I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5992 

To amend section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to 

implement new reforms, and to reauthorize the EB–5 Regional Center 

Program, in order to promote and reform foreign capital investment 

and job creation in communities in the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 

Mr. GOODLATTE (for himself and Mr. CONYERS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to implement new reforms, and to reauthorize 

the EB–5 Regional Center Program, in order to promote 

and reform foreign capital investment and job creation 

in communities in the United States, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘American Job Creation and Investment Promotion Re6 form Act of 2016’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. New EB–5 general provisions. 

Sec. 3. Reauthorization and reform of the Regional Center Program. 

Sec. 4. Other EB–5 visa reforms. 

Sec. 5. Conditional permanent resident status for alien investors, spouses, and 

children. 

Sec. 6. Procedure for granting immigrant status. 

Sec. 7. Timely processing. 

Sec. 8. Transparency. 

Sec. 9. Reports. 

3 SEC. 2. NEW EB–5 GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(b)(5) of the Immi5 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)) is 

6 amended by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(D) SOURCE OF FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An alien investor 

10 shall demonstrate that the capital required 

11 under subparagraph (A) and any funds 

12 used to pay administrative costs and fees 

13 associated with the alien’s investment were 

14 obtained from a lawful source and through 

15 lawful means. 

16 ‘‘(ii) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The 

17 Secretary of Homeland Security shall re18 quire, as applicable, that an alien inves19 tor’s petition under this paragraph con20 tain— 


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1 ‘‘(I) business and tax records, or 

2 similar records, including, but not lim3 ited to— 

4 ‘‘(aa) foreign business reg5 istration records; 

6 ‘‘(bb) to the extent such tax 

7 returns have been prepared, cor8 porate or partnership tax returns 

9 (or tax returns of any other enti10 ty in any form filed in any coun11 try or subdivision of such coun12 try), and personal tax returns in13 cluding income, franchise, prop14 erty (whether real, personal, or 

15 intangible), or any other tax re16 turns of any kind, filed within 7 

17 years, with any taxing jurisdic18 tion in or outside the United 

19 States by or on behalf of the 

20 alien investor; and 

21 ‘‘(cc) evidence identifying 

22 any other source of capital or ad23 ministrative fees; 

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1 vestor, including certified copies of 

2 any judgments, and evidence of all 

3 pending governmental civil or criminal 

4 actions, governmental administrative 

5 proceedings, and any private civil ac6 tions (pending or otherwise) involving 

7 possible monetary judgments against 

8 the alien investor from any court in or 

9 outside the United States; and 

10 ‘‘(III) the identity of all persons 

11 who transfer into the United States, 

12 on behalf of the alien investor— 

13 ‘‘(aa) any funds that are 

14 used to meet the capital require15 ment under subparagraph (A); 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(bb) any funds that are 

18 used to pay administrative costs 

19 and fees associated with the 

20 alien’s investment. 

21 ‘‘(iii) GIFT RESTRICTIONS.—Gifted 

22 funds may be counted toward the min23 imum capital investment requirement 

24 under subparagraph (B) only if such funds 

25 were gifted to the alien investor by the 


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1 alien investor’s spouse, parent, son, or 

2 daughter (but not children (as defined in 

3 section 101(b)(1))), sibling, or grandparent 

4 and such funds were gifted in good faith 

5 and not to circumvent any limitations im6 posed on permissible sources of capital 

7 under this subparagraph. If a significant 

8 portion of the capital invested under sub9 paragraph (A) was gifted to the alien in10 vestor, the Secretary shall require the alien 

11 investor’s petition under this paragraph to 

12 include records described in subclauses (I) 

13 and (II) of clause (ii) from the donor. 

14 ‘‘(iv) LOAN RESTRICTIONS.—Capital 

15 derived from indebtedness may be counted 

16 toward the minimum capital investment re17 quirement under subparagraph (B) only if 

18 such capital is— 

19 ‘‘(I) secured by assets owned by 

20 the alien investor; and 

21 ‘‘(II) issued by a banking or 

22 lending institution that is properly 

23 chartered or licensed under the laws 

24 of any State, territory, country, or ap25 plicable jurisdiction, and that is not 


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1 sanctioned or restricted, which the 

2 Secretary shall determine after con3 sulting with relevant commercial or 

4 government databases, such as those 

5 of the Department of the Treasury’s 

6 Office of Foreign Assets Control, Of7 fice of Terrorist Financing and Fi8 nancial Crimes, and Financial Crimes 

9 Enforcement Network. 

10 ‘‘(E) THREATS TO THE NATIONAL INTER11 EST.— 

12 ‘‘(i) DENIAL OR REVOCATION.—The 

13 Secretary of Homeland Security shall deny 

14 or revoke the approval of a petition, appli15 cation, or benefit described in this para16 graph, including the documents described 

17 in clause (ii), if the Secretary determines 

18 that the approval of such petition, applica19 tion, or benefit is contrary to the national 

20 interest of the United States for reasons 

21 relating to threats to public safety or na22 tional security. 

23 ‘‘(ii) DOCUMENTS.—The documents 

24 described in this clause are— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a certification, designation, 

2 or amendment to the designation, of a 

3 regional center; 

4 ‘‘(II) a petition seeking classifica5 tion of an alien as an alien investor 

6 under this paragraph; 

7 ‘‘(III) a petition to remove condi8 tions under section 216A; or 

9 ‘‘(IV) an application for approval 

10 of a business plan in a new commer11 cial enterprise under subparagraph 

12 (I). 

13 ‘‘(iii) DEBARMENT.—If a regional 

14 center, new commercial enterprise, or job15 creating entity has its designation or par16 ticipation in the program under this para17 graph terminated for reasons relating to 

18 public safety or national security, any per19 son associated with such regional center, 

20 new commercial enterprise, or job-creating 

21 entity, including an alien investor, shall be 

22 permanently barred from future participa23 tion in the program under this paragraph 

24 if the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

25 the Secretary’s discretion, determines, by a 


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1 preponderance of the evidence, that such 

2 person was a knowing participant in the 

3 conduct that led to the termination. 

4 ‘‘(iv) NOTICE.—If the Secretary of 

5 Homeland Security determines that the ap6 proval of a petition, application, or benefit 

7 described in this paragraph should be de8 nied or revoked pursuant to clause (i), the 

9 Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(I) notify the relevant indi11 vidual, regional center, or commercial 

12 entity of such determination; and 

13 ‘‘(II) deny or revoke such peti14 tion, application, or benefit or termi15 nate the permanent resident status of 

16 the alien (and the alien spouse and 

17 alien children of such immigrant), as 

18 provided in clause (i) as of the date of 

19 such determination. 

20 ‘‘(v) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwith21 standing any other provision of law (statu22 tory or nonstatutory), including section 

23 2241 of title 28, United States Code, or 

24 any other habeas corpus provision, and 

25 sections 1361 and 1651 of such title, no 


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1 court shall have jurisdiction to review a de2 nial or revocation under this subparagraph. 

3 Nothing in this clause may be construed as 

4 precluding review of constitutional claims 

5 or questions of law raised upon a petition 

6 for review filed with an appropriate court 

7 of appeals in accordance with section 242. 

8 ‘‘(F) FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATION, AND

9 CRIMINAL MISUSE.— 

10 ‘‘(i) DENIAL OR REVOCATION.—The 

11 Secretary of Homeland Security shall deny 

12 or revoke the approval of a petition, appli13 cation, or benefit described in this para14 graph, including the documents described 

15 in subparagraph (E)(ii), if the Secretary 

16 determines that such petition, application, 

17 or benefit was predicated on or involved 

18 fraud, deceit, intentional material mis19 representation, or criminal misuse. 

20 ‘‘(ii) DEBARMENT.—If a regional cen21 ter, new commercial enterprise, or job-cre22 ating entity has its designation or partici23 pation in the program under subparagraph 

24 (H) terminated for reasons relating to 

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1 tion, or criminal misuse, any person associ2 ated with such regional center, new com3 mercial enterprise, or job-creating entity, 

4 including an alien investor, shall be perma5 nently barred from future participation in 

6 the program under subparagraph (H) if 

7 the Secretary of Homeland Security deter8 mines, by a preponderance of the evidence, 

9 that such person was a knowing partici10 pant in the conduct that led to the termi11 nation. 

12 ‘‘(iii) NOTICE.—If the Secretary of 

13 Homeland Security determines that the ap14 proval of a petition, application, or benefit 

15 described in this paragraph should be de16 nied or revoked pursuant to clause (i), the 

17 Secretary shall— 

18 ‘‘(I) notify the relevant indi19 vidual, regional center, or commercial 

20 entity of such determination; and 

21 ‘‘(II) deny or revoke such peti22 tion, application, or benefit or termi23 nate the permanent resident status of 

24 the alien (and the alien spouse and 

25 alien children of such immigrant) as 


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1 provided in clause (i) as of the date of 

2 such determination. 

3 ‘‘(G) ADMINISTRATIVE APPELLATE RE4 VIEW.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Director of 

6 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

7 shall provide an opportunity for an admin8 istrative appellate review by the Adminis9 trative Appeals Office of U.S. Citizenship 

10 and Immigration Services of any deter11 mination made under this paragraph, in12 cluding— 

13 ‘‘(I) an application for regional 

14 center designation or regional center 

15 amendment; 

16 ‘‘(II) an application for approval 

17 of a business plan under subpara18 graph (I); 

19 ‘‘(III) a petition by an alien in20 vestor for status as an immigrant 

21 under this paragraph; 

22 ‘‘(IV) the termination or suspen23 sion of any benefit accorded under 

24 this paragraph; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) any sanction imposed by the 

2 Secretary of Homeland Security pur3 suant to this paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(ii) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Subject to 

5 section 242(a)(2), and notwithstanding any 

6 other provision of law (statutory or non7 statutory), including section 2241 of title 

8 28, United States Code, or any other ha9 beas corpus provision, and sections 1361 

10 and 1651 of such title, no court shall have 

11 jurisdiction to review a determination 

12 under this paragraph until the regional 

13 center, its associated entities, or the alien 

14 investor has exhausted all administrative 

15 appeals.’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), the amendment made by subsection (a) 

19 shall be effective at any time after the date of the 

20 enactment of this Act, as determined by the Sec21 retary, and shall be effective not later than 90 days 

22 after such date of enactment. 

23 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph (D) of sec24 tion 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality 


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1 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), as inserted by subsection 

2 (a), shall not apply to a petition that— 

3 (A) was filed by an alien investor under 

4 such section 203(b)(5) prior to June 1, 2015; 

5 (B) was filed by an alien investor under 

6 such section 203(b)(5) during the period begin7 ning on June 1, 2015, and ending on the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act if such beneficiary 

9 is investing in the same commercial enterprise 

10 concerning the same economic activity as con11 tained in an exemplar filed prior to June 1, 

12 2015, or approved by the Secretary of Home13 land Security at any time prior to the date of 

14 enactment of this Act, unless the Secretary de15 termines that such approval or filing was based 

16 on fraud, misrepresentation in the record of 

17 proceeding, or is legally deficient; or 

18 (C) is filed under section 216A of such Act 

19 (8 U.S.C. 1186b) if the underlying petition filed 

20 under section 203(b)(5) of such Act was filed 

21 prior to June 1, 2015, or approved before the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION AND REFORM OF THE RE2 GIONAL CENTER PROGRAM. 

