II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5644 

To establish a new visa category for high-skilled aliens seeking employment 

in slow-growing and shrinking counties in the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 20 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. MANCHIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish a new visa category for high-skilled aliens seeking employment in slow-growing and shrinking counties 

in the United States. 

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 ‘‘Heartland Visa Act 

5 of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) High-skilled immigrants are an invaluable 

9 source of innovation and entrepreneurship for the 

10 United States economy. Since 2000, immigrants 


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1 have accounted for 25 percent of recent startups, 23 

2 percent of United States patents, and 38 percent of 

3 American Nobel prizes in medicine, chemistry, and 

4 physics. 

5 (2) Industries that are critical to the United 

6 States economic and national security depend on the 

7 contributions of foreign-born workers. Nineteen per8 cent of our Nation’s domestic defense industrial 

9 base’s workforce is foreign-born, including 49 per10 cent of such workers with a master’s degree in 

11 science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) 

12 and 56 percent of such workers with a STEM PhD. 

13 (3) Large portions of the United States have 

14 not benefitted from this foreign-born talent since 

more than 2 15 ⁄3 of all foreign-born United States resi16 dents with a bachelor’s degree or higher reside in 

17 the largest 100 counties in the United States. 

18 (4) Hundreds of counties across the country are 

19 suffering from the effects of population decline and 

20 shortages of scientific and technical talent. 

21 (5) Local population decline erodes municipal 

22 tax bases, saps communities of resources for infra23 structure and education funding, and erodes eco24 nomic dynamism and innovation. 


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1 (6) A new place-based Heartland Visa Program 

2 for skilled talent would— 

3 (A) unlock existing latent capacity for 

4 growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship that 

5 seeds new clusters of opportunity in partici6 pating counties; 

7 (B) help to build more resilient supply 

8 chains in strategically important sectors; and 

9 (C) allow the United States to leap ahead 

10 of United States competitors in the global race 

11 for technical talent. 

12 SEC. 3. HEARTLAND VISA. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter I of title II of the Immi14 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) is 

15 amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 210A. HEARTLAND VISA PROGRAM. 

17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘applicant’ means 

19 an alien seeking a Heartland Visa under this sec20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(2) CLEARING RATE.—The term ‘clearing rate’ 

22 means the lowest successful wage bid in the salary 

23 survey for a specific quarter. 

24 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE COUNTY.—The term ‘eligible 

25 county’ means a county, an independent city, a parVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:42 Jan 28, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5644.IS S5644

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1 ish (in Louisiana), or a borough (in Alaska) that has 

2 been designated by the Secretary, in accordance with 

3 the process described in subsection (b), as a jurisdic4 tion that is eligible to participate in the Heartland 

5 Visa Program. 

6 ‘‘(4) HEARTLAND VISA.—The term ‘Heartland 

7 Visa’ means a visa issued to an alien pursuant to 

8 this section. 

9 ‘‘(5) HV–1 VISA.—The term ‘HV–1 Visa’ 

10 means a Heartland Visa issued to an applicant. 

11 ‘‘(6) HV–2 VISA.—The term ‘HV–2 Visa’ 

12 means a Heartland Visa issued to the spouse or 

13 child of an applicant. 

14 ‘‘(7) NATIONAL VETTING CENTER.—The term 

15 ‘National Vetting Center’ means the National Vet16 ting Center established pursuant to National Secu17 rity Presidential Memorandum 9, issued on Feb18 ruary 6, 2018. 

19 ‘‘(8) PARTICIPATING COUNTY.—The term ‘par20 ticipating county’ means an eligible county that has 

21 elected to participate in the Heartland Visa Pro22 gram. 

23 ‘‘(9) REMOTE WORKER.—The term ‘remote 

24 worker’ means an employee whose routinely works 


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1 for an employer at a location that is not owned or 

2 leased by his or her employer. 

3 ‘‘(10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

4 means the Secretary of Homeland Security, working 

5 through the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immi6 gration Services. 

7 ‘‘(11) WAGE BID.—The term ‘wage bid’ means 

8 an annualized salary reported pursuant to subsection 

9 (c)(2) that has been adjusted in accordance with 

10 subsection (c)(3). 

