14 gram at, an academic medical center (as 

15 that term is defined in section 411.355(e)(2) 

16 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, or 

17 similar successor regulation), without re18 gard to whether such facility is located 

19 within an area designated by the Secretary 

20 of Health and Human Services as having a 

21 shortage of health care professionals; and 

22 ‘‘(II) the head of such agency deter23 mines that— 

24 ‘‘(aa) the alien physician’s work 

25 is in the public interest; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the grant of such waiver 

2 would not cause the number of the 

3 waivers granted on behalf of aliens for 

4 such State for a fiscal year (within the 

5 limitation in subparagraph (B) and 

6 subject to paragraph (4)) in accord7 ance with the conditions of this clause 

8 to exceed 3.’’. 

9 (c) EMPLOYMENT PROTECTIONS FOR PHYSICIANS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 214(l)(1)(C) of the 

11 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

12 1184(l)(1)(C)) is amended by striking clauses (i) and 

13 (ii) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) the alien demonstrates a bona fide offer 

15 of full-time employment, at a health care organi16 zation, which employment has been determined 

17 by the Secretary of Homeland Security to be in 

18 the public interest; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the alien agrees to begin employment 

20 with the health facility or health care organiza21 tion in a geographic area or areas which are des22 ignated by the Secretary of Health and Human 

23 Services as having a shortage of health care pro24 fessionals by the later of the date that is 90 days 

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1 pleting graduate medical education or training 

2 under a program approved pursuant to section 

3 212(j)(1), or 90 days after receiving non4 immigrant status or employment authorization, 

5 and agrees to continue to work for a total of not 

6 less than 3 years in any status authorized for 

7 such employment under this subsection unless— 

8 ‘‘(I) the Secretary determines that ex9 tenuating circumstances exist that justify a 

10 lesser period of employment at such facility 

11 or organization, in which case the alien 

12 shall demonstrate another bona fide offer of 

13 employment at a health facility or health 

14 care organization, for the remainder of such 

15 3-year period; 

16 ‘‘(II) the interested State agency that 

17 requested the waiver attests that extenuating 

18 circumstances exist that justify a lesser pe19 riod of employment at such facility or orga20 nization in which case the alien shall dem21 onstrate another bona fide offer of employ22 ment at a health facility or health care or23 ganization so designated by the Secretary of 

24 Health and Human Services, for the re25 mainder of such 3-year period; or 


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1 ‘‘(III) if the alien elects not to pursue 

2 a determination of extenuating cir3 cumstances pursuant to subclause (I) or 

4 (II), the alien terminates the alien’s em5 ployment relationship with such facility or 

6 organization, in which case the alien shall 

7 be employed for the remainder of such 3- 

8 year period, and 1 additional year for each 

9 determination, at another health facility or 

10 health care organization in a geographic 

11 area or areas which are designated by the 

12 Secretary of Health and Human Services as 

13 having a shortage of health care profes14 sionals; and’’. 

15 (2) CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.—Section 214(l) 

16 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1184(l)), as amended by subsection (b)(1), is further 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) An alien granted a waiver under paragraph 

20 (1)(C) shall enter into an employment agreement with the 

21 contracting health facility or health care organization 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(A) specifies the maximum number of on-call 

24 hours per week (which may be a monthly average) 


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1 that the alien will be expected to be available and the 

2 compensation the alien will receive for on-call time; 

3 ‘‘(B) specifies whether the contracting facility or 

4 organization will pay for the alien’s malpractice in5 surance premiums, including whether the employer 

6 will provide malpractice insurance and, if so, the 

7 amount of such insurance that will be provided; 

8 ‘‘(C) describes all of the work locations that the 

9 alien will work and a statement that the contracting 

10 facility or organization will not add additional work 

11 locations without the approval of the Federal agency 

12 or State agency that requested the waiver; and 

13 ‘‘(D) does not include a non-compete provision. 

14 ‘‘(6) An alien granted a waiver under paragraph 

15 (1)(C) whose employment relationship with a health facility 

16 or health care organization terminates during the 3-year 

17 service period required by such paragraph— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall have a period of 120 days beginning 

19 on the date of such determination of employment to 

20 submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security appli21 cations or petitions to commence employment with 

22 another contracting health facility or health care or23 ganization in a geographic area or areas which are 

24 designated by the Secretary of Health and Human 


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1 Services as having a shortage of health care profes2 sionals; and 

3 ‘‘(B) shall be considered to be maintaining law4 ful status in an authorized stay during the 120-day 

5 period referred to in subparagraph (A).’’. 

6 (d) AMENDMENTS TO THE PROCEDURES, DEFINI7 TIONS, AND OTHER PROVISIONS RELATED TO PHYSICIAN

8 IMMIGRATION.— 

9 (1) DUAL INTENT FOR PHYSICIANS SEEKING

10 GRADUATE MEDICAL TRAINING.—Section 214(b) of the 

11 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(b)) 

12 is amended by striking ‘‘(other than a nonimmigrant 

13 described in subparagraph (L) or (V) of section 

14 101(a)(15), and other than a nonimmigrant described 

15 in any provision of section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) except 

16 subclause (b1) of such section)’’ and inserting ‘‘(other 

17 than a nonimmigrant described in subparagraph (L) 

18 or (V) of section 101(a)(15), a nonimmigrant de19 scribed in any provision of section 101(a)(15)(H)(i), 

20 except subclause (b1) of such section, and an alien 

21 coming to the United States to receive graduate med22 ical education or training as described in section 

23 212(j) or to take examinations required to receive 

24 graduate medical education or training as described 

25 in section 212(j))’’. 