3 (a) REPEAL.—Section 610 of the Departments of 

4 Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related 

5 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (8 U.S.C. 1153 note) 

6 is repealed. 

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 203(b)(5) of the Im8 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), as 

9 amended by section 2, is further amended by inserting 

10 after subparagraph (G) the following: 

11 ‘‘(H) REGIONAL CENTER PROGRAM.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Visas under this 

13 paragraph shall be made available through 

14 September 30, 2021, to qualified immi15 grants (and the eligible spouses and chil16 dren of such immigrants) pooling their in17 vestments with one or more additional 

18 qualified immigrants participating in a 

19 program implementing this paragraph that 

20 promotes economic growth, including pro21 spective job creation and increased domes22 tic capital investment, through regional 

23 centers operating within defined geo24 graphic areas and designated by the Sec25 retary of Homeland Security based upon 


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1 proposals for concentrating pooled invest2 ment within such areas. 

3 ‘‘(ii) PROCESSING.—In processing pe4 titions under section 204(a)(1)(H) for clas5 sification pursuant to this subparagraph, 

6 the Secretary of Homeland Security— 

7 ‘‘(I) may process petitions in a 

8 manner and order established by the 

9 Secretary; and 

10 ‘‘(II) shall deem such petitions to 

11 include records previously filed with 

12 the Secretary pursuant to subpara13 graph (I) if the alien petitioner cer14 tifies that such records are incor15 porated by reference into the alien’s 

16 petition. 

17 ‘‘(iii) ESTABLISHMENT OF A RE18 GIONAL CENTER.—The manager of a pro19 spective regional center shall file a pro20 posal, as provided in clause (i), with the 

21 Secretary of Homeland Security requesting 

22 that the Secretary designate the regional 

23 center for purposes of this subparagraph. 

24 A regional center shall operate within a de25 fined and limited geographic area, which 


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1 shall be described in the proposal and shall 

2 be consistent with the purpose of concen3 trating pooled investment within such area. 

4 The proposal shall demonstrate that the 

5 pooled investment will have a significant 

6 economic impact on such area, and shall 

7 include— 

8 ‘‘(I) reasonable predictions, sup9 ported by economically and statis10 tically valid forecasting tools, con11 cerning— 

12 ‘‘(aa) the amount of invest13 ment that will be pooled; 

14 ‘‘(bb) the kinds of new com15 mercial enterprises that will re16 ceive such investments; 

17 ‘‘(cc) details of the jobs that 

18 will be created directly or indi19 rectly as a result of such invest20 ments; and 

21 ‘‘(dd) other positive eco22 nomic effects such investments 

23 will have; and 

24 ‘‘(II) a description of the policies 

25 and procedures in place reasonably 


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1 designed to monitor new commercial 

2 enterprises and any affiliated job-cre3 ating entity to ensure compliance 

4 with— 

5 ‘‘(aa) all applicable laws, 

6 regulations, and Executive orders 

7 of the United States, including 

8 immigration laws and securities 

9 laws; and 

10 ‘‘(bb) all securities laws of 

11 each State in which securities of12 ferings will be conducted, invest13 ment advice will be rendered, or 

14 the offerors or offerees reside. 

15 ‘‘(iv) INDIRECT JOB CREATION.—The 

16 Secretary of Homeland Security shall per17 mit aliens seeking admission under this 

18 subparagraph to satisfy only up to 90 per19 cent of the requirement under subpara20 graph (A)(ii) with jobs that are estimated 

21 to be created indirectly through investment 

22 in accordance with this subparagraph. An 

23 employee of the new commercial enterprise 

24 or job-creating entity may be considered to 

25 hold a job that has been directly created. 


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1 ‘‘(v) COMPLIANCE.— 

2 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In deter3 mining compliance with subparagraph 

4 (A)(ii), the Secretary of Homeland Se5 curity shall permit aliens seeking ad6 mission under this subparagraph to 

7 rely on economically and statistically 

8 valid methodologies for determining 

9 the number of jobs created by the pro10 gram, including— 

11 ‘‘(aa) jobs estimated to have 

12 been created directly, which may 

13 be verified using such methodolo14 gies, except that the Secretary 

15 may request additional evidence 

16 to verify that the directly created 

17 jobs satisfy the requirements 

18 under subparagraph (A)(ii); and 

19 ‘‘(bb) consistent with this 

20 subparagraph, jobs estimated to 

21 have been created indirectly 

22 through revenues generated from 

23 increased exports, improved re24 gional productivity, job creation, 

25 and increased domestic capital 


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1 investment resulting from the 

2 program. 

3 ‘‘(II) JOB AND INVESTMENT RE4 QUIREMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(aa) RELOCATED JOBS.— 

6 In determining compliance with 

7 the job creation requirement 

8 under subparagraph (A)(ii), the 

9 Secretary may include jobs esti10 mated to be created under a 

11 methodology whereby jobs are at12 tributable to prospective tenants 

13 occupying commercial real estate 

14 created or improved by capital in15 vestments, but only if the num16 ber of such jobs estimated to be 

17 created has been determined by 

18 an economically and statistically 

19 valid methodology and such jobs 

20 are not existing jobs that have 

21 been relocated. 

22 ‘‘(bb) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE

23 BONDS.—Alien investor capital 

24 may not be utilized, by a new 

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1 wise, to purchase municipal 

2 bonds or any other bonds, if such 

3 bonds are available to the general 

4 public, either as part of a pri5 mary offering or from a sec6 ondary market. 

7 ‘‘(cc) CONSTRUCTION ACTIV8 ITY JOBS.—The length of full9 time construction activity jobs 

10 that last shorter than 24 months 

11 may be aggregated to satisfy the 

12 employment creation requirement 

13 under subparagraph (A)(ii) for 

14 alien investors participating in 

15 the program described in this 

16 subparagraph. A construction ac17 tivity job may be considered a job 

18 that is created directly. 

19 ‘‘(vi) AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary 

20 of Homeland Security shall— 

21 ‘‘(I) require a regional center to 

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1 istration, including the sale of such 

2 center or other arrangements in which 

3 individuals not previously subject to 

4 the requirements under subparagraph 

5 (K) become involved with the regional 

6 center, before any such proposed 

7 changes may take effect unless exi8 gent circumstances are present in 

9 which case the regional center shall 

10 provide notice to the Secretary within 

11 5 business days of such change; 

12 ‘‘(II) approve the changes re13 ferred to in subclause (I) only after— 

14 ‘‘(aa) notice of any such 

15 proposed changes are made pub16 licly available through a publicly 

17 accessible Web site of U.S. Citi18 zenship and Immigration Services 

19 for a period of not fewer than 30 

20 days; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) the Secretary deter22 mines that the regional center 

23 would remain compliant with this 

24 subparagraph and with subpara25 graph (K); and 


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1 ‘‘(III) notwithstanding the pend2 ency of a request for approval of any 

3 amendment that has been filed pursu4 ant to subclause (I), adjudicate busi5 ness plans under subparagraph (I) 

6 and petitions under section 

7 204(a)(1)(H). 

8 ‘‘(I) BUSINESS PLANS FOR REGIONAL CEN9 TER INVESTMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF

11 AN INVESTMENT IN A NEW COMMERCIAL

12 ENTERPRISE.—A regional center shall file 

13 an application with the Secretary of Home14 land Security for each particular invest15 ment offering in or through an associated 

16 new commercial enterprise before any alien 

17 files a petition for classification under this 

18 paragraph by reason of investment in that 

19 offering, which shall include— 

20 ‘‘(I) a comprehensive business 

21 plan for a specific capital investment 

22 project; 

23 ‘‘(II) a credible economic analysis 

24 regarding estimated job creation that 


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1 is based upon economically and statis2 tically valid methodologies; 

3 ‘‘(III) any documents filed with 

4 the Securities and Exchange Commis5 sion under the Securities Act of 1933 

6 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) or with the 

7 securities regulator of any State, as 

8 required by law; 

9 ‘‘(IV) any investment and offer10 ing documents, including subscription, 

11 investment, partnership, and oper12 ating agreements, private placement 

13 memoranda, term sheets, biographies 

14 for management, officers, directors, 

15 and any individual with similar re16 sponsibilities, the description of the 

17 business plan to be provided to poten18 tial alien investors, and marketing 

19 materials used or drafts prepared for 

20 use in connection with the offering, 

21 which shall contain references, as ap22 propriate, to any— 

23 ‘‘(aa) investment risks asso24 ciated with the new commercial 


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1 enterprise and the job-creating 

2 entity; 

3 ‘‘(bb) conflicts of interest 

4 that currently exist or may arise 

5 among the regional center, new 

6 commercial enterprise, job-cre7 ating entity, or the principals or 

8 attorneys of the aforementioned 

9 entities; 

10 ‘‘(cc) pending material liti11 gation or bankruptcy, or adverse 

12 judgments or bankruptcy orders 

13 issued during the most recent 10- 

14 year period, in the United States 

15 or abroad, affecting the regional 

16 center, the new commercial enter17 prise, any affiliated job-creating 

18 entity, or any other enterprise in 

19 which any principal of the afore20 mentioned entities held majority 

21 ownership at the time; and 

22 ‘‘(dd)(AA) fees, ongoing in23 terest, or other compensation 

24 that has been paid, or will be 

25 paid, to any person in connection 


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1 with the investment, including 

2 agents, finders, or broker dealers 

3 involved in the offering, and of 

4 which the regional center or new 

5 commercial enterprise has knowl6 edge; 

7 ‘‘(BB) a description of the 

8 services performed, or which will 

9 be performed, by such person to 

10 entitle the person to such fees, 

11 interest, or compensation; and 

12 ‘‘(CC) the name and contact 

13 information of any such person; 

14 ‘‘(V) a description of the policies 

15 and procedures, such as those related 

16 to internal and external due diligence, 

17 reasonably designed to cause the re18 gional center, new commercial enter19 prise, and any affiliated job-creating 

20 entity, their agents, employees, advi21 sors, and attorneys, and any persons 

22 in active concert or participation with 

23 the regional center, new commercial 

24 enterprise, or any affiliated job-cre25 ating entity to comply, as applicable, 


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1 with the securities laws of the United 

2 States and the laws of the applicable 

3 States in connection with the offer, 

4 purchase, or sale of their securities; 

5 ‘‘(VI) a certification from the re6 gional center and any issuer of securi7 ties that is affiliated with the regional 

8 center that their respective agents, 

9 employees, advisors, and attorneys, 

10 and any parties associated with the 

11 regional center or the issuer of securi12 ties that is affiliated with the regional 

13 center, are in compliance with the se14 curities laws of the United States and 

15 the laws of the applicable States in 

16 connection with the offer, purchase, or 

17 sale of its securities, to the best of the 

18 certifier’s knowledge, after a due dili19 gence investigation; and 

20 ‘‘(VII) documentation demon21 strating that the regional center con22 sulted with a local economic develop23 ment agency or municipality regard24 ing the capital investment project, 

25 which shall address— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) the number and type 

2 of jobs anticipated to be created; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(bb) whether the project is 

5 consistent with the agency or 

6 municipality’s plan for economic 

7 development in the region. 

