II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2115 

To continue job creation and the promotion of investment through 

improvements to targeted employment areas. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 1, 2015 

Mr. FLAKE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To continue job creation and the promotion of investment 

through improvements to targeted employment areas. 

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 ‘‘Targeted Employment 

5 Areas Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TARGETED EMPLOYMENT AREAS. 

7 Section 203(b)(5)(B) (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(B)) is 

8 amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(B) SET ASIDE FOR TARGETED EMPLOY10 MENT AREAS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not fewer than 

2 5,000 of the visas made available under 

3 this paragraph in each fiscal year shall be 

4 reserved for qualified immigrants who in5 vest in a new commercial enterprise de6 scribed in subparagraph (A) that— 

7 ‘‘(I) is investing such capital in a 

8 targeted employment area; and 

9 ‘‘(II) will create employment in 

10 such targeted employment area. 

11 ‘‘(ii) DURATION OF TARGETED EM12 PLOYMENT AREA DESIGNATION.— 

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A designa14 tion of a high unemployment area as 

15 a targeted employment area— 

16 ‘‘(aa) shall be valid for 5 

17 years; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) may be renewed for 

19 additional 5-year periods if the 

20 area continues to meet the defini21 tion of high unemployment area 

22 under clause (iii). 

23 ‘‘(II) EFFECT OF DESIGNATION

24 EXPIRATION.—An investor who makes 

25 the required investment under this 


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1 paragraph in a targeted employment 

2 area shall not be required to increase 

3 the amount of such investment upon 

4 the expiration of such designation. 

5 ‘‘(iii) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara6 graph: 

7 ‘‘(I) HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT

8 AREA.—The term ‘high unemployment 

9 area’ means an area that— 

10 ‘‘(aa) consists of a census 

11 tract, or a group of census tracts 

12 that are economically integrated 

13 in light of commuter flow pat14 terns based on Federal data sets, 

15 with an unemployment rate that 

16 is at least 150 percent of the na17 tional average unemployment 

18 rate; or 

19 ‘‘(bb) is within the bound20 aries established for purposes 

21 of— 

22 ‘‘(AA) a Federal or 

23 State economic development 

24 incentive program, including 

25 any area designated by the 


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1 Federal Government or a 

2 State as an enterprise zone, 

3 a renewal community, a 

4 promise zone, or an em5 powerment zone; or 

6 ‘‘(BB) any Federal or 

7 State program designed to 

8 create jobs, start small busi9 nesses, or revitalize neigh10 borhoods. 

11 ‘‘(II) RURAL AREA.—The term 

12 ‘rural area’ means— 

13 ‘‘(aa) any area other than 

14 an area within a metropolitan 

15 statistical area unless it is a town 

16 on the outer boundary of a met17 ropolitan statistical area with a 

18 population of 20,000 or fewer 

19 residents (based on the most re20 cent decennial census of the 

21 United States); 

22 ‘‘(bb) any city or town hav23 ing a population of fewer than 

24 20,000 residents (based on the 

25 most recent decennial census of 


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1 the United States) that is located 

2 within a State having a popu3 lation of fewer than 1,500,000 

4 residents (based on such census); 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(cc) any area located in a 

7 census tract of a metropolitan 

8 statistical area if the census tract 

9 has a population density of fewer 

10 than 500 people per square mile 

11 (based on such census). 

12 ‘‘(III) TARGETED EMPLOYMENT

13 AREA.—The term ‘targeted employ14 ment area’ means a rural area, any 

15 community adversely affected by a 

16 recommendation by the Defense Base 

17 Closure and Realignment Commission, 

18 or a high unemployment area.’’. 

Æ 


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