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1 (2) ALLOWABLE VISA STATUS FOR PHYSICIANS

2 FULFILLING WAIVER REQUIREMENTS IN MEDICALLY

3 UNDERSERVED AREAS.—Section 214(l)(2)(A) of the 

4 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

5 1184(l)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘an alien de6 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b).’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘any status authorized for employment under this 

8 Act.’’. 

9 (3) PHYSICIAN NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVER

10 CLARIFICATIONS.— 

11 (A) PRACTICE AND GEOGRAPHIC AREA.— 

12 Section 203(b)(2)(B)(ii)(I) of the Immigration 

13 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1153(b)(2)(B)(ii)(I)) is amended by striking 

15 items (aa) and (bb) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(aa) the alien physician agrees to 

17 work on a full-time basis practicing pri18 mary care, specialty medicine, or a com19 bination thereof, in an area or areas des20 ignated by the Secretary of Health and 

21 Human Services as having a shortage of 

22 health care professionals, or at a health care 

23 facility under the jurisdiction of the Sec24 retary of Veterans Affairs; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the alien physician is pursuing 

2 such waiver based upon service at a facility 

3 or facilities that serve patients who reside 

4 in a geographic area or areas designated by 

5 the Secretary of Health and Human Serv6 ices as having a shortage of health care pro7 fessionals (without regard to whether such 

8 facility or facilities are located within such 

9 an area) and a Federal agency, or a local, 

10 county, regional, or State department of 

11 public health determines the alien physi12 cian’s work was or will be in the public in13 terest.’’. 

14 (B) FIVE-YEAR SERVICE REQUIREMENT.— 

15 Section 203(b)(2)(B)(ii)(II) of the Immigration 

16 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(B)(ii)(II)) 

17 is amended— 

18 (i) by inserting ‘‘(aa)’’ after ‘‘(II)’’; 

19 and 

20 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(bb) The 5-year service requirement of item 

22 (aa) shall be counted from the date the alien 

23 physician begins work in the shortage area in 

24 any legal status and not the date an immigrant 

25 visa petition is filed or approved. Such service 


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1 shall be aggregated without regard to when such 

2 service began and without regard to whether such 

3 service began during or in conjunction with a 

4 course of graduate medical education. 

5 ‘‘(cc) An alien physician shall not be re6 quired to submit an employment contract with a 

7 term exceeding the balance of the 5-year commit8 ment yet to be served, nor an employment con9 tract dated within a minimum time period prior 

10 to filing of a visa petition pursuant to this sub11 section. 

12 ‘‘(dd) An alien physician shall not be re13 quired to file additional immigrant visa peti14 tions upon a change of work location from the lo15 cation approved in the original national interest 

16 immigrant petition.’’. 

17 (4) TECHNICAL CLARIFICATION REGARDING AD18 VANCED DEGREE FOR PHYSICIANS.—Section 

19 203(b)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

20 (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2)(A)) is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following: ‘‘An alien physician holding a for22 eign medical degree that has been deemed sufficient 

23 for acceptance by an accredited United States medical 

24 residency or fellowship program is a member of the 


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1 professions holding an advanced degree or its equiva2 lent.’’. 

3 (5) SHORT-TERM WORK AUTHORIZATION FOR

4 PHYSICIANS COMPLETING THEIR RESIDENCIES.—A 

5 physician completing graduate medical education or 

6 training as described in section 212(j) of the Immi7 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(j)) as a 

8 nonimmigrant described section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) of 

9 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)) shall have such 

10 nonimmigrant status automatically extended until 

11 October 1 of the fiscal year for which a petition for 

12 a continuation of such nonimmigrant status has been 

13 submitted in a timely manner and where the employ14 ment start date for the beneficiary of such petition is 

15 October 1 of that fiscal year. Such physician shall be 

16 authorized to be employed incident to status during 

17 the period between the filing of such petition and Oc18 tober 1 of such fiscal year. However, the physician’s 

19 status and employment authorization shall terminate 

20 30 days from the date such petition is rejected, denied 

21 or revoked. A physician’s status and employment au22 thorization will automatically extend to October 1 of 

23 the next fiscal year if all visas as described in such 

24 section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) authorized to be issued for 

25 the fiscal year have been issued. 


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1 (6) APPLICABILITY OF SECTION 212(e) TO

2 SPOUSES AND CHILDREN OF J–1 EXCHANGE VISI3 TORS.—A spouse or child of an exchange visitor de4 scribed in section 101(a)(15)(J) of the Immigration 

5 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(J)) shall 

6 not be subject to the requirements of section 212(e) of 

7 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

8 1182(e)). 

9 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub10 sections (a) and (c) shall take effect on the date of the enact11 ment of this Act and shall apply to aliens granted waivers 

12 before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 Subsection (d), and the amendments made by subsections 

14 (b) and (d), shall take effect on October 1, 2013. 