11 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION AND PARTICIPATION OF ELIGI12 BLE COUNTIES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) INITIAL DESIGNATION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED CRITERIA.—During the 1- 

15 year period beginning on the date of the enact16 ment of the Heartland Visa Act of 2024, a 

17 county may not be designated as an eligible 

18 county unless— 

19 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals residing 

20 in the county who are at least 25 years of 

21 age and younger than 55 years of age did 

22 not increase by more than 0.5 percent be23 tween the 2010 decennial census and the 

24 2020 decennial census; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the median home value in the 

2 county, as measured by the 2016-2020 

3 American Community Survey of the Bu4 reau of the Census, is not higher than the 

5 national median home value. 

6 ‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTAL CRITERIA.—In addi7 tion to the requirements described in subpara8 graph (A), a county may not be designated as 

9 an eligible county during the 1-year period be10 ginning on the date of the enactment of the 

11 Heartland Visa Act of 2024 unless— 

12 ‘‘(i) the total number of individuals 

13 residing in the county did not increase by 

14 more than 0.5 percent between the 2010 

15 decennial census and the 2020 decennial 

16 census; or 

17 ‘‘(ii)(I) the total population residing 

18 in the county peaked at the time of or be19 fore the 1980 decennial census; and 

20 ‘‘(II) the total number of individuals 

21 residing in the county did not increase by 

22 more than 5 percent between the 2010 de23 cennial census and the 2020 decennial cen24 sus. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT DESIGNATION OF ELIGIBLE

2 COUNTIES.—After the initial 1-year period referred 

3 to in paragraph (1), any county that did not meet 

4 the initial criteria for designation as an eligible 

5 county under such paragraph may be so designated 

6 if such county meets the criteria described in para7 graph (1), as measured by comparing the data from 

8 the most recent 5-year American Community Survey 

9 published by the Bureau of the Census with the data 

10 from the American Community Survey that was 

11 published 10 years before the publication of the 

12 most recent American Community Survey. 

13 ‘‘(3) PARTICIPATION IN HEARTLAND VISA PRO14 GRAM.— 

15 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—An eligible county de16 siring to participate in the Heartland Visa Pro17 gram, after the relevant county decision-making 

18 body authorizes such participation, shall submit 

19 an application to the Secretary that contains 

20 such information as the Secretary, in consulta21 tion with the Secretary of Labor, may reason22 ably require. 

23 ‘‘(B) LIMIT ON TOTAL POPULATION OF

24 PARTICIPATING COUNTIES.—The Secretary, in 

25 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, shall 


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1 determine the number of participating counties. 

2 In making such determination, the Secretary 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) limit the combined population of 

5 all participating counties to not more than 

6 25,000,000; 

7 ‘‘(ii) ensure that all 4 Census Bureau 

8 regions are represented; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) include both rural and urban 

10 counties. 

11 ‘‘(C) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In deter12 mining which eligible counties will be des13 ignated as participating counties, the Secretary, 

14 in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 

15 shall give priority to counties— 

16 ‘‘(i) with a larger labor market, based 

17 on population and the number of individ18 uals employed within the county; 

19 ‘‘(ii) that are adjacent to other eligible 

20 counties that are also applying to partici21 pate in the Program; 

22 ‘‘(iii) in which low-cost housing is 

23 available; 

24 ‘‘(iv) in which 1 or more institutions 

25 of higher education are located; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) that demonstrate the capacity to 

2 successfully absorb high-skilled immi3 grants, including a shortage in skilled 

4 labor, local organizations dedicated to help5 ing skilled immigrants, and public-private 

6 partnerships. 

7 ‘‘(D) ALLOCATION OF VISAS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, 

9 after consultation with the Secretary of 

10 Labor, shall allocate Heartland Visas, on a 

11 quarterly basis, among participating coun12 ties through the wage-based points system 

13 described in subsection (c). 

14 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—Heartland Visas 

15 shall be issued to qualifying applicants in 

16 each participating county in descending 

17 order of the wage bids until the earlier of 

18 the date on which— 

19 ‘‘(I) all available visas for the ap20 plicable quarter have been issued; or 

21 ‘‘(II) there are no more qualified 

22 applicants. 