8 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF APPROVAL OF A

9 BUSINESS PLAN FOR AN INVESTMENT IN A

10 REGIONAL CENTER’S NEW COMMERCIAL

11 ENTERPRISE.—The approval of an applica12 tion under this subparagraph shall be 

13 binding for purposes of the adjudication of 

14 subsequent petitions seeking classification 

15 under this paragraph by immigrants in16 vesting in the same capital investment 

17 project through a new commercial enter18 prise, and of petitions by the same immi19 grants filed under section 216A, except in 

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1 closed by the applicant during the adju2 dication process, or a material mistake of 

3 law or fact in the prior adjudication. 

4 ‘‘(iii) SITE VISITS.—The Secretary 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(I) perform site visits to re7 gional centers; and 

8 ‘‘(II) perform at least 1 site visit 

9 to each new commercial enterprise 

10 and job-creating entity, which— 

11 ‘‘(aa) shall include a review 

12 for evidence of direct job creation 

13 in accordance with subparagraph 

14 (H)(v)(I); and 

15 ‘‘(bb) may occur at any time 

16 during the period between the fil17 ing of an application for approval 

18 of an investment in a new com19 mercial enterprise under this sub20 paragraph and the adjudication 

21 of the first petition for removal 

22 of conditions on lawful perma23 nent resident status under sec24 tion 216A(c) filed by an alien in25 vesting in such investment. 


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1 ‘‘(J) REGIONAL CENTER ANNUAL STATE2 MENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each regional cen4 ter designated under subparagraph (H) 

5 shall annually submit a statement to the 

6 Director of United States Citizenship and 

7 Immigration Services (referred to in this 

8 subparagraph as the ‘Director’), in a man9 ner prescribed by the Secretary of Home10 land Security, which shall include— 

11 ‘‘(I) a certification stating that, 

12 to the best of the certifier’s knowl13 edge, after a due diligence investiga14 tion, the regional center, the new com15 mercial enterprise, and any affiliated 

16 job-creating entity, are in compliance 

17 with clauses (i) and (ii) of subpara18 graph (K); 

19 ‘‘(II) a certification described in 

20 subparagraph (L)(ii)(II); 

21 ‘‘(III) a certification stating that, 

22 to the best of the certifier’s knowl23 edge, after a due diligence investiga24 tion, the regional center is in compli25 ance with subparagraph (N)(iii); 


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1 ‘‘(IV) a description of any pend2 ing material litigation or bankruptcy 

3 proceedings, or litigation or bank4 ruptcy proceedings resolved during the 

5 preceding fiscal year, involving the re6 gional center, new commercial enter7 prise, or any affiliated job-creating en8 tity; 

9 ‘‘(V) an accounting of all alien 

10 investor capital invested pursuant to 

11 subparagraph (H) in the regional cen12 ter, new commercial enterprise, or 

13 job-creating entity; 

14 ‘‘(VI) for each new commercial 

15 enterprise associated with the regional 

16 center— 

17 ‘‘(aa) an accounting of the 

18 aggregate capital invested in the 

19 new commercial enterprise and 

20 job-creating entity by alien inves21 tors under this paragraph for 

22 each capital investment project 

23 being undertaken by the new 

24 commercial enterprise; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) a description of how 

2 such capital is being used to exe3 cute each capital investment 

4 project in the filed business plan 

5 or plans; 

6 ‘‘(cc) evidence that 100 per7 cent of such capital has actually 

8 been committed to each capital 

9 investment project; 

10 ‘‘(dd) detailed evidence of 

11 the progress made toward the 

12 completion of each capital invest13 ment project; 

14 ‘‘(ee) an accounting of the 

15 aggregate direct jobs created or 

16 preserved; 

17 ‘‘(ff) to the best of the re18 gional center’s knowledge, for all 

19 fees, including administrative 

20 fees, loan monitoring fees, loan 

21 management fees, commissions 

22 and similar transaction-based 

23 compensation, collected from 

24 alien investors by the regional 

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1 prise, any affiliated job-creating 

2 entity, or issuer of securities as3 sociated with the regional center, 

4 or any promoter, finder, broker5 dealer, or other entity engaged by 

6 any of the foregoing to locate 

7 alien investors investing pursuant 

8 to subparagraph (H)— 

9 ‘‘(AA) a description of 

10 all fees collected; 

11 ‘‘(BB) an accounting of 

12 the entities that received 

13 such fees; and 

14 ‘‘(CC) the purpose for 

15 which such fees were col16 lected; 

17 ‘‘(gg) any documentation re18 ferred to in subparagraph 

19 (I)(i)(IV), if there has been a 

20 material change during the pre21 ceding fiscal year; and 

22 ‘‘(hh) a certification by the 

23 regional center that such state24 ments are accurate, to the best of 


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1 the certifier’s knowledge, after a 

2 due diligence investigation; and 

3 ‘‘(VII) a description of the re4 gional center’s policies and procedures 

5 that are designed to enable the re6 gional center to comply with applica7 ble Federal labor laws. 

8 ‘‘(ii) AMENDMENT OF ANNUAL STATE9 MENTS.—The Director— 

10 ‘‘(I) shall require the regional 

11 center to amend or supplement an an12 nual statement required under clause 

13 (i) if the Director determines that 

14 such statement is deficient; and 

15 ‘‘(II) may require the regional 

16 center to amend or supplement such 

17 annual statement if the Director de18 termines that such an amendment or 

19 supplement is appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(iii) SANCTIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(I) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.— 

22 The Director shall sanction any re23 gional center entity in accordance 

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1 ment or if the Director determines 

2 that the regional center— 

3 ‘‘(aa) knowingly submitted 

4 or caused to be submitted a 

5 statement, certification, or any 

6 information submitted pursuant 

7 to this subparagraph that con8 tained an untrue statement of 

9 material fact; or 

10 ‘‘(bb) is conducting itself in 

11 a manner inconsistent with its 

12 designation, including any willful, 

13 undisclosed, and material devi14 ation by new commercial enter15 prises from any filed business 

16 plan for such commercial enter17 prises. 

18 ‘‘(II) AUTHORIZED SANCTIONS.— 

19 The Director shall establish a grad20 uated set of sanctions based on the 

21 severity of the violations referred to in 

22 subclause (I), including— 

23 ‘‘(aa) fines equal to not 

24 more than 10 percent of the total 

25 capital invested by alien investors 


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1 in the regional center’s new com2 mercial enterprises or job-cre3 ating entities, the payment of 

4 which shall not in any cir5 cumstance utilize any of such 

6 alien investors’ capital invest7 ments, and which shall be depos8 ited into the EB–5 Integrity 

9 Fund established under subpara10 graph (M); 

11 ‘‘(bb) temporary suspension 

12 from participation in the pro13 gram described in subparagraph 

14 (H), which may be lifted by the 

15 Director if the individual or enti16 ty cures the alleged violation 

17 after being provided such an op18 portunity by the Director; 

19 ‘‘(cc) permanent bar from 

20 program participation for one or 

21 more individuals associated with 

22 the regional center or new com23 mercial enterprise or job-creating 

24 entity; and 


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1 ‘‘(dd) termination of re2 gional center designation. 

3 ‘‘(K) BONA FIDES OF PERSONS INVOLVED

4 WITH REGIONAL CENTER PROGRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—No person shall be 

6 permitted to be involved with any regional 

7 center, new commercial enterprise, or job8 creating entity if— 

9 ‘‘(I) the person has been found to 

10 have committed— 

11 ‘‘(aa) a criminal or civil vio12 lation involving fraud or deceit 

13 within the previous 10 years; 

14 ‘‘(bb) a civil violation result15 ing in a liability in excess of 

16 $1,000,000 involving fraud or de17 ceit; or 

18 ‘‘(cc) a crime resulting in a 

19 conviction with a term of impris20 onment of more than 1 year; 

21 ‘‘(II) the person is subject to a 

22 final order, for the duration of any 

23 penalty imposed by such order, of a 

24 State securities commission (or an 

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1 forms similar functions), a State au2 thority that supervises or examines 

3 banks, savings associations, or credit 

4 unions, a State insurance commission 

5 (or an agency of or officer of a State 

6 who performs similar functions), an 

7 appropriate Federal banking agency, 

8 the Commodity Futures Trading 

9 Commission, the Securities and Ex10 change Commission, a financial self11 regulatory organization recognized by 

12 the Securities and Exchange Commis13 sion, or the National Credit Union 

14 Administration, which is based on a 

15 violation of any law or regulation 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(aa) prohibits fraudulent, 

18 manipulative, or deceptive con19 duct; or 

20 ‘‘(bb) bars the person 

21 from— 

22 ‘‘(AA) association with 

23 an entity regulated by such 

24 commission, authority, agen25 cy, or officer; 


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1 ‘‘(BB) appearing before 

2 such commission, authority, 

3 agency, or officer; 

4 ‘‘(CC) engaging in the 

5 business of securities, insur6 ance, or banking; or 

7 ‘‘(DD) engaging in sav8 ings association or credit 

9 union activities; 

10 ‘‘(III) the person is engaged in, 

11 has ever been engaged in, or seeks to 

12 engage in— 

13 ‘‘(aa) any illicit trafficking 

14 in any controlled substance or in 

15 any listed chemical (as defined in 

16 section 102 of the Controlled 

17 Substances Act); 

18 ‘‘(bb) any activity relating to 

19 espionage, sabotage, or theft of 

20 intellectual property; 

21 ‘‘(cc) any activity related to 

22 money laundering (as described 

23 in section 1956 or 1957 of title 

24 18, United States Code); 


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1 ‘‘(dd) any terrorist activity 

2 (as defined in section 

3 212(a)(3)(B)); 

4 ‘‘(ee) any activity consti5 tuting or facilitating human traf6 ficking or a human rights of7 fense; 

8 ‘‘(ff) any activity described 

9 in section 212(a)(3)(E); or 

10 ‘‘(gg) the violation of any 

11 statute, regulation, or Executive 

12 order regarding foreign financial 

13 transactions or foreign asset con14 trol; or 

15 ‘‘(IV) the person— 

16 ‘‘(aa) is, or during the pre17 ceding 10 years has been, in18 cluded on the Department of 

19 Justice’s List of Currently Dis20 ciplined Practitioners; or 

21 ‘‘(bb) during the preceding 

22 10 years has received a rep23 rimand or otherwise been publicly 

24 disciplined for conduct related to 

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1 sociation of which the person is 

2 or was a member. 