15 SEC. 109. PERMANENT PRIORITY DATES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 203 of the Immigration 

17 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153) is amended by adding 

18 at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(i) PERMANENT PRIORITY DATES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (h)(3) 

21 and paragraph (2), the priority date for any employ22 ment-based petition shall be the date of filing of the 

23 petition with the Secretary of Homeland Security (or 

24 the Secretary of State, if applicable), unless the filing 

25 of the petition was preceded by the filing of a labor 


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1 certification with the Secretary of Labor, in which 

2 case that date shall constitute the priority date. 

3 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT EMPLOYMENT-BASED PETI4 TIONS.—Subject to subsection (h)(3), an alien who is 

5 the beneficiary of any employment-based petition that 

6 was approvable when filed (including self-petitioners) 

7 shall retain the priority date assigned with respect to 

8 that petition in the consideration of any subsequently 

9 filed employment-based petition (including self-peti10 tions).’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub12 section (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2013, and shall 

13 apply to aliens who are a beneficiary of a classification 

14 petition pending on or after such date. 

15 SEC. 110. SET-ASIDE FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS. 

16 Section 203(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 

17 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(3)), as amended by this Act, is fur18 ther amended— 

19 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting after 

20 clause (iii) the following: 

21 ‘‘(iv) HEALTH CARE WORKERS.— 

22 Qualified immigrants who are required to 

23 submit health care worker certificates pur24 suant to section 212(a)(5)(C) or certified 

25 statements pursuant to section 212(r) and 


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1 will be working in a rural area or a health 

2 professional shortage area (as defined in 

3 section 332 of the Public Health Service Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 254e)).’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(D) SET ASIDE FOR HEALTH CARE WORK7 ERS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 4,000 

9 of the visas made available under this para10 graph in each fiscal year shall be reserved 

11 for qualified immigrants described in sub12 paragraph (A)(iv). 

13 ‘‘(ii) UNUSED VISAS.—If the number of 

14 visas reserved under clause (i) has not been 

15 exhausted at the end of a given fiscal year, 

16 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

17 adjust upwards the numerical limitation in 

18 subparagraph (A) for that fiscal year by the 

19 amount remaining. Visas may be issued 

20 pursuant to such adjustment within the 

21 first 45 days of the next fiscal year to aliens 

22 who had applied for such visas during the 

23 fiscal year for which the adjustment was 

24 made.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—NONIMMIGRANT VISA 

2 REFORMS 

3 SEC. 201. H–1B VISAS. 

4 (a) INCREASE IN H–1B VISA NUMERICAL LIMIT.— 

5 Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

6 U.S.C. 1184(g)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

8 (A) in clause (vi), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (B) by amending clause (vii) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(vii) 65,000 in fiscal years 2004 through 

13 2013; and’’; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(viii) 155,000 in each succeeding fiscal 

16 year; or’’; and 

17 (2) by amending paragraph (5)(C) to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements of paragraph (6)(A) 

20 or (7)(A) of section 203(b), until the number of aliens 

21 who are exempted from such numerical limitation 

22 during such year exceeds 40,000.’’. 

23 (b) WAGE LEVEL.—Section 212(n)(1)(A)(i) of the Im24 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(1)(A)(i)) 

25 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘, and’’ at the end and inserting 

2 ‘‘; or’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating subclauses (I) and (II) as 

4 items (aa) and (bb), respectively; 

5 (3) by striking ‘‘(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘(i)(I)’’; 

6 (4) by inserting ‘‘except as provided in subclause 

7 (II),’’ before ‘‘is offering’’; and 

8 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(II) if 80 percent or more of the employer’s 

10 workers in the same occupational classification 

11 as the alien admitted or provided status as an 

12 H-1B nonimmigrant and in the same area of 

13 employment as the alien admitted or provided 

14 status as an H-1B nonimmigrant are United 

15 States workers (as defined in paragraph (4)), is 

16 offering and will offer during the period of au17 thorized employment to aliens admitted or pro18 vided status as an H-1B nonimmigrant wages 

19 that are at least the actual wage level paid by 

20 the employer to all other individuals with simi21 lar experience and qualifications for the specific 

22 employment in question (but, in the case of an 

23 employer with more than 25 employees, in no 

24 event shall such wages be lower than the mean 


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1 of the lowest one-half of wages surveyed pursuant 

2 to subsection (p)(5)); and’’. 

3 (c) SPOUSAL EMPLOYMENT.—Section 214(c)(2)(E) of 

4 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

5 1184(c)(2)(E)) is amended by striking ‘‘101(a)(15)(L),’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (H)(i)(b), (H)(i)(b1), 

7 (E)(iii), or (L) of section 101(a)(15)’’. 

8 (d) ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES.— 

9 (1) FOREIGN DEGREES.— 

10 (A) SPECIALTY OCCUPATION.—Section 

11 214(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

12 (8 U.S.C. 1184(i)) is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4)(A) For purposes of paragraphs (1)(B) and (3)(B), 

15 the term ‘bachelor’s or higher degree’ includes a foreign de16 gree that is a recognized foreign equivalent of a bachelor’s 

17 or higher degree. 

18 ‘‘(B)(i) In the case of an alien with a foreign degree, 

19 any determination with respect to the equivalence of that 

20 degree to a degree obtained in the United States shall be 

21 made by the Secretary of State. 