23 ‘‘(4) TERMINATING PARTICIPATION.—A county 

24 that has participated in the Heartland Visa Program 

25 shall terminate such participation if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the relevant county decision-making 

2 body rescinds its prior authorization referred to 

3 in paragraph (3)(A) during an annual ‘opt out’ 

4 period established by the Secretary; 

5 ‘‘(B) the cumulative population growth of 

6 the county since the date on which the county 

7 began participating in the Heartland Visa Pro8 gram exceeds 15 percent; or 

9 ‘‘(C) the median home value in the county 

10 exceeds the national median home value by at 

11 least 20 percent, as measured by the most re12 cently published 5-year American Community 

13 Survey. 

14 ‘‘(c) WAGE BIDS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall allo16 cate Heartland Visas, on a quarterly basis, among 

17 participating counties through the wage-based points 

18 system described in this subsection. Heartland Visas 

19 shall be issued to qualifying applicants in each par20 ticipating county in descending order of the wage 

21 bids until all available visas have been issued or 

22 there are no more qualified applicants remaining. 

23 ‘‘(2) QUARTERLY SALARY SURVEYS.—The Sec24 retary shall hold quarterly salary surveys through 

25 which eligible applicants may submit— 


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1 ‘‘(A)(i) the name of a prospective employer 

2 that has given the applicant an offer of employ3 ment and proof of such offer that identifies the 

4 annualized salary being offered; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) if the applicant intends to remain in 

6 his or her current job and relocate to another 

7 participating county, the name of the appli8 cant’s current employer and proof of the 

9 annualized salary that he or she is being paid; 

10 ‘‘(B) the current age of the applicant; 

11 ‘‘(C) proof that the applicant has earned a 

12 bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited 

13 institution of higher education within the par14 ticipating county, if applicable; and 

15 ‘‘(D) evidence that the applicant meets the 

16 requirements under paragraph (3)(C), if appli17 cable. 

18 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS TO CALCULATE WAGE

19 BID.—The Secretary shall calculate a wage bid for 

20 each applicant— 

21 ‘‘(A) by multiplying the annualized salary 

22 reported pursuant to paragraph (2)— 

23 ‘‘(i) for applicants who are younger 

24 than 25 years of age, by a factor that is 

25 not more than 2.5 and is higher than the 


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1 factor applicable to applicants described in 

2 clause (ii); 

3 ‘‘(ii) for applicants who are at least 

4 25 years of age and younger than 30 years 

5 of age, by a factor that is lower than the 

6 factor applicable to applicants described in 

7 clause (i) and higher than the factor appli8 cable to applicants described in clause (iii); 

9 ‘‘(iii) for applicants who are at least 

10 30 years of age and younger than 35 years 

11 of age, by a factor that is lower than the 

12 factor applicable to applicants described in 

13 clause (ii) and higher than the factor ap14 plicable to applicants described in clause 

15 (iv); 

16 ‘‘(iv) for applicants who are at least 

17 35 years of age and younger than 40 years 

18 of age, by a factor that is lower than the 

19 factor applicable to applicants described in 

20 clause (iii) and higher than the factor ap21 plicable to applicants described in clause 

22 (v); and 

23 ‘‘(v) for applicants who are at least 40 

24 years of age, by a factor that is lower than 


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1 the factor applicable to applicants de2 scribed in clause (iv) and not less than 1.0; 

3 ‘‘(B) for applicants who have earned a 

4 bachelor’s degree or higher from an institution 

5 of higher education (as defined in section 101 

6 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

7 U.S.C. 1001)) located within the participating 

8 county, multiplying such annualized salary, as 

9 adjusted pursuant to subparagraph (A) (if ap10 plicable), by 1.1; and 

11 ‘‘(C) for applicants who are transferring 

12 within a company or are remote workers and 

13 who have been employed continuously for at 

14 least 1 year by such company during the most 

15 recent 3-year period, by multiplying such 

16 annualized salary, as adjusted pursuant to sub17 paragraphs (A) and (B) (if applicable), by 1.1. 

18 ‘‘(4) AGE WEIGHTING FACTORS.—The Sec19 retary shall set the factors under clauses (i) through 

20 (iv) of paragraph (3)(A) to maximize the expected 

21 future lifetime earnings of Heartland Visa holders. 