3 ‘‘(ii) FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT IN RE4 GIONAL CENTER PROGRAM.— 

5 ‘‘(I) LAWFUL STATUS RE6 QUIRED.—No person may be involved 

7 with a regional center unless the per8 son is a national of the United States 

9 or an individual who has been lawfully 

10 admitted for permanent residence (as 

11 defined in paragraphs (20) and (22) 

12 of section 101(a)). 

13 ‘‘(II) FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.— 

14 No foreign government entity may 

15 provide capital to, or be directly or in16 directly involved with the ownership or 

17 administration of, a regional center, a 

18 new commercial enterprise, or a job19 creating entity. 

20 ‘‘(iii) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The 

21 Secretary shall require such attestations 

22 and information, including the submission 

23 of fingerprints or other biometrics to the 

24 Federal Bureau of Investigation, and shall 

25 perform such criminal record checks and 


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1 other background and database checks 

2 with respect to a regional center, new com3 mercial enterprise, and any affiliated job4 creating entity, and persons involved with 

5 such entities (as described in clause (v)), 

6 in order to determine whether such entities 

7 are in compliance with clauses (i) and (ii). 

8 The Secretary may require the information 

9 and attestations described in this clause 

10 from such entities, and any person involved 

11 with such entities, at any time on or after 

12 the date of the enactment of the American 

13 Job Creation and Investment Promotion 

14 Reform Act of 2016 and may perform such 

15 checks with respect to any job creating en16 tity, and persons involved with such entity. 

17 ‘‘(iv) TERMINATION.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec19 retary shall suspend or terminate the 

20 designation of any regional center, or 

21 the participation under the program 

22 of any new commercial enterprise or 

23 job-creating entity under this para24 graph if the Secretary determines that 

25 such entity— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) knowingly involved a 

2 person with such entity in viola3 tion of clause (i) or (ii); 

4 ‘‘(bb) failed to provide an 

5 attestation or information re6 quested by the Secretary; or 

7 ‘‘(cc) knowingly provided 

8 any false attestation or informa9 tion under clause (iii). 

10 ‘‘(II) INFORMATION.—The Sec11 retary, after the performance of the 

12 criminal record and other background 

13 checks described in clause (iii), shall 

14 notify a regional center, new commer15 cial enterprise, or job-creating entity 

16 whether any person involved with such 

17 entities is not in compliance with 

18 clause (i) or (ii). If, 30 days after re19 ceiving such notification, the regional 

20 center, new commercial enterprise, or 

21 job-creating entity, as the case may 

22 be, fails to discontinue the prohibited 

23 person’s involvement with the regional 

24 center, new commercial enterprise, or 

25 job-creating entity, as applicable, the 


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1 regional center, new commercial enter2 prise, or job-creating entity shall be 

3 deemed to have knowledge under sub4 clause (I)(aa) that such person is in 

5 violation of clause (i) or (ii). 

6 ‘‘(v) PERSONS INVOLVED WITH A RE7 GIONAL CENTER, NEW COMMERCIAL EN8 TERPRISE, OR JOB-CREATING ENTITY.— 

9 For the purposes of this subparagraph, a 

10 person is considered to be ‘involved’ with a 

11 regional center, a new commercial enter12 prise, any affiliated job-creating entity, or 

13 other job-creating entity, as applicable, if 

14 he or she is, directly or indirectly, an 

15 owner or in a position of substantive au16 thority to make operational or managerial 

17 decisions over pooling, securitization, in18 vestment, release, acceptance, or control of 

19 any funding that was procured pursuant to 

20 subparagraph (H). An individual may be in 

21 a position of substantive authority if he or 

22 she serves as a principal, representative, 

23 administrator, owner, officer, board mem24 ber, manager, executive, general partner, 

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1 gional center, new commercial enterprise, 

2 any affiliated job-creating entity, or other 

3 job-creating entity, respectively. 

4 ‘‘(L) COMPLIANCE WITH SECURITIES

5 LAWS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) JURISDICTION.— 

7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The United 

8 States has jurisdiction over the pur9 chase or sale of any security offered 

10 or sold by any regional center or any 

11 party associated with a regional cen12 ter for purposes of the securities laws. 

13 Subject matter jurisdiction shall also 

14 lie within the United States. 

15 ‘‘(II) COMPLIANCE WITH REGU16 LATIONS.—Solely for purposes of sec17 tion 5 of the Securities Act of 1933 

18 (15 U.S.C. 77e), a regional center or 

19 any party associated with a regional 

20 center is not precluded from offering 

21 or selling a security pursuant to Reg22 ulation S under the Securities Act of 

23 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) to the 

24 extent that such offering or selling 


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1 otherwise complies with that regula2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(ii) REGIONAL CENTER CERTIFI4 CATIONS REQUIRED.— 

5 ‘‘(I) INITIAL CERTIFICATION.— 

6 The Secretary of Homeland Security 

7 may not approve an application for re8 gional center designation or regional 

9 center amendment unless the regional 

10 center certifies that, to the best of the 

11 certifier’s knowledge, after a due dili12 gence investigation, the regional cen13 ter is in compliance with and has poli14 cies and procedures, such as those re15 lated to internal and external due dili16 gence, reasonably designed to confirm, 

17 as applicable, that all parties associ18 ated with the regional center are and 

19 will remain in compliance with the se20 curities laws of the United States and 

21 of any State in which the offer, pur22 chase, or sale of securities was con23 ducted, or the issuer of securities was 

24 located, or the investment advice was 

25 provided by the regional center or 


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1 parties associated with the regional 

2 center. 

3 ‘‘(II) REISSUE.—A regional cen4 ter shall annually reissue a certifi5 cation described in subclause (I) in 

6 accordance with subparagraph (J). 

7 Annual certifications under this sub8 clause shall also certify compliance 

9 with clause (iii) by stating that— 

10 ‘‘(aa) the certifier is in a po11 sition to have knowledge of the 

12 offers, purchases, and sales of se13 curities or the provision of invest14 ment advice by parties associated 

15 with the regional center; 

16 ‘‘(bb) to the best of the cer17 tifier’s knowledge, after a due 

18 diligence investigation, all such 

19 offers, purchases, and sales of se20 curities or the provision of invest21 ment advice complied with the se22 curities laws of the United States 

23 and the securities laws of any 

24 State in which the offer, pur25 chase, or sale of securities was 


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1 conducted, or the issuer of secu2 rities was located, or the invest3 ment advice was provided; and 

4 ‘‘(cc) records, data, and in5 formation related to such offers, 

6 purchases, and sales have been 

7 maintained. 

8 ‘‘(III) EFFECT OF NONCOMPLI9 ANCE.—If a regional center, through 

10 its due diligence, discovered during a 

11 previous fiscal year that the regional 

12 center or any party associated with 

13 the regional center was not in compli14 ance with the securities laws of the 

15 United States or the securities laws of 

16 any State in which the securities ac17 tivities were conducted by any party 

18 associated with the regional center, 

19 the certifier shall— 

20 ‘‘(aa) describe the activities 

21 that led to noncompliance; 

22 ‘‘(bb) describe the actions 

23 taken to remedy the noncompli24 ance; and 


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1 ‘‘(cc) certify that the re2 gional center and all parties asso3 ciated with the regional center 

4 are currently in compliance, to 

5 the best of the certifier’s knowl6 edge, after a due diligence inves7 tigation. 

8 ‘‘(iii) OVERSIGHT REQUIRED.—Each 

9 regional center shall monitor and supervise 

10 all offers, purchases, and sales of, and in11 vestment advice relating to securities made 

12 by parties associated with the regional cen13 ter to confirm compliance with the securi14 ties laws of the United States, and main15 tain records, data, and information relat16 ing to all such offers, purchases, sales, and 

17 investment advice during the 5-year period 

18 beginning on the date of their creation. 

19 Such records, data, and information shall 

20 be made available to the Secretary upon 

21 request. 

22 ‘‘(iv) SUSPENSION OR TERMI23 NATION.—In addition to any other author24 ity provided to the Secretary under this 

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1 retary’s discretion, may suspend or termi2 nate the designation of any regional center, 

3 or impose other sanctions against the re4 gional center, if— 

5 ‘‘(I) the regional center is perma6 nently or temporarily enjoined by 

7 order, judgment, or decree of any 

8 court of competent jurisdiction in con9 nection with the offer, purchase, or 

10 sale of a security or the provision of 

11 investment advice, or any party asso12 ciated with the regional center is so 

13 enjoined and the regional center knew, 

14 or reasonably should have known, that 

15 this is the case; 

16 ‘‘(II) the regional center is sub17 ject to any final order of the Securi18 ties and Exchange Commission or a 

19 State securities regulator, or any 

20 party associated with the regional cen21 ter is subject to such an order and the 

22 regional center knew, or reasonably 

23 should have known, that this is the 

24 case, if the order— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) bars such person from 

2 association with an entity regu3 lated by the Securities and Ex4 change Commission or a State 

5 securities regulator; or 

6 ‘‘(bb) constitutes a final 

7 order based on a finding of an in8 tentional violation or a violation 

9 related to fraud or deceit in con10 nection with the offer, purchase, 

11 or sale of, or investment advice 

12 relating to, a security; or 

13 ‘‘(III) the regional center sub14 mitted or caused to be submitted a 

15 certification described in clause (ii) 

16 that contained an untrue statement of 

17 a material fact or omitted to state a 

18 material fact necessary in order to 

19 make the statements made, in light of 

20 the circumstances under which they 

21 were made, not misleading, or any 

22 party associated with the regional cen23 ter undertook such an action and the 

24 regional center knew, or reasonably 


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1 should have known, that this is the 

2 case. 

3 ‘‘(v) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in 

4 this subparagraph may be construed to im5 pair or limit the authority of the Securities 

6 and Exchange Commission under the Fed7 eral securities laws or any State securities 

8 regulator under State securities laws. 

9 ‘‘(vi) DEFINED TERM.—In this sub10 paragraph, the term ‘party associated with 

11 a regional center’ means— 

12 ‘‘(I) the regional center; 

13 ‘‘(II) any new commercial enter14 prise or affiliated job-creating entity 

15 or issuer of securities associated with 

16 the regional center; 

17 ‘‘(III) the regional center’s and 

18 new commercial enterprise’s owners, 

19 officers, directors, managers, partners, 

20 agents, employees, promoters and at21 torneys; or 

22 ‘‘(IV) any person in active con23 cert or participation with the regional 

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1 ling, controlled by, or under common 

2 control with the regional center. 

3 ‘‘(M) EB–5 INTEGRITY FUND.— 

4 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is es5 tablished in the United States Treasury a 

6 special fund, which shall be known as the 

7 ‘EB–5 Integrity Fund’ (referred to in this 

8 subparagraph as the ‘Fund’). Amounts de9 posited into the Fund shall be available to 

10 the Secretary of Homeland Security until 

11 expended for the purposes set forth in 

12 clause (iii). 