22 ‘‘(ii) In carrying out the preceding clause, the Sec23 retary of State shall verify the authenticity of any foreign 

24 degree proffered by an alien. The Secretary of State may 


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1 enter into contracts with public or private entities in con2 ducting such verifications. 

3 ‘‘(iii) In addition to any other fees authorized by law, 

4 the Secretary of State may impose a fee on an employer 

5 filing a petition under subsection (c)(1) initially to grant 

6 an alien nonimmigrant status described in section 

7 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), if a determination or verification de8 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) is required with respect to the 

9 petition. Fees collected under this clause shall be deposited 

10 in the Treasury in accordance with section 286(t).’’. 

11 (B) H–1B EDUCATIONAL CREDENTIAL

12 VERIFICATION ACCOUNT.—Section 286 of the Im13 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356) 

14 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(w) H–1B EDUCATIONAL CREDENTIAL VERIFICATION

16 ACCOUNT.—There is established in the general fund of the 

17 Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the 

18 ‘H–1B Educational Credential Verification Account’. Not19 withstanding any other provision of law, there shall be de20 posited as offsetting receipts into the account all fees col21 lected under section 214(i)(4)(B)(iii). Amounts deposited 

22 into the account shall remain available to the Secretary of 

23 State until expended to carry out section 214(i)(4)(B).’’. 

24 (2) INVESTIGATIONS.—The first sentence of sub25 section (n)(2)(F), and the first sentence of subsection 


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1 (t)(3)(E) (as added by section 402(b)(2) of Public 

2 Law 108–77 (117 Stat. 941)), of section 212 of the 

3 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182) 

4 are each amended by striking ‘‘investigations’’ and all 

5 that follows through the period at the end and insert6 ing the following: ‘‘investigations. An employer who 

7 has been subject to 2 random investigations may not 

8 be subject to another random investigation within 4 

9 years of the second investigation unless the employer 

10 was found in the previous investigations or otherwise 

11 to have committed a willful failure to meet a condi12 tion of paragraph (1) (or has been found under para13 graph (5) to have committed willful failure to meet 

14 the condition of paragraph (1)(G)(i)(II)) or to have 

15 made a willful misrepresentation of material fact in 

16 an application.’’. 

17 (3) BONA FIDE BUSINESSES.—Section 214(c) of 

18 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

19 1184(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(15) The Secretary of Homeland Security may not 

22 approve any petition under paragraph (1) filed by an em23 ployer with respect to an alien seeking to obtain the status 

24 of a nonimmigrant under subclause (b) or (b1) of section 

25 101(a)(15)(H)(i) and the Secretary of State may not apVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:57 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2131.RH H2131

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1 prove a visa with respect to an alien seeking to obtain the 

2 status of a nonimmigrant under subparagraph (E)(iii) or 

3 (H)(i)(b1) of section 101(a)(15) unless— 

4 ‘‘(A) the employer— 

5 ‘‘(i) is an institution of higher education 

6 (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), or a 

8 governmental or nonprofit entity; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) maintains a place of business in the 

10 United States that is licensed in accordance with 

11 any applicable State or local business licensing 

12 requirements and is used exclusively for business 

13 purposes; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the employer— 

15 ‘‘(i) is a governmental entity; 

16 ‘‘(ii) has aggregate gross assets with a value 

17 of not less than $50,000— 

18 ‘‘(I) in the case of an employer that is 

19 a publicly held corporation, as determined 

20 using its most recent report filed with the 

21 Securities and Exchange Commission; or 

22 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other employer, 

23 as determined as of the date on which the 

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1 gated by the Secretary of Homeland Secu2 rity; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) provides appropriate documentation 

4 of business activity under regulations promul5 gated by the Secretary of Homeland Security.’’. 

6 (4) SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.— 

7 (A) H–1B APPLICATION.—Section 212(n)(2) 

8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

9 U.S.C. 1182(n)(2)) is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 

11 ‘‘(J) The Secretary of Labor is authorized to issue sub12 poenas as may be necessary to assure employer compliance 

13 with the terms and conditions of this subsection.’’. 

14 (B) ATTESTATION WITH RESPECT TO

15 OTHER NONIMMIGRANT EMPLOYEES.—Section 

16 212(t)(3) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(t)(3)) (as 

17 added by section 402(b)(2) of Public Law 108-77 

18 (117 Stat. 941)) is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘(G) The Secretary of Labor is authorized to issue sub21 poenas as may be necessary to assure employer compliance 

22 with the terms and conditions of this subsection.’’. 

23 (e) B VISAS IN LIEU OF H–1B VISAS.—Section 214(g) 

24 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)) 

25 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(12) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 

2 any alien admitted or provided status as a nonimmigrant 

3 in order to provide services in a specialty occupation de4 scribed in paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (i) (other than 

5 services described in subparagraph (H)(ii)(a), (O), or (P) 

6 of section 101(a)(15)) or as a fashion model shall have been 

7 issued a visa (or otherwise been provided nonimmigrant 

8 status) under subclause (b) or (b1) of section 

9 101(a)(15)(H)(i) or section 101(a)(15)(E)(iii).’’. 