22 ‘‘(5) ALTERNATIVE WAGE BID.—A self-em23 ployed applicant, including freelancers providing re24 mote professional services, entrepreneurs starting a 

25 new business in the United States, and entreVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:42 Jan 28, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5644.IS S5644

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1 preneurs moving their business operations to the 

2 United States, may submit a wage bid to the Sec3 retary consisting of the average annual personal net 

4 earnings received from his or her business during 

5 the most recent 3-year period. 

6 ‘‘(6) MINIMUM SALARY.—Any applicant with an 

7 annualized salary offer described in paragraph (2) 

8 that is less than the United States median annual 

9 earnings for full-time, year-round workers for the 

10 most recent fiscal year is ineligible to receive a 

11 Heartland Visa under this section. 

12 ‘‘(d) TERMS AND EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) FEES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

15 collect from each Heartland Visa applicant, at 

16 the time of application— 

17 ‘‘(i) an application fee or a renewal 

18 fee, as applicable; 

19 ‘‘(ii) an additional fee to pay for the 

20 enhanced vetting required under subsection 

21 (f)(2); and 

22 ‘‘(iii) for those seeking permanent res23 idence in the United States pursuant to 

24 subsection (i), an adjustment of status fee 

25 in accordance with section 245. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 

3 (ii) and (iii), the Secretary shall set the 

4 amount for the fees required under sub5 paragraph (A) at an amount that is suffi6 cient to cover, but not exceed, the costs of 

7 processing applications under this section. 

8 ‘‘(ii) PREMIUM FEE.—Subject to 

9 clause (iii), the Secretary shall collect a 

10 premium fee of $2,805 for aliens desiring 

11 expedited processing of their immigration 

12 application under this section. Such fee 

13 shall be returned if the relevant application 

14 is not processed by the date that is 15 

15 days after the date on which such applica16 tion is received by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(iii) BIENNIAL ADJUSTMENT.—The 

18 Secretary shall adjust the premium fee au19 thorized under clause (ii) on a biennial 

20 basis by the percentage (if any) by which 

21 the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 

22 Consumers for the month of June pre23 ceding the date on which such adjustment 

24 takes effect exceeds the Consumer Price 

25 Index for All Urban Consumers for the 


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1 same month of the second preceding cal2 endar year. The provisions of section 553 

3 of title 5, United States Code, shall not 

4 apply to an adjustment authorized under 

5 this clause. 

6 ‘‘(C) HEARTLAND VISA ACCOUNT.— 

7 Amounts collected pursuant to subparagraph 

8 (A) shall be deposited into the Heartland Visa 

9 Account established under section 286(w). 

10 ‘‘(2) TERM; RENEWAL.— 

11 ‘‘(A) TERM.—An applicant who is issued a 

12 Heartland Visa pursuant to this section— 

13 ‘‘(i) shall reside, during the 3-year pe14 riod such visa remains in effect, except for 

15 an initial grace period of up to 3 months, 

16 as determined by the Secretary, in— 

17 ‘‘(I) a participating county; or 

18 ‘‘(II) a county that was a partici19 pating county at the time the appli20 cant first established residency in 

21 such county; 

22 ‘‘(ii) may be employed by any em23 ployer in the United States during such 3- 

24 year period; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) may not be within any of the 

2 classes of inadmissible aliens described in 

3 section 212(a) and shall be removed from 

4 the United States if he or she is within any 

5 of the classes of deportable aliens described 

6 in section 237(a); and 

7 ‘‘(iv) shall depart from the United 

8 States before the last day of such 3-year 

9 period unless— 

10 ‘‘(I) the applicant renews such 

11 status pursuant to subparagraph (B); 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(II) the applicant, following the 

14 2nd 3-year term, applies to adjust his 

15 or her status to that of an alien law16 fully admitted for permanent resi17 dence pursuant subsection (h). 

18 ‘‘(B) RENEWAL.—An applicant may renew 

19 a Heartland Visa issued pursuant to this sec20 tion for 1 additional 3-year period under the 

21 same terms and conditions as the initial Heart22 land Visa was issued by submitting to the Sec23 retary proof that the applicant has complied 

24 with subparagraph (A)(i) and paragraph (3) 


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1 during the period in which such visa was in ef2 fect. 