13 ‘‘(ii) FEES.— 

14 ‘‘(I) ANNUAL FEE.—Beginning 

15 on January 1, 2017, and each year 

16 thereafter, the Secretary of Homeland 

17 Security shall collect a fee of $25,000 

18 for the Fund from each regional cen19 ter designated under subparagraph 

20 (H). The fee shall be $10,000 if a re21 gional center has 20 or fewer alien in22 vestors investing pursuant to subpara23 graph (H) in the immediately pre24 ceding fiscal year in its new commer25 cial enterprises. 


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1 ‘‘(II) PETITION FEE.—Beginning 

2 on October 1, 2016, the Secretary 

3 shall collect a fee of $2,000 for the 

4 Fund with each petition filed pursu5 ant to section 204(a)(1)(H) for classi6 fication under this paragraph pursu7 ant to subparagraph (H). 

8 ‘‘(III) INCREASES.—The Sec9 retary may prescribe regulations, as 

10 necessary, to increase the dollar 

11 amounts under this clause to ensure 

12 the Secretary’s continued ability to 

13 carry out the activities specified in 

14 clause (iii). 

15 ‘‘(iii) PERMISSIBLE USES OF FUND.— 

16 The Secretary shall— 

‘‘(I) use not less than 1 17 ⁄3 of the 

18 amounts deposited into the Fund to 

19 conduct audits and site visits (with or 

20 without notice); 

‘‘(II) use not less than 1 21 ⁄3 of the 

22 amounts deposited into the Fund for 

23 investigations based outside of the 

24 United States, including— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) monitoring and inves2 tigating program-related events 

3 and promotional activities; and 

4 ‘‘(bb) ensuring an alien in5 vestor’s compliance with subpara6 graph (D); 

7 ‘‘(III) use amounts deposited into 

8 the Fund— 

9 ‘‘(aa) to detect and inves10 tigate fraud or other crimes; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) to determine whether 

12 regional centers, new commercial 

13 enterprises, any affiliated job-cre14 ating entities, and alien investors 

15 (and their alien spouses and alien 

16 children, if any) comply with ap17 plicable immigration laws; 

18 ‘‘(IV) use amounts deposited into 

19 the Fund to conduct interviews of the 

20 owners, officers, directors, managers, 

21 partners, agents, employees, pro22 moters, and attorneys of regional cen23 ters, new commercial enterprises, and 

24 job-creating entities; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) otherwise use amounts de2 posited into the Fund as the Sec3 retary determines to be necessary, in4 cluding monitoring compliance with 

5 the requirements under section 8 of 

6 the American Job Creation and In7 vestment Promotion Reform Act of 

8 2016. 

9 ‘‘(iv) FAILURE TO PAY FEE.—The 

10 Secretary of Homeland Security shall— 

11 ‘‘(I) impose a reasonable penalty, 

12 which shall be deposited into the 

13 Fund, if a regional center does not 

14 pay the fee required under clause 

15 (ii)(I) within 30 days of the date on 

16 which such clause requires the Sec17 retary to collect the fee; and 

18 ‘‘(II) terminate the designation 

19 of any regional center that does not 

20 pay the fee required under clause 

21 (ii)(I) within 90 days of the date on 

22 which such clause requires the Sec23 retary to collect the fee. 

24 ‘‘(v) REPORT.—The Secretary shall 

25 submit an annual report to the Committee 


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1 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

2 Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

3 of Representatives that describes how 

4 amounts in the Fund were expended dur5 ing the immediately preceding fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(N) DIRECT AND THIRD-PARTY PRO7 MOTERS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) RULES AND STANDARDS.—Direct 

9 and third party promoters of a regional 

10 center, any new commercial enterprise, an 

11 affiliated job-creating entity, or issuer of 

12 securities affiliated with the regional center 

13 shall comply with the rules and standards 

14 prescribed by the Secretary of Homeland 

15 Security and any applicable Federal or 

16 State securities laws, to oversee regional 

17 center promotion, including— 

18 ‘‘(I) registration with U.S. Citi19 zenship and Immigration Services, 

20 which— 

21 ‘‘(aa) may be limited to 

22 identifying and contact informa23 tion of such promoter and con24 firmation of the existence of the 


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1 written agreement required by 

2 clause (iii); and 

3 ‘‘(bb) shall not include any 

4 requirement that U.S. Citizen5 ship and Immigration Services 

6 approve the registration of such 

7 promoter; 

8 ‘‘(II) minimum qualifications; 

9 ‘‘(III) guidelines for offering in10 vestment opportunities and rep11 resenting the visa process to prospec12 tive investors under the program es13 tablished under subparagraph (H); 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(IV) permissible fee arrange16 ments. 

17 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—If the 

18 Secretary determines that a direct or 

19 third-party promoter has violated clause 

20 (i), the Secretary shall suspend or perma21 nently bar such individual from participa22 tion in the program described in this para23 graph. 

24 ‘‘(iii) COMPLIANCE.—Each regional 

25 center shall maintain a written agreement 


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1 between the regional center, the new com2 mercial enterprise, any affiliated job-cre3 ating entity, or any issuer of securities af4 filiated with the regional center, and each 

5 direct or third-party promoter operating on 

6 behalf of such entities or issuer that out7 lines the rules and standards prescribed 

8 under clause (i). 

9 ‘‘(iv) DISCLOSURE.—Each petition 

10 filed pursuant to section 204(a)(1)(H) for 

11 classification under this paragraph pursu12 ant to subparagraph (H) shall include a 

13 disclosure, signed by the alien investor, 

14 that reflects all fees, ongoing interest, and 

15 other compensation paid to any person 

16 that the regional center or new commercial 

17 enterprise knows has received, or will re18 ceive, in connection with the investment, 

19 including compensation to agents, finders, 

20 or broker dealers involved in the offering, 

21 to the extent not already specifically identi22 fied in the business plan filed under sub23 paragraph (I). 


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1 ‘‘(v) PUBLICATION.—The list of such 

2 registered promoters may be made publicly 

3 available by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(O) TREATMENT OF GOOD FAITH INVES5 TORS FOLLOWING PROGRAM NONCOMPLI6 ANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(i) TERMINATION OR DEBARMENT

8 OF EB–5 ENTITY.—Except as provided in 

9 clause (v), upon the termination or debar10 ment, as applicable, from the program 

11 under this paragraph of a regional center, 

12 new commercial enterprise, or job-creating 

13 entity, an otherwise qualified petition 

14 under section 204(a)(1)(H) or the condi15 tional permanent residence of an alien who 

16 has been admitted to the United States 

17 pursuant to section 216A(a)(1) based on 

18 an investment in a terminated regional 

19 center, new commercial enterprise, or job20 creating entity shall remain valid or con21 tinue to be authorized, as applicable, con22 sistent with this subparagraph. 

23 ‘‘(ii) NEW REGIONAL CENTER OR IN24 VESTMENT.—The petition under section 

25 204(a)(1)(H) of an alien described in 


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1 clause (i) and the conditional permanent 

2 resident status of an alien described in 

3 clause (i) shall be terminated 180 days 

4 after the termination from the program 

5 under this paragraph of a regional center, 

6 a new commercial enterprise, or a job cre7 ating entity unless— 

8 ‘‘(I) in the case of the termi9 nation of a regional center— 

10 ‘‘(aa) the new commercial 

11 enterprise associates with an ap12 proved regional center; 

13 ‘‘(bb) such alien makes a 

14 qualifying investment in another 

15 new commercial enterprise associ16 ated with an approved regional 

17 center; or 

18 ‘‘(cc) such alien makes a 

19 qualifying investment in another 

20 new commercial enterprise under 

21 this paragraph not associated 

22 with a regional center; or 

23 ‘‘(II) in the case of the debar24 ment of a new commercial enterprise 

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1 vests in another new commercial en2 terprise associated with an approved 

3 regional center. 

4 ‘‘(iii) REMOVAL OF CONDITIONS.— 

5 Aliens described in subclause (I)(bb), 

6 (I)(cc), or (II) of clause (ii) shall be eligi7 ble to have their conditions removed pursu8 ant to section 216A beginning on the date 

9 that is 2 years after the date of the subse10 quent investment. 

11 ‘‘(iv) IN CASE OF ENFORCEMENT AC12 TION.—Except as provided in clause (v), if 

13 the Secretary, the Attorney General, or the 

14 Securities and Exchange Commission files 

15 a criminal or civil enforcement action in 

16 any United States District Court con17 taining allegations that a regional center, 

18 new commercial enterprise, job-creating en19 tity, or any person involved with the fore20 going entities, committed fraud which af21 fected an alien’s investment capital under 

22 subparagraph (A), or if a State authority 

23 or agency files such an action in a State 

24 court— 


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1 ‘‘(I) for all related petitions for 

2 classification under this paragraph 

3 and petitions for removal of conditions 

4 described in section 216A— 

5 ‘‘(aa) the Secretary may 

6 hold such petitions in abeyance 

7 unless ordered to take action by 

8 the United States District Court 

9 overseeing such action, if applica10 ble; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) the United States Dis12 trict Court overseeing such ac13 tion, if applicable, may enter an 

14 order extending any deadlines ap15 plicable under this paragraph 

16 and to prevent age-out of deriva17 tive beneficiaries; 

18 ‘‘(II) the alien investor may— 

19 ‘‘(aa) petition to amend the 

20 alien’s underlying petition for 

21 classification under this para22 graph or the petition for removal 

23 of conditions described in section 

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1 derlying the amendment being 

2 deemed a material change; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) retain the immigrant 

4 visa priority date related to the 

5 original petition; and 

6 ‘‘(III) any funds obtained or re7 covered by an alien investor, directly 

8 or indirectly, from claims against 

9 third parties, including insurance pro10 ceeds, or any additional investment 

11 capital provided by the alien after the 

12 enforcement action described in this 

13 clause is filed, may be deemed to be 

14 such alien’s investment capital for the 

15 purposes of subparagraph (A) if such 

16 investment otherwise complies with 

17 the requirements of this paragraph 

18 and section 216A. 

19 ‘‘(v) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary 

20 has reason to believe an alien was a know21 ing participant in the conduct that led to 

22 the termination of a regional center, new 

23 commercial enterprise, or job-creating enti24 ty, as described in clause (i), or was a 

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1 doing that led to an enforcement action de2 scribed in clause (iv)— 

3 ‘‘(I) the alien shall not be ac4 corded any benefit under this sub5 paragraph; and 

6 ‘‘(II) the Secretary shall notify 

7 the alien of such belief and, subject to 

8 section 216A(b)(2), shall deny or ini9 tiate proceedings to revoke the ap10 proval of such alien’s petition, applica11 tion, or benefit (and that of any 

12 spouse or child, if applicable) de13 scribed in this paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(P) ACCOUNT TRANSPARENCY REQUIRE15 MENT.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro17 vided in clause (iii), a new commercial en18 terprise shall deposit and maintain the 

19 capital investment of each alien investor in 

20 a separate account as described in this 

21 subparagraph, including funds held in es22 crow. 