10 (f) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

11 (1) The amendments made by subsection (a) 

12 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 

13 Act and shall apply to aliens issued visas or otherwise 

14 provided with nonimmigrant status under section 

15 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nation16 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b)) beginning 

17 in fiscal year 2014. 

18 (2) The amendments made by subsection (b) 

19 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act and shall apply to the spouses of aliens issued 

21 visas or otherwise provided with nonimmigrant status 

22 under subparagraph (H)(i)(b), (H)(i)(b1), or (E)(iii) 

23 of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nation24 ality Act before, on, or after such date. 


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1 (3) The amendments made by paragraphs (1) 

2 and (3) of subsection (c) shall take effect on the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to peti4 tions filed under section 214(c) of the Immigration 

5 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) on or after 

6 such date and to visa applications filed on or after 

7 such date where no petition was filed because none 

8 was required under subparagraph (H)(i)(b1) or 

9 (E)(iii) of section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and 

10 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)). 

11 (4) The amendments made by paragraphs (2) 

12 and (4) of subsection (c) shall take effect on the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to em14 ployers of aliens issued visas or otherwise provided 

15 with nonimmigrant status under subparagraph 

16 (H)(i)(b), (H)(i)(b1), or (E)(iii) section 101(a)(15) of 

17 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

18 1101(a)(15)) before, on, or after such date. 

19 (5) The amendment made by subsection (d) shall 

20 take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act 

21 and shall apply to aliens admitted or provided status 

22 as nonimmigrants on or after such date. 


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1 SEC. 202. L VISAS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigra3 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)) is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(G)(i) An employer of an alien who will serve in a 

6 capacity for the employer involving specialized knowledge 

7 under section 101(a)(15)(L) for a cumulative period of time 

8 in excess of 6 months over a 2-year period— 

9 ‘‘(I)(aa) except as provided in item (bb), will 

10 offer to the alien during the period of authorized em11 ployment wages that are at least— 

12 ‘‘(AA) the actual wage level paid by the em13 ployer to all other individuals with similar expe14 rience and qualifications for the specific employ15 ment in question; or 

16 ‘‘(BB) the prevailing wage level for the oc17 cupational classification in the area of employ18 ment, whichever is greater, based on the best in19 formation available; or 

20 ‘‘(bb) if 80 percent or more of the employer’s 

21 workers in the same occupational classification as the 

22 alien and in the same area of employment as the 

23 alien are United States workers (as defined in section 

24 212(n)(4)), will offer to the alien during the period of 

25 authorized employment wages that are at least the ac26 tual wage level paid by the employer to all other indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:57 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2131.RH H2131

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1 viduals with similar experience and qualifications for 

2 the specific employment in question; and 

3 ‘‘(II) will provide working conditions for such 

4 alien that will not adversely affect the working condi5 tions of workers similarly employed. 

6 ‘‘(ii) In complying with the requirements of clause (i), 

7 an employer may keep the alien on their home country pay8 roll, and may take into account the value of wages paid 

9 by the employer to the alien in the currency of the alien’s 

10 home country, the value of benefits paid by the employer 

11 to the alien in the alien’s home country, employer-provided 

12 housing or housing allowances, employer-provided vehicles 

13 or transportation allowances, and other benefits provided 

14 to the alien as an incident of the assignment in the United 

15 States. 

16 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary of Labor shall have the same in17 vestigatory and enforcement powers to ensure compliance 

18 with this subparagraph as are set forth in section 

19 212(n)(2).’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub21 section (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

22 of this Act and shall apply to employers with respect to 

23 aliens issued visas or otherwise provided nonimmigrant sta24 tus under section 101(a)(15)(L) of the Immigration and 


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1 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L)) on or after such 

2 date. 

3 SEC. 203. O VISAS. 

4 (a) PORTABILITY OF O VISAS.—The first sentence of 

5 section 214(n)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

6 (8 U.S.C. 1184(n)(1)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b)’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (H)(i)(b) and (O)(i) of 

9 section 101(a)(15)’’; and 

10 (2) by inserting ‘‘under such sections’’ after ‘‘new 

11 employment’’. 

12 (b) 3-YEAR WAIVER OF NEW O–1 CONSULTATIONS FOR

13 ARTS AND MOTION PICTURES AND TELEVISION AND TRANS14 PARENCY FOR O–1 VISAS FOR MOTION PICTURES AND TEL15 EVISION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 214(c)(3) of the Im17 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(3)) 

18 is amended— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each 

20 place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Sec21 retary of Homeland Security’’; and 

22 (B) by striking the first two sentences of the 

23 matter that follows subparagraph (B) and insert24 ing the following: ‘‘In the case of an alien seek25 ing entry for a motion picture or television proVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:57 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2131.RH H2131

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1 duction, (i) any opinion under the previous sen2 tence shall only be advisory, (ii) any such opin3 ion that recommends denial must be in writing, 

4 (iii) in making the decision the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security shall consider the exigencies 

6 and scheduling of the production, (iv) the Sec7 retary of Homeland Security shall append to the 

8 decision any such opinion, and (v) upon making 

9 the decision, the Secretary of Homeland Security 

10 shall immediately provide a copy of the decision 

11 to the consulting labor and management organi12 zations. The Secretary of Homeland Security 

13 shall provide by regulation for the waiver of the 

14 consultation requirement under subparagraph 

15 (A) in the case of aliens who have been admitted 

16 as nonimmigrants under section 

17 101(a)(15)(O)(i) because of extraordinary ability 

18 in the arts or extraordinary achievement in mo19 tion picture or television production and who 

20 seek readmission to perform similar services 

21 within 3 years after the date of a consultation 

22 under such subparagraph provided that, in the 

23 case of aliens admitted because of extraordinary 

24 achievement in motion picture or television pro25 duction, such waiver shall apply only if the 


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1 prior consultations by the appropriate union 

2 and management organization were favorable or 

3 raised no objection to the approval of the peti4 tion.’’. 