3 ‘‘(3) EARNINGS REQUIREMENT.—Each Heart4 land Visa holder shall earn an annualized salary 

5 equal to not less than the lesser of— 

6 ‘‘(A) the amount he or she included in his 

7 or her response to the applicable quarterly sal8 ary survey under subsection (c)(2); or 

9 ‘‘(B) the lowest quarterly auction ‘clearing 

10 rate’ during the most recent 12-month period. 

11 ‘‘(4) SPOUSES AND DEPENDENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—Each Heartland Visa 

13 holder may apply for an HV–2 visa on behalf 

14 of his or her spouse and any of his or her un15 married dependent children. 

16 ‘‘(B) TERM.—An HV–2 visa issued pursu17 ant to subparagraph (A) shall remain valid 

18 while the Heartland Visa of the spouse or par19 ent remains valid. 

20 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—The 

21 Secretary shall automatically authorize alien 

22 spouses and unmarried dependent children who 

23 are at least 16 years of age to engage in em24 ployment in the United States if such aliens— 


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1 ‘‘(i) were issued an HV–2 visa pursu2 ant to subparagraph (A); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) are accompanying or following to 

4 join the principal Heartland Visa holder 

5 while maintaining such status. 

6 ‘‘(D) EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMI7 TATION.—HV–2 visas issued to spouses and 

8 children pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not 

9 be subject to the numerical limitation set forth 

10 in subsection (g). 

11 ‘‘(5) NO DUAL INTENT REQUIREMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub13 section (h), an alien whose nonimmigrant visa 

14 was issued under the condition that such alien 

15 intends to depart the United States upon the 

16 expiration of such visa may apply for an HV– 

17 1 visa under this section. 

18 ‘‘(B) EXCHANGE VISITOR PROGRAM PAR19 TICIPANTS.—A nonimmigrant admitted to the 

20 United States under section 101(a)(15)(J)(i) 

21 whose employment has been funded, in whole or 

22 in part, directly or indirectly, by any United 

23 States Government agency (other than the De24 partment of State’s Bureau of Educational and 

25 Cultural Affairs) is eligible to apply for an HV– 


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1 1 Visa. Notwithstanding section 212(e), if such 

2 a nonimmigrant is issued such a visa, the alien 

3 shall be exempt from the 2-year home country 

4 residency requirement under such section. 

5 ‘‘(6) CONTINUED RESIDENCE IN A COUNTY

6 THAT HAS TERMINATED PARTICIPATION IN THE

7 HEARTLAND VISA PROGRAM.—A Heartland Visa 

8 holder residing in a county that terminates its par9 ticipation in the Heartland Visa program pursuant 

10 to subsection (b)(3)(B) may— 

11 ‘‘(A) continue to reside in such county 

12 until the end of the current 3-year term; 

13 ‘‘(B) renew the Heartland Visa for another 

14 3-year term in accordance with paragraph 

15 (2)(B); and 

16 ‘‘(C) move to another participating county. 

17 ‘‘(e) VERIFICATION PORTAL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION TO BE SUBMITTED BY

19 HEARTLAND VISA HOLDERS.—All Heartland Visa 

20 holders shall notify the Secretary of any changes to 

21 his or her physical address or employment by sub22 mitting, not later than 60 days after such docu23 mentation is created— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a digital copy of a signed sale, lease, 

2 or rental agreement for their new residence; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) to demonstrate that their earnings 

5 meet the minimum earnings requirement under 

6 subsection (d)(3)— 

7 ‘‘(i) a digital copy of a signed employ8 ment agreement or digital copies of wage 

9 statements; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) for self-employed Heartland Visa 

11 holders, a digital copy of all tax returns 

12 submitted to the Internal Revenue Service 

13 documenting earnings while in such status. 

14 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION TO BE SUBMITTED BY EM15 PLOYERS.—All employers of Heartland Visa holders 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) submit documentation that the em18 ployer is paying a salary to each Heartland 

19 Visa holder that meets the minimum earnings 

20 requirement under subsection (d)(3); and 

21 ‘‘(B) notify the Secretary if any Heartland 

22 Visa holder has terminated his or her employ23 ment with the employer. 

24 ‘‘(3) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

25 conduct random investigations to determine whether 


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1 Heartland Visa holders are complying with the resi2 dency requirements under paragraph (2)(A)(i) of 

3 subsection (d), except as provided under paragraph 

4 (4) of such subsection. 