23 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS FOR SEPARATE

24 ACCOUNTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) REQUIRED INFORMATION.— 

2 Prior to, or within one business day 

3 of, the deposit of an alien investor’s 

4 capital investment in a separate ac5 count, the new commercial enterprise 

6 shall provide the following information 

7 to the alien investor whose capital in8 vestment will be or has been deposited 

9 into the separate account, the regional 

10 center associated with the new com11 mercial enterprise, and the Director of 

12 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

13 Services: 

14 ‘‘(aa) The name, address, 

15 and other contact information of 

16 the bank or other financial insti17 tution where the separate ac18 count is or will be maintained 

19 and the name of the authorized 

20 signatory required under sub21 clause (II). 

22 ‘‘(bb) Sufficient information 

23 to enable the alien investor whose 

24 capital investment will be or has 

25 been deposited into the separate 


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1 account, the regional center asso2 ciated with the new commercial 

3 enterprise, and the Director to 

4 view online the balance in the 

5 separate account on an ongoing 

6 basis. 

7 ‘‘(II) AUTHORIZED SIGNATO8 RIES.—At least one of the authorized 

9 signatories to the separate account 

10 shall be an individual who is— 

11 ‘‘(aa) independent of, and 

12 not directly or indirectly related 

13 to, the new commercial enter14 prise, the regional center associ15 ated with the new commercial en16 terprise, the job creating entity, 

17 or any of the principals or man18 agers of such entities; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) an officer at the bank 

20 or other financial institution 

21 where the separate account is 

22 maintained; licensed, active, and 

23 in good standing as an attorney, 

24 certified public accountant, or 

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1 thorized by the Director to serve 

2 as a signatory. 

3 ‘‘(iii) TRANSFERS FROM A SEPARATE

4 ACCOUNT.— 

5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The funds in 

6 a separate account may be transferred 

7 only— 

8 ‘‘(aa) to the alien investor 

9 who contributed the funds held in 

10 the separate account as a refund 

11 of that investor’s capital invest12 ment if otherwise permitted 

13 under this paragraph, to another 

14 separate account, or to a job cre15 ating entity or otherwise deployed 

16 into the capital investment 

17 project for which the funds were 

18 intended; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) after at least one of 

20 the authorized signatories de21 scribed in clause (ii)(II) has pro22 vided written consent for the pro23 posed transfer. 

24 ‘‘(II) NOTICE.—Prior to, or with25 in one business day of, funds being 


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1 transferred from a separate account, 

2 the new commercial enterprise shall 

3 provide notice to the alien investor 

4 whose capital investment has been or 

5 will be transferred from the separate 

6 account, the regional center associated 

7 with the new commercial enterprise, 

8 and the Director, including— 

9 ‘‘(aa) the amount of the 

10 funds that are to be or were 

11 transferred; and 

12 ‘‘(bb) the destination of the 

13 transferred funds, including 

14 whether the funds are trans15 ferred to another separate ac16 count, or transferred directly to a 

17 job creating entity or otherwise 

18 deployed into the capital invest19 ment project for which the funds 

20 were intended. 

21 ‘‘(III) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—In 

22 the case of a transfer of funds from a 

23 separate account maintained by a new 

24 commercial enterprise to an affiliated 

25 job creating entity, the affiliated job 


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1 creating entity shall maintain the 

2 funds in a separate account that 

3 meets the requirements of this section 

4 until the funds are deployed into the 

5 capital investment project for which 

6 they were intended. Within 30 days of 

7 the deployment of the funds into the 

8 capital investment project for which 

9 they were intended, an individual who 

10 is licensed, active, and in good stand11 ing as an attorney, certified public ac12 countant, or broker-dealer, or an indi13 vidual otherwise authorized by the Di14 rector to serve as a signatory, shall 

15 verify that the funds were deployed 

16 into the capital investment project for 

17 which they were intended and shall so 

18 notify the alien investor whose capital 

19 investment was invested, the regional 

20 center associated with the capital in21 vestment project, and the Director. 

22 ‘‘(iv) ELECTRONIC MAIL AUTHOR23 IZED.—Any notice or information to be 

24 provided under this section may be given 

25 via electronic mail. 


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1 ‘‘(v) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara2 graph: 

3 ‘‘(I) The term ‘financial institu4 tion’ has the meaning given such term 

5 by section 20 of title 18, United 

6 States Code. 

7 ‘‘(II) The term ‘separate account’ 

8 means an account— 

9 ‘‘(aa) maintained in the 

10 United States by a new commer11 cial enterprise at a federally reg12 ulated bank or at another finan13 cial institution in the United 

14 States that is insured; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) that contains only the 

16 pooled investment funds of alien 

17 investors in a new commercial 

18 enterprise with respect to a sin19 gle capital investment project.’’. 

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

23 shall be effective at any time after the date of the 

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1 retary, and shall be effective not later than 90 days 

2 after such date of enactment. 

3 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

4 (A) Clauses (iv) and (v) of subparagraph 

5 (H) of section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration 

6 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), as 

7 inserted by subsection (b), shall not apply to a 

8 petition that— 

9 (i) was filed by an alien investor 

10 under such section 203(b)(5) prior to June 

11 1, 2015; 

12 (ii) was filed by an alien investor 

13 under such section 203(b)(5) during the 

14 period beginning on June 1, 2015, and 

15 ending on the date of the enactment of this 

16 Act if such beneficiary is investing in the 

17 same commercial enterprise concerning the 

18 same economic activity as contained in an 

19 exemplar filed prior to June 1, 2015, or 

20 approved by the Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security at any time prior to the date of 

22 enactment of this Act, unless the Secretary 

23 determines that such approval or filing was 

24 based on fraud, misrepresentation in the 


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1 record of proceeding, or is legally deficient; 

2 or 

3 (iii) is filed under section 216A of 

4 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b) if the under5 lying petition filed under section 203(b)(5) 

6 of such Act was filed prior to June 1, 

7 2015, or approved before the date of the 

8 enactment of this Act. 

9 (B) Subparagraph (P) of section 203(b)(5) 

10 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

11 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), as inserted by subsection 

12 (b), shall take effect 1 year after the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act and shall apply to any 

14 application filed by a regional center for ap15 proval of an investment under subparagraph (I) 

16 of such section 203(b)(5), as so inserted, filed 

17 on or after such date. 

18 SEC. 4. OTHER EB–5 VISA REFORMS. 

19 (a) TYPE OF INVESTMENT.—Section 203(b)(5)(A) of 

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

21 1153(b)(5)(A)), is amended— 

22 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by strik23 ing ‘‘(including a limited partnership)’’; 


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1 (2) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘(C),’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘(B), and which is expected to remain invested 

3 for not less than 2 years;’’; and 

4 (3) in clause (ii)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘and create’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘by creating’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘, United States nation8 als,’’ after ‘‘citizens’’. 

9 (b) TARGETED EMPLOYMENT AREAS.—Section 

10 203(b)(5)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

11 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) VISA SET-ASIDES AND AREA DES13 IGNATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) RESERVED VISAS.— 

15 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Of the visas 

16 made available under this paragraph 

17 in each fiscal year— 

18 ‘‘(aa) 2,000 shall be re19 served for immigrants who invest 

20 in rural areas; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) 2,000 shall be re22 served for immigrants who invest 

23 in priority urban investment 

24 areas. 


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1 ‘‘(II) UNUSED VISAS.—At the 

2 end of each fiscal year, any unused 

3 visa within each category described in 

4 subclause (I) shall remain available 

5 within the same category for subse6 quent fiscal years. 

7 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security shall determine eligi9 bility for designation as a targeted employ10 ment area and shall not be bound by the 

11 determination of any other governmental 

12 or nongovernmental entity. 

13 ‘‘(iii) DESIGNATION OF INFRASTRUC14 TURE PROJECT, MANUFACTURING

15 PROJECT, AND TARGETED EMPLOYMENT

16 AREA.— 

17 ‘‘(I) INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT

18 OR MANUFACTURING PROJECT.—The 

19 designation of an infrastructure 

20 project or manufacturing project shall 

21 be made at the time of the invest22 ment. 

23 ‘‘(II) TARGETED EMPLOYMENT

24 AREA.—The designation of a targeted 

25 employment area— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) may be made at the 

2 time of the investment or at the 

3 time an application is filed under 

4 subparagraph (I); and 

5 ‘‘(bb) shall be valid for a 2- 

6 year period. 

7 ‘‘(III) DESIGNATIONS AND RE8 NEWALS.—The Secretary shall estab9 lish a process by which regional cen10 ters may request a designation under 

11 subclause (I) or (II). A designation 

12 under either such subclause shall be 

13 issued not later than 60 days after a 

14 request by a regional center and a 

15 designation under subclause (II) may 

16 be renewed for additional 2-year peri17 ods if the area continues to meet the 

18 definition of a targeted employment 

19 area. An alien investor who has made 

20 the required amount of investment in 

21 such an area during its period of des22 ignation shall not be required to in23 crease the amount of investment 

24 based upon expiration of the designa25 tion. The Secretary shall establish a 


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1 fee for the adjudication of a designa2 tion request at a level that is suffi3 cient to ensure the full recovery of the 

4 costs of providing such adjudication 

5 within the required timeframe. Noth6 ing in this clause shall be deemed to 

7 prohibit an investor from filing a peti8 tion before such designation is 

9 made.’’. 

10 (c) ADJUSTMENT OF MINIMUM INVESTMENT

11 AMOUNT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(b)(5)(C) of such 

13 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(C)) is amended— 

14 (A) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause 

15 (iv); 

16 (B) by striking clauses (i) and (ii) and in17 serting the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) MINIMUM INVESTMENT

19 AMOUNTS.—Except as otherwise provided 

20 in this subparagraph, the amount of cap21 ital required under subparagraph (A) shall 

22 be— 

23 ‘‘(I) $1,200,000 (except as pro24 vided in subclause (II)); or 


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1 ‘‘(II) $800,000 in the case of an 

2 investment in an infrastructure 

3 project, a manufacturing project, or a 

4 project that is physically located in a 

5 targeted employment area. 

6 ‘‘(ii) AUTHORITY TO INCREASE IN7 VESTMENT AMOUNTS.—The Secretary may 

8 periodically prescribe regulations increas9 ing the dollar amount specified under 

10 clause (i) if any such increase simulta11 neously affects each category of investment 

12 under clause (i) by the same percentage. 

13 The Secretary shall publish a notice in the 

14 Federal Register no later than the date 

15 that is 60 days prior to the date upon 

16 which the increase will take effect. 