5 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

6 paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of the en7 actment of this Act and shall apply to petitions filed 

8 under section 214(c) of the Immigration and Nation9 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)) on or after such date and 

10 to consultation decisions made before, on, or after 

11 such date. 

12 SEC. 204. MEXICAN AND CANADIAN PROFESSIONALS. 

13 Section 214(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

14 (8 U.S.C. 1184(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(7)(A) An employer of a Mexican or Canadian profes17 sional under this subsection— 

18 ‘‘(i)(I) except as provided in subclause (II), will 

19 offer to the alien during the period of authorized em20 ployment wages that are at least— 

21 ‘‘(aa) the actual wage level paid by the em22 ployer to all other individuals with similar expe23 rience and qualifications for the specific employ24 ment in question; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the prevailing wage level for the occu2 pational classification in the area of employ3 ment, whichever is greater, based on the best in4 formation available; or 

5 ‘‘(II) if 80 percent or more of the employer’s 

6 workers in the same occupational classification as the 

7 alien and in the same area of employment as the 

8 alien are United States workers (as defined in section 

9 212(n)(4)), will offer to the alien during the period of 

10 authorized employment wages that are at least the ac11 tual wage level paid by the employer to all other indi12 viduals with similar experience and qualifications for 

13 the specific employment in question (but, in the case 

14 of an employer with more than 25 employees, in no 

15 event shall such wages be lower than the mean of the 

16 lowest one-half of wages surveyed pursuant to section 

17 212(p)(5)); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) will provide working conditions for such 

19 alien that will not adversely affect the working condi20 tions of workers similarly employed. 

21 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Labor shall have the same inves22 tigatory and enforcement powers to ensure compliance with 

23 this paragraph as are set forth in section 212(n)(2).’’. 


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1 SEC. 205. H-1B1 AND E-3 VISAS. 

2 Section 212(t)(1)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Na3 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(t)(1)(A)(i)) (as added by sec4 tion 402(b)(2) of Public Law 108-77 (117 Stat. 941)) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end and inserting 

7 ‘‘; or’’; 

8 (2) by redesignating subclauses (I) and (II) as 

9 items (aa) and (bb), respectively; 

10 (3) by striking ‘‘(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘(i)(I)’’; 

11 (4) by inserting ‘‘except as provided in subclause 

12 (II),’’ before ‘‘is offering’’; and 

13 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(II) if 80 percent or more of the employer’s 

15 workers in the same occupational classification 

16 as the alien admitted or provided status under 

17 section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b1) or 

18 101(a)(15)(E)(iii) and in the same area of em19 ployment as the alien admitted or provided sta20 tus under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b1) or 

21 101(a)(15)(E)(iii) are United States workers (as 

22 defined in subsection (n)(4)), is offering and will 

23 offer during the period of authorized employment 

24 to aliens admitted or provided status under sec25 tion 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b1) or section 

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1 tual wage level paid by the employer to all other 

2 individuals with similar experience and quali3 fications for the specific employment in question 

4 (but, in the case of an employer with more than 

5 25 employees, in no event shall such wages be 

6 lower than the mean of the lowest one-half of 

7 wages surveyed pursuant to subsection (p)(5)); 

8 and’’. 

9 SEC. 206. STUDENTS. 

10 (a) DUAL INTENT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(15)(F) of the 

12 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

13 1101(a)(15)(F)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(F) an alien— 

15 ‘‘(i) who— 

16 ‘‘(I) is a bona fide student qualified to 

17 pursue a full course of study in a field of 

18 science, technology, engineering, or mathe19 matics (as defined in section 

20 203(b)(6)(B)(ii)) leading to a bachelors or 

21 graduate degree and who seeks to enter the 

22 United States for the purpose of pursuing 

23 such a course of study consistent with sec24 tion 214(m) at an institution of higher edu25 cation (as described in section 101(a) of the 


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1 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

2 1001(a))) or a proprietary institution of 

3 higher education (as defined in section 

4 102(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1002(b))) in 

5 the United States, particularly designated 

6 by the alien and approved by the Secretary 

7 of Homeland Security, after consultation 

8 with the Secretary of Education, which in9 stitution shall have agreed to report to the 

10 Secretary of Homeland Security the deter11 mination of attendance of each non12 immigrant student, and if any such institu13 tion fails to make reports promptly the ap14 proval shall be withdrawn; or 

15 ‘‘(II) is engaged in temporary employ16 ment for optional practical training related 

17 to such alien’s area of study following com18 pletion of the course of study described in 

19 subclause (I); 