5 ‘‘(f) VETTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—All applicants for the 

7 Heartland Visa Program, including applicants sub8 mitting initial applications, renewal applications, and 

9 applications for permanent residence, shall undergo 

10 a comprehensive background check conducted by the 

11 National Vetting Center to ensure they do not pose 

12 a security risk to the United States. 

13 ‘‘(2) ENHANCED VETTING REQUIREMENT FOR

14 CERTAIN APPLICANTS.—In addition to the general 

15 background check, any applicant for a Heartland 

16 Visa who is a national of a country designated as a 

17 ‘Country of Particular Concern’ under section 402 

18 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

19 (22 U.S.C. 6442) shall be subject to enhanced vet20 ting procedures, which shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) additional security screenings and 

22 mandatory interviews; 

23 ‘‘(B) comprehensive background checks; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) a thorough review of the applicant’s 

2 travel history and affiliations. 

3 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the 

4 background checks and vetting procedures required 

5 under this subsection, the Secretary of Homeland 

6 Security shall coordinate with other relevant Federal 

7 agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investiga8 tion and the Department of State. 

9 ‘‘(4) DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED.—No per10 son or entity participating in the Heartland Visa 

11 Program, including counties, employers, and any 

12 other stakeholders, may discriminate against any ap13 plicant or visa holder based on nationality, race, 

14 color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or 

15 genetic information. 

16 ‘‘(g) NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The number of HV–1 visas 

18 available in each fiscal year shall be 50,000. 

19 ‘‘(2) REALLOCATION OF UNUSED VISAS.—The 

20 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec21 retary, shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) calculate the difference between the 

23 number of HV–1 visas authorized under para24 graph (1) for a fiscal year and the number of 

25 such visas issued in such fiscal year; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) reallocate any unused HV–1 visas for 

2 the following fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(h) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—During the 90-day period 

5 immediately preceding the completion of a second 3- 

6 year Heartland Visa term, a visa holder may apply 

7 for an adjustment of status to that of a person ad8 mitted for permanent residence. All such applicants 

9 shall be granted an extension of their Heartland 

10 Visa status until— 

11 ‘‘(A) the date on which such application is 

12 approved; or 

13 ‘‘(B) if such application is denied, the date 

14 that is 60 days after the date of such denial. 

15 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall 

16 approve any application submitted pursuant to para17 graph (1) by a Heartland Visa holder who— 

18 ‘‘(A) has fully complied with the require19 ments of the Heartland Visa Program under 

20 this section; and 

21 ‘‘(B) has met the earnings requirement 

22 under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 

23 (3), as verified through an inspection of the ap24 plicants tax records. 

25 ‘‘(3) EARNINGS REQUIREMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) STANDARD CRITERIA.—A Heartland 

2 Visa holder meets the earnings requirement 

3 under the standard criteria if his or her average 

4 earnings during the previous 5 years was not 

5 less than the age-specific 75th income percentile 

6 amount during such period. 

7 ‘‘(B) HIGHER EARNER CRITERIA.—A 

8 Heartland Visa holder meets the earnings re9 quirement under the higher earner criteria if 

10 his or her earnings during at least 2 of the pre11 vious 5 years was not less than the age-specific 

12 90th income percentile amount for such years. 

13 ‘‘(C) CALCULATION OF EARNINGS THRESH14 OLDS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, 

16 using the microdata from the most recent 

17 American Community Survey, shall annu18 ally calculate, for each single-year age, the 

19 75th and 90th income percentile amounts 

20 for all United States residents. 

21 ‘‘(ii) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary 

22 shall notify each newly approved Heartland 

23 Visa holder of the age-specific 75th and 

24 90th income percentile amounts applicable 


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1 to such person for each of the following 6 

2 years. 

3 ‘‘(4) SPOUSES AND CHILDREN.—An HV–1 visa 

4 holder who applies for permanent residence pursuant 

5 to paragraph (1) may concurrently apply for perma6 nent residence on behalf of his or her spouse and 

7 any unmarried dependent children who were issued 

8 an HV–2 visa concurrently with the principal Heart9 land Visa holder pursuant to subsection (d)(4) or, 

10 with respect to spouses and children who followed to 

11 join such HV–1 visa holder, were later issued an 

12 HV–2 visa. Such application shall be approved if the 

13 HV–2 visa holder meets other applicable criteria 

14 under section 245 for adjustment to permanent resi15 dent status. 