17 ‘‘(iii) AUTOMATIC ADJUSTMENT OF

18 MINIMUM INVESTMENT AMOUNTS.—Begin19 ning on January 1, 2022, and on every 

20 fifth subsequent January 1, after notice in 

21 the Federal Register is published for not 

22 less than 60 days, the Secretary shall ad23 just each of the minimum amounts speci24 fied in clause (i) as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(I) NO INCREASES IN PREVIOUS

2 5 FISCAL YEARS.—If the Secretary did 

3 not increase the minimum amount 

4 during the 5 prior fiscal years con5 cluding with the fiscal year ending on 

6 September 30 of the prior calendar 

7 year, the amounts specified in clause 

8 (i) shall automatically be adjusted by 

9 the amount of the cumulative percent10 age change in the Consumer Price 

11 Index (CPI–U) for the previous 5 fis12 cal years, rounded to the nearest mul13 tiple of $10,000. 

14 ‘‘(II) INCREASES BELOW CPI–U

15 DURING PREVIOUS 5 FISCAL YEARS.— 

16 If the Secretary increased the min17 imum amount during the previous 5 

18 fiscal years by an amount that is less 

19 than the cumulative percentage 

20 change in the CPI–U during the pre21 vious 5 fiscal years, the amounts spec22 ified in clause (i) shall automatically 

23 be adjusted by the amount of such cu24 mulative percentage change for such 

25 period minus any increase previously 


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1 prescribed by the Secretary by regula2 tions, rounded to the nearest multiple 

3 of $10,000. 

4 ‘‘(III) INCREASES ABOVE CPI–U

5 DURING PREVIOUS 5 FISCAL YEARS.— 

6 If the Secretary increased the min7 imum amount during the previous 5 

8 fiscal years by an amount that is 

9 greater than the cumulative percent10 age change in the CPI–U during the 

11 previous 5 fiscal years, the amounts 

12 specified in clause (i) shall not be in13 creased.’’; and 

14 (C) in clause (iv), as redesignated, by 

15 striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘Secretary’’. 

17 (2) REDESIGNATIONS.—Section 203(b)(5) of 

18 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)) is amended— 

19 (A) by redesignating subparagraph (B), as 

20 amended by subsection (b), as subparagraph 

21 (C); 

22 (B) by redesignating the second subpara23 graph (C), as amended by paragraph (1), as 

24 subparagraph (B); and 


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1 (C) by moving subparagraph (B), as so re2 designated, so that it appears after subpara3 graph (A). 

4 (d) REQUIRED CHECKS.—Section 203(b)(5) of the 

5 Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by sections 

6 2 and 3, is further amended by inserting after subpara7 graph (O) the following: 

8 ‘‘(P) REQUIRED CHECKS.—An alien inves9 tor, alien spouse, or alien child may not be 

10 granted the status of an alien lawfully admitted 

11 for permanent residence under this paragraph 

12 unless the Secretary of Homeland Security has 

13 determined that such alien is not on the De14 partment of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign 

15 Assets Control Specially Designated Nationals 

16 List.’’. 

17 (e) DEFINITIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(b)(5) of such 

19 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), as amended by sections 

20 2 and 3 of this Act, is further amended by striking 

21 the second subparagraph (D) (relating to defini22 tions) and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(Q) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

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1 ty’ means any job-creating entity that is 

2 directly or indirectly controlled, managed, 

3 or owned by any of the persons involved 

4 with the regional center or new commercial 

5 enterprise under section 203(b)(5)(K)(v). 

6 ‘‘(ii) CAPITAL.—The term ‘capital’— 

7 ‘‘(I) means cash and all real, per8 sonal, or mixed tangible assets owned 

9 and controlled by the alien investor, 

10 or held in trust for the benefit of the 

11 alien and to which the alien has unre12 stricted access; 

13 ‘‘(II) shall be valued at fair mar14 ket value in United States dollars, in 

15 accordance with Generally Accepted 

16 Accounting Principles or other stand17 ard accounting practice adopted by 

18 the Securities and Exchange Commis19 sion, at the time it is invested under 

20 this paragraph; and 

21 ‘‘(III) shall not include assets ac22 quired, directly or indirectly, by un23 lawful means, including any cash pro24 ceeds of indebtedness secured by such 

25 assets. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) CERTIFIER.—The term ‘cer2 tifier’ means a person in a position of sub3 stantive authority for the management or 

4 operations of a regional center, new com5 mercial enterprise, affiliated job-creating 

6 entity, or issuer of securities, such as a 

7 principal executive officer or principal fi8 nancial officer, with knowledge of such en9 tity’s policies and procedures related to 

10 compliance with the requirements of this 

11 paragraph. 

12 ‘‘(iv) FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT.—The 

13 term ‘full-time employment’ means employ14 ment in a position that requires at least 35 

15 hours of service per week for at least a 24- 

16 month period, regardless of who fills the 

17 position. A position or job that is filled by 

18 more than 1 employee may be considered 

19 full-time employment for purposes of sub20 paragraph (A)(ii). 

21 ‘‘(v) INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.— 

22 The term ‘infrastructure project’ means a 

23 capital investment project in a filed or ap24 proved business plan, which is adminis25 tered by a governmental entity, such as a 


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1 Federal, State, or local agency or author2 ity, in which the entity contracts with a re3 gional center, new commercial enterprise, 

4 or job-creating entity to receive capital in5 vestment under the regional center pro6 gram described in subparagraph (H) from 

7 alien investors or the new commercial en8 terprise as financing for maintaining, im9 proving, or constructing a public works 

10 project. 

11 ‘‘(vi) JOB-CREATING ENTITY.—The 

12 term ‘job-creating entity’ means any orga13 nization formed in the United States for 

14 the ongoing conduct of lawful business, in15 cluding a partnership (whether limited or 

16 general), corporation, limited liability com17 pany, or other entity that receives, or is es18 tablished to receive, capital investment 

19 from alien investors or a new commercial 

20 enterprise under the regional center pro21 gram described in subparagraph (H) and 

22 which is responsible for creating jobs to 

23 satisfy the requirement under subpara24 graph (A)(ii). 


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1 ‘‘(vii) MANUFACTURING PROJECT.— 

2 The term ‘manufacturing project’ means a 

3 capital investment project in a filed or ap4 proved business plan, the purpose of which 

5 is to improve, construct, or operate a 

6 plant, factory, or mill, which primarily ex7 ists in order to produce or assemble a 

8 product in the United States. 

9 ‘‘(viii) NEW COMMERCIAL ENTER10 PRISE.—The term ‘new commercial enter11 prise’ means any for-profit organization 

12 formed in the United States for the ongo13 ing conduct of lawful business, including a 

14 partnership (whether limited or general), 

15 corporation, limited liability company, or 

16 other entity that receives, or is established 

17 to receive, capital investment from alien in18 vestors under subparagraph (H). 

19 ‘‘(ix) PRIORITY URBAN INVESTMENT

20 AREA.—The term ‘priority urban invest21 ment area’ means an area consisting of a 

22 census tract or tracts, each of which is in 

23 a metropolitan statistical area and, using 

24 the most recent census data available, each 

25 of which has— 


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1 ‘‘(I) an unemployment rate that 

2 is at least 150 percent of the national 

3 average unemployment rate; 

4 ‘‘(II) a poverty rate that is at 

5 least 30 percent; or 

6 ‘‘(III) a median family income 

7 that is not more than 60 percent of 

8 the greater of the statewide median 

9 family income or the metropolitan sta10 tistical area median family income. 

11 ‘‘(x) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural 

12 area’ means an area that— 

13 ‘‘(I) is outside of the outer 

14 boundary of any city or town having 

15 a population of 20,000 or more (based 

16 on the most recent decennial census of 

17 the United States); and 

18 ‘‘(II) is— 

19 ‘‘(aa) outside of a metropoli20 tan statistical area; 

21 ‘‘(bb) within an outlying 

22 county of a metropolitan statis23 tical area; or 

24 ‘‘(cc) within any census 

25 tract that is greater than 100 


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1 square miles in area and has a 

2 population density of fewer than 

3 100 people per square mile. 

4 ‘‘(xi) TARGETED EMPLOYMENT

5 AREA.—The term ‘targeted employment 

6 area’ means— 

7 ‘‘(I) a priority urban investment 

8 area; 

9 ‘‘(II) a rural area; 

10 ‘‘(III) any area within the geo11 graphic boundaries of any military in12 stallation that was closed, during the 

13 25-year period immediately preceding 

14 the filing of an application under sub15 paragraph (F) based upon a rec16 ommendation by the Defense Base 

17 Closure and Realignment Commission; 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(IV) an area consisting of a 

20 census tract or contiguous census 

21 tracts, each of which, using the most 

22 recent census data available— 

23 ‘‘(aa) is not located within a 

24 metropolitan statistical area; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) has a poverty rate 

2 that is at least 20 percent or a 

3 median family income that is not 

4 more than 80 percent of the 

5 statewide median family in6 come.’’. 

7 (2) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Homeland 

8 Security shall issue appropriate regulations to ac9 count for the modified definition of targeted employ10 ment area in section 203(b)(5)(Q)(xi) of the Immi11 gration and Nationality Act, as added by paragraph 

12 (1), within 180 days of the enactment of this Act. 

13 (f) AGE DETERMINATION FOR CHILDREN OF ALIEN

14 INVESTORS.—Section 203(h) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

15 1153(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(5) AGE DETERMINATION FOR CHILDREN OF

17 ALIEN INVESTORS.—An alien who has reached 21 

18 years of age and has been admitted under subsection 

19 (d) as a lawful permanent resident on a conditional 

20 basis as the child of an alien lawfully admitted for 

21 permanent residence under subsection (b)(5), whose 

22 lawful permanent resident status on a conditional 

23 basis is terminated under section 216A or subpara24 graph (O) of subsection (b)(5), shall continue to be 

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1 pose of a subsequent immigrant petition by the prin2 ciple alien under subsection (b)(5) if the alien who 

3 was a child of the principle alien remains unmarried 

4 and the subsequent petition is filed by the principal 

5 alien not later than 1 year after the termination of 

6 conditional lawful permanent resident status. No 

7 alien shall be considered a child under this para8 graph with respect to more than 1 petition filed 

9 after the alien reaches 21 years of age.’’. 

10 (g) ENHANCED PAY SCALE FOR CERTAIN FEDERAL

11 EMPLOYEES ADMINISTERING THE EMPLOYMENT CRE12 ATION PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

13 may establish, fix the compensation of, and appoint indi14 viduals to designated critical, technical, and professional 

15 positions needed to administer sections 203(b)(5) and 

16 216A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1153(b)(5) and 1186b). 

18 (h) CONCURRENT FILING OF EB–5 PETITIONS AND

19 APPLICATIONS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—Section 

20 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

21 1255) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (k), in the matter preceding 

23 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or (3)’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘(3), or (5)’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(n) If the approval of a petition for classification 

2 under section 203(b)(5) would make a visa immediately 

3 available to the alien beneficiary, the alien beneficiary’s 

4 application for adjustment of status under this section 

5 shall be considered to be properly filed whether the appli6 cation is submitted concurrently with, or subsequent to, 

7 the visa petition.’’. 