20 ‘‘(ii) who— 

21 ‘‘(I) has a residence in a foreign coun22 try which the alien has no intention of 

23 abandoning, who is a bona fide student 

24 qualified to pursue a full course of study, 

25 and who seeks to enter the United States 


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1 temporarily and solely for the purpose of 

2 pursuing such a course of study consistent 

3 with section 214(m) at an established col4 lege, university, seminary, conservatory, 

5 academic high school, elementary school, or 

6 other academic institution or in a language 

7 training program in the United States, par8 ticularly designated by the alien and ap9 proved by the Secretary of Homeland Secu10 rity, after consultation with the Secretary of 

11 Education, which institution of learning or 

12 place of study shall have agreed to report to 

13 the Secretary of Homeland Security the de14 termination of attendance of each non15 immigrant student, and if any such institu16 tion of learning or place of study fails to 

17 make reports promptly the approval shall be 

18 withdrawn; or 

19 ‘‘(II) is engaged in temporary employ20 ment for optional practical training related 

21 to such alien’s area of study following com22 pletion of the course of study described in 

23 subclause (I); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) who is the spouse or minor child of 

2 an alien described in clause (i) or (ii) if accom3 panying or following to join such an alien; or 

4 ‘‘(iv) who is a national of Canada or Mex5 ico, who maintains actual residence and place of 

6 abode in the country of nationality, who is de7 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) except that the alien’s 

8 qualifications for and actual course of study 

9 may be full or part-time, and who commutes to 

10 the United States institution or place of study 

11 from Canada or Mexico;’’. 

12 (2) ADMISSION.—Section 214(b) of the Immigra13 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(b)), as 

14 amended by section 108(d)(1) of this Act, is further 

15 amended by striking ‘‘(L) or (V)’’ inserting ‘‘(F)(i), 

16 (L), or (V)’’. 

17 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

18 214(m)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1184(m)(1)) is amended, in the matter pre20 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(i) or (iii)’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘(i), (ii), or (iv)’’. 

22 (b) OPTIONAL PRACTICAL TRAINING FOR FOREIGN

23 STUDENTS.—Section 214 of the Immigration and Nation24 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by adding at the end 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(s)(1) An employer providing optional practical 

2 training to an alien who has been issued a visa or otherwise 

3 provided nonimmigrant status under subparagraph (F) or 

4 (M) of section 101(a)(15) after completion of the alien’s 

5 course of study— 

6 ‘‘(A)(i) except as provided in clause (ii), shall 

7 offer to the alien during the period of optional prac8 tical training wages that are at least— 

9 ‘‘(I) the actual wage level paid by the 

10 employer to all other individuals with simi11 lar experience and qualifications for the 

12 specific employment in question; or 

13 ‘‘(II) the prevailing wage level for the 

14 occupational classification in the area of 

15 employment, whichever is greater, based on 

16 the best information available; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) if 80 percent or more of the employer’s 

18 workers in the same occupational classification as the 

19 alien and in the same area of employment as the 

20 alien are United States workers (as defined in section 

21 212(n)(4)), shall offer to the alien during the period 

22 of authorized employment wages that are at least the 

23 actual wage level paid by the employer to all other in24 dividuals with similar experience and qualifications 

25 for the specific employment in question (but, in the 


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1 case of an employer with more than 25 employees, in 

2 no event shall such wages be lower than the mean of 

3 the lowest one-half of wages surveyed pursuant to sec4 tion 212(p)(5)); and 

5 ‘‘(B) shall provide working conditions for such 

6 alien that will not adversely affect the working condi7 tions of workers similarly employed. 

8 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Labor has the same investigatory 

9 and enforcement powers to ensure compliance with para10 graph (1) as are set forth in section 212(n)(2).’’. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

12 (1) The amendments made by subsection (a) 

13 shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act, and shall apply to nonimmigrants who possess or 

15 are granted status under section 101(a)(15)(F) of the 

16 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1101(a))(15)(F)) on or after such date. 

18 (2) The amendment made by subsection (b) shall 

19 apply to employers with respect to aliens who begin 

20 post-course of study optional practical training with 

21 them on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 207. EXTENSION OF EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY WHILE 

23 VISA EXTENSION PETITION PENDING. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 214 of the Immigration 

25 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184, as amended by section 


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1 205(b), is further amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(t) A nonimmigrant issued a visa or otherwise pro4 vided nonimmigrant status under subparagraph (A), (E), 

5 (G), (H), (I), (J), (L), (O), (P), (Q), or (R) of section 

6 101(a)(15), or section 214(e), and otherwise as the Sec7 retary of Homeland Security may by regulations prescribe, 

8 whose status has expired but who has, or whose sponsoring 

9 employer or authorized agent has, filed a timely application 

10 or petition for an extension of authorized status as provided 

11 under this section, is authorized to continue employment 

12 with the same employer for a period not to exceed 240 days 

13 beginning on the date of the expiration of the authorized 

14 period of stay until and unless the application or petition 

15 is denied. Such authorization shall be subject to the same 

16 conditions and limitations noted on the original authoriza17 tion.’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub19 section (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

20 of this Act and shall apply to aliens issued visas or other21 wise provided nonimmigrant status before, on, or after such 

22 date. 


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1 SEC. 208. FRAUD DETECTION AND PREVENTION FEE. 