16 ‘‘(5) EXCLUSION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITA17 TIONS.—Immigrant visas authorized under this sub18 section are not subject to any otherwise applicable 

19 numerical limitations, including per country caps. 

20 ‘‘(i) PENALTIES.—Applicants for Heartland Visas 

21 who violate any provision of this Act shall be subject to 

22 the same penalties applicable to other visa applicants for 

23 similar violations, including fines, deportation, and dis24 qualification from future participation in the Heartland 

25 Visa Program.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

3 note) is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

4 section 210 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 210A. Heartland Visa Program.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. RULEMAKING. 

6 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

8 promulgate regulations that— 

9 (1) establish the requirements and procedures 

10 the Secretary determines necessary to carry out and 

11 implement the Heartland Visa Program authorized 

12 under section 210A of the Immigration and Nation13 ality Act, as added by section 3(a) of this Act, in14 cluding— 

15 (A) the criteria and process for the initial 

16 and ongoing designation of eligible counties; 

17 (B) the application process for counties 

18 seeking to participate in the program; 

19 (C) the wage-based points system for allo20 cating visas, including the methodology for cal21 culating wage bids and clearing rates; 

22 (D) the verification and reporting require23 ments for Heartland Visa holders and their em24 ployers; 


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1 (E) the procedures for the renewal of 

2 Heartland Visas; and 

3 (F) the criteria required for adjusting the 

4 status of a Heartland Visa holder to lawful per5 manent resident; 

6 (2) certify the relevant decision-making body in 

7 each eligible county that is authorized to elect to 

8 participate in the Heartland Visa Program, includ9 ing— 

10 (A) the criteria for the certification of such 

11 bodies; and 

12 (B) the process for counties to establish or 

13 designate a decision-making body if such an en14 tity does not currently exist; 

15 (3) identify which counties lack such a decision16 making body and whose participation in Heartland 

17 Visa Program will be determined by the State legis18 lature, including— 

19 (A) the criteria for identifying such coun20 ties; and 

21 (B) the process for state legislatures to 

22 elect participation in the program on behalf of 

23 such counties; 

24 (4) specify what constitutes sufficient proof of 

25 recent earnings for purposes of paragraph (2)(A) 


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1 and (5) of section 210A(b) of the Immigration and 

2 Nationality Act, as added by section 3(a) of this Act, 

3 including— 

4 (A) the types of acceptable documentation, 

5 which may include tax returns, wage state6 ments, employment contracts; 

7 (B) the process for state legislatures to 

8 elect participation in the program on behalf of 

9 these counties, which shall include— 

10 (i) a formal resolution or legislative 

11 act by the state legislature authorizing the 

12 county’s participation in the Heartland 

13 Visa Program; 

14 (ii) the designation of a State-level 

15 agency or office to oversee and coordinate 

16 the implementation of the Heartland Visa 

17 Program within such county; 

18 (iii) the establishment of a local advi19 sory committee comprising community 

20 leaders, business representatives, and other 

21 stakeholders to provide input and support 

22 for the Heartland Visa Program; and 

23 (iv) procedures for ongoing moni24 toring and reporting by the State legisla25 ture regarding the county’s participation 


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1 in, and outcomes of, the Heartland Visa 

2 Program; 

3 (5) ensure the fair and equitable treatment of 

4 all applicants and participants in the Heartland Visa 

5 Program, including— 

6 (A) procedures to prevent discrimination 

7 based on nationality, race, or other protected 

8 characteristics; and 

9 (B) mechanisms for addressing grievances 

10 and disputes related to the Heartland Visa Pro11 gram; and 

12 (6) require periodic reviews and evaluations of 

13 the Heartland Visa Program, including— 

14 (A) metrics for assessing the Heartland 

15 Visa Program’s impact on participating coun16 ties and visa holders; 

17 (B) procedures for collecting and reporting 

18 data regarding the outcomes of the Heartland 

19 Visa Program; and 

20 (C) mechanisms for making adjustments to 

21 the Heartland Visa Program based on the find22 ings of such reviews and evaluations. 

Æ 


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