2 Section 214(c)(12)(A) of the Immigration and Nation3 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(12)(A)) is amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘The Secretary of Homeland Security shall also impose the 

6 fee described in the preceding sentence on an employer filing 

7 an attestation under section 212(t)(1) or employing an 

8 alien pursuant to subsection (e).’’. 

9 SEC. 209. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

10 The second subsection designated as subsection (t) of 

11 section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

12 U.S.C. 1182) (as added by section 1(b)(2)(B) of Public Law 

13 108–449 (118 Stat. 3470)) is redesignated as subsection (u) 

14 of such section. 

15 TITLE III—REFORMS AFFECTING 

16 BOTH IMMIGRANT AND NON17 IMMIGRANT VISAS 

18 SEC. 301. PREVAILING WAGES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 212(p) of the Immigration 

20 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(p)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subsections 

22 (a)(5)(A), (n)(1)(A)(i)(II), and (t)(1)(A)(i)(II)’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘subsections (a)(5)(A), (n)(1)(A)(i)(II), and 

24 (t)(1)(A)(i)(II) of this section, and subsections 

25 (c)(2)(G), (e), and (s) of section 214,’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) 

2 as paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively; 

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(2) In computing the prevailing wage level for an oc6 cupational classification in an area of employment for pur7 poses of subsections (a)(5)(A), (n)(1)(A)(i)(II), and 

8 (t)(1)(A)(i)(II) of this section, and subsections (c)(2)(G), 

9 (e), and (s) of section 214, the wage level shall be the wage 

10 level specified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of para11 graph (5) depending on the experience, education, and level 

12 of supervision required for the position.’’; 

13 (4) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated), by strik14 ing ‘‘subsections (a)(5)(A), (n)(1)(A)(i)(II), and 

15 (t)(1)(A)(i)(II)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (a)(5)(A), 

16 (n)(1)(A)(i)(II), and (t)(1)(A)(i)(II) of this section, 

17 and subsections (c)(2)(G), (e), and (s) of section 

18 214,’’; 

19 (5) by amending paragraph (5) (as redesignated) 

20 to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(5) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of Labor 

22 shall make available to employers a governmental survey 

23 to determine the prevailing wage for each occupational clas24 sification by metropolitan statistical area in the United 

25 States. Such survey, or other survey approved by the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:57 Dec 16, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00097 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2131.RH H2131

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1 retary of Labor, shall provide 3 levels of wages commensu2 rate with experience, education, and level of supervision. 

3 Such wage levels shall be determined as follows: 

4 ‘‘(A) The first level shall be the mean of the low5 est two-thirds of wages surveyed, but in no case less 

6 than 80 percent of the mean of the wages surveyed. 

7 ‘‘(B) The second level shall be the mean of wages 

8 surveyed. 

9 ‘‘(C) The third level shall be the mean of the 

10 highest two-thirds of wages surveyed.’’; and 

11 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(6) An employer may use an independent authori13 tative survey approved by the Secretary of Labor for pur14 poses of paragraph (5), if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the survey data was collected within 24 

16 months; 

17 ‘‘(B) the survey was published within the prior 

18 24 months; 

19 ‘‘(C) the survey reflects the area of intended em20 ployment; 

21 ‘‘(D) the employer’s job description adequately 

22 matches the job description in the survey; 

23 ‘‘(E) the survey is across industries that employ 

24 workers in the occupation; 


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1 ‘‘(F) the wage determination is based on the 

2 arithmetic mean (weighted average); and 

3 ‘‘(G) the survey identifies a statistically valid 

4 methodology that was used to collect the data.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub6 section (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act, and shall apply to employers with regard to 

8 labor certifications under sections 212(a)(5)(A) of the Im9 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)(A)), 

10 labor condition applications under section 212(n)(1) of such 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(1)), and attestations under section 

12 212(t)(1) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(t)(1)), filed on or after 

13 such date, to employers with regard to aliens issued visas 

14 or otherwise provided nonimmigrant status under section 

15 101(a)(15)(L) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L)) on or 

16 after such date, and to employers with regard to aliens they 

17 provide post-course of study optional practical training 

18 that begins on or after such date. 

19 SEC. 302. STREAMLINING PETITIONS FOR ESTABLISHED 

20 EMPLOYERS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 214(c) of the Immigration 

22 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)), as amended by this 

23 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(16) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall estab25 lish a pre-certification procedure for employers who file 


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1 multiple petitions described in this subsection or section 

2 204(a)(1)(F). Such precertification procedure shall enable 

3 an employer to avoid repeatedly submitting documentation 

4 that is common to multiple petitions and establish, through 

5 a single filing, criteria relating to the employer and the 

6 offered employment opportunity.’’. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub8 section (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act, and shall apply to petitions filed under section 

10 204(a)(1)(F) or 214(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(F) or 1184(c)) beginning 180 days 

12 after such date. 


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Union Calendar No. 507 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2131 

[Report No. 113–676, Part I] 

A BILL 

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to 

for other purposes. encouragement of high-skilled immigration, and enhance American competitiveness through the 

DECEMBER 15, 2014 

Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an 

amendment 

DECEMBER 15, 2014 

The Committee on Education and the Workforce disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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