8 (i) CONFORMING CHANGES.— 

9 (1) Section 201(d)(1) is amended by— 

10 (A) striking the period at the end of sub11 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’; and 

12 (B) inserting the following new subpara13 graph (C) at the end— 

14 ‘‘(C) the number of unused visas computed 

15 under section 203(b)(5)(C)(i)(II) (which num16 ber shall be allocated pursuant to such sec17 tion).’’. 

18 (2) Section 203(b)(1) of the Immigration and 

19 Nationality Act is amended by inserting ‘‘, subject to 

20 section 203(b)(5)(C)(i),’’ after ‘‘classes specified in 

21 paragraphs (4) and (5)’’. 

22 (3) Section 203(b)(5)(A) of the Immigration 

23 and Nationality Act is amended by striking ‘‘Visas 

24 shall be made available’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to 


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1 section 203(b)(5)(C)(i), visas shall be made avail2 able’’. 

3 (j) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

5 paragraph (2), the amendments made by this section 

6 shall be effective upon the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act. 

8 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made 

10 by subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 

11 (c)(1) and subsection (e)(1) shall not apply to 

12 a beneficiary of a petition that— 

13 (i) was filed by an alien investor 

14 under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigra15 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1153(b)(5)) prior to June 1, 2015; 

17 (ii) was filed by an alien investor 

18 under such section 203(b)(5) during the 

19 period beginning on June 1, 2015, and 

20 ending on the date of the enactment of this 

21 Act if such beneficiary is investing in the 

22 same commercial enterprise concerning the 

23 same economic activity as contained in an 

24 exemplar filed prior to June 1, 2015, or 

25 approved by the Secretary of Homeland 


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1 Security at any time prior to the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, unless the Secretary 

3 determines that such approval or filing was 

4 based on fraud, misrepresentation in the 

5 record of proceeding, or is legally deficient; 

6 or 

7 (iii) is filed under section 216A of 

8 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b) if the under9 lying petition filed under section 203(b)(5) 

10 of such Act was filed prior to June 1, 

11 2015, or approved before the date of the 

12 enactment of this Act. 

13 (B) RESERVED VISAS.—Items (aa) and 

14 (bb) of section 203(b)(5)(C)(i)(I) of the Immi15 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1153(b)(5)(C)(i)(I)), as added by this section, 

17 shall take effect beginning on October 1, 2016. 

18 (3) REDESIGNATION.— 

19 (A) PETITION AMENDMENT.—Petitioners 

20 described in paragraph (2)(A) may apply to 

21 amend their petition to redesignate the targeted 

22 employment area upon which such petition was 

23 based to conform to the targeted employment 

24 area criteria described in section 203(b)(5)(Q) 

25 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 


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1 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(Q)), as amended by sub2 section (e), if such application for amendment 

3 is filed with the Secretary prior to October 1, 

4 2017. 

5 (B) RETENTION OF PRIORITY DATE.—If a 

6 petitioner applies to amend a petition in accord7 ance with subparagraph (A)— 

8 (i) the immigrant visa priority date 

9 related to the original petition shall be re10 tained; 

11 (ii) changes made in the amended pe12 tition to redesignate such area shall not be 

13 deemed a material change; and 

14 (iii) the minimum investment amount 

15 such petitioner is required to make shall 

16 not be affected by any such redesignation. 

17 SEC. 5. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR 

18 ALIEN INVESTORS, SPOUSES, AND CHILDREN. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 216A of the Immigration 

20 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ each place 

22 such term appears (except in subsection (d)(2)(C)) 

23 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Homeland Security’’; 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘entrepreneur’’ each place such 

25 term appears and inserting ‘‘investor’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph 

2 (1) to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) CONDITIONAL BASIS FOR STATUS.— 

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

5 subparagraph (B), an alien investor, alien 

6 spouse, and alien child shall be considered, at 

7 the time of obtaining status of an alien lawfully 

8 admitted for permanent residence, to have ob9 tained such status on a conditional basis sub10 ject to the provisions of this section. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—An alien investor (and 

12 his or her alien spouse or alien child) whose pe13 tition under subsection (f) is approved before 

14 the alien investor is lawfully admitted for per15 manent residence shall be granted the status of 

16 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi17 dence without conditions.’’; 

18 (4) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘ENTRE20 PRENEURSHIP’’ and inserting ‘‘INVESTMENT’’; 

21 and 

22 (B) by amending paragraph (1)(B) to read 

23 as follows: 

24 ‘‘(B) the alien did not invest the requisite 

25 capital; or’’; 


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1 (5) in subsection (c)— 

2 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘OF TIME3 LY PETITION AND INTERVIEW’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) in the matter preceding subpara6 graph (A), by striking ‘‘In order’’ and in7 serting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph 

8 (3)(D), in order’’; 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘must’’ and in11 serting ‘‘shall’’; and 

12 (II) by striking ‘‘, and’’ and in13 serting a semicolon; 

14 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘must’’ and in16 serting ‘‘shall’’; 

17 (II) by striking ‘‘Service’’ and in18 serting ‘‘Department of Homeland Se19 curity’’; and 

20 (III) by striking the period at the 

21 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (iv) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(C) the Secretary shall have performed a 

25 site visit to the new commercial enterprise and 


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1 job-creating entity in which the alien investor 

2 invested capital under subparagraph (A) of sec3 tion 203(b)(5) pursuant to subparagraph (I)(iii) 

4 of such section.’’; and 

5 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

6 (i) in subparagraph (A), in the undes7 ignated matter following clause (ii), by 

8 striking ‘‘the’’ before ‘‘such filing’’; and 

9 (ii) by amending subparagraph (B) to 

10 read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(B) REMOVAL OR EXTENSION OF CONDI12 TIONAL BASIS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro14 vided in clause (ii), if the Secretary deter15 mines that the facts and information con16 tained in a petition submitted under para17 graph (1)(A) are true, including dem18 onstrating that the alien complied with 

19 subsection (d)(1)(B)(i), the Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(I) notify the alien involved of 

22 such determination; and 

23 ‘‘(II) remove the conditional 

24 basis of the alien’s status effective as 

25 of the second anniversary of the 


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1 alien’s lawful admission for permanent 

2 residence. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—If the petition 

4 demonstrates that the facts and informa5 tion are true and that the alien is in com6 pliance with subsection (d)(1)(B)(ii)— 

7 ‘‘(I) the Secretary, in the Sec8 retary’s discretion, may provide one 1- 

9 year extension of the alien’s condi10 tional status; and 

11 ‘‘(II)(aa) if the alien files a peti12 tion not later than 30 days after the 

13 third anniversary of the alien’s lawful 

14 admission for permanent residence 

15 demonstrating that the alien complied 

16 with subsection (d)(1)(B)(i), the Sec17 retary shall remove the conditional 

18 basis of the alien’s status effective as 

19 of such third anniversary; or 

20 ‘‘(bb) if the alien does not file the 

21 petition described in item (aa), the 

22 conditional status shall terminate at 

23 the end of such additional year.’’; 

24 (6) in subsection (d)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

2 read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) invested the requisite capital;’’; 

4 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

5 (B) as subparagraph (C); and 

6 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

7 (A) the following: 

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

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

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

11 the employment required under section 

12 203(b)(5)(A)(ii) and will create such employ13 ment before the third anniversary of the alien’s 

14 lawful admission for permanent residence; 

15 and’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (2), by amending sub17 paragraph (A) to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(A) 90-DAY PERIOD BEFORE SECOND AN19 NIVERSARY.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro21 vided in clause (ii) and subparagraph (B), 

22 a petition under subsection (c)(1)(A) shall 

23 be filed during the 90-day period before 

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1 tor’s lawful admission for permanent resi2 dence. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Aliens described in 

4 subclauses (I)(bb), (I)(cc), and (II) of sec5 tion 203(b)(5)(O)(ii) shall file a petition 

6 under subsection (c)(1)(A) during the 90- 

7 day period before the second anniversary 

8 of the subsequent investment.’’; and 

9 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘The interview’’ and 

11 inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The interview’’; 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘Service’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘Department of Homeland Security’’; 

15 and 

16 (iii) by striking the last sentence and 

17 inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Home19 land Security, in the Secretary’s discretion, may 

20 waive the deadline for such an interview or the 

21 requirement for such an interview according to 

22 criteria developed by United States Citizenship 

23 and Immigration Services in consultation with 

24 its Fraud Detection and National Security Di25 rectorate, and United States Immigration and 


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1 Customs Enforcement, except that such criteria 

2 shall not include reduction of case processing 

3 times or the allocation of adjudicatory re4 sources. A waiver may not be granted under 

5 this subparagraph if the alien to be inter6 viewed— 

7 ‘‘(i) invested in a regional center, new 

8 commercial enterprise, or job-creating enti9 ty that was sanctioned under section 

10 203(b)(5); or 

11 ‘‘(ii) is in a class of aliens determined 

12 by the Secretary to be threats to public 

13 safety or national security.’’; 

14 (7) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub15 section (g); 

16 (8) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(f) PETITION FROM QUALIFIED ALIEN INVES19 TOR.—An alien investor who invested the requisite capital 

20 and created the employment required under section 

21 203(b)(5)(A)(ii) at least 24 months before admission, and 

22 is otherwise conforming to the requirements under section 

23 203(b)(5), may file a petition, before admission for perma24 nent residence, to be considered, at the time of obtaining 


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1 status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi2 dence, to obtain such status without conditions.’’; and 

3 (9) in subsection (g)(3), as redesignated, by 

4 striking ‘‘a limited partnership’’ and inserting ‘‘any 

5 entity formed for the purpose of doing for-profit 

6 business’’. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

9 paragraph (2), the amendments made by subsection 

10 (a) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act. 

12 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

13 (A) SITE VISITS.—The amendment made 

14 by subsection (a)(5)(B)(iv) shall take effect not 

15 later than 2 years after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act. 

17 (B) PETITION BENEFICIARIES.—The 

18 amendments made by subsection (a) shall not 

19 apply to the beneficiary of a petition that is 

20 filed under section 216A of the Immigration 

21 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b) if the un22 derlying petition filed pursuant to section 

23 204(a)(1)(H) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

24 1154(a)(1)(H)) was approved before the date of 

25 the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 6. PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING IMMIGRANT STATUS. 

2 (a) FILING ORDER AND ELIGIBILITY.—Section 

3 204(a)(1)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

4 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(H)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(H)(i) An alien desiring to be classified 

6 under section 203(b)(5) may file a petition with 

7 the Secretary of Homeland Security, but only if 

8 the alien is not under 18 years of age at the 

9 time of filing. An alien who seeks to pool the 

10 alien’s investment with one or more additional 

11 aliens seeking classification under section 

12 203(b)(5) shall file for classification pursuant 

13 to section 203(b)(5)(H). An alien petitioning 

14 for classification pursuant to section 

15 203(b)(5)(H) may only file a petition with the 

16 Secretary after the regional center has filed an 

17 application for approval of an investment under 

18 section 203(b)(5)(I). 

19 ‘‘(ii) A petitioner shall establish eligibility 

20 at the time the alien files for classification 

21 under section 203(b)(5) and, if not eligible at 

22 the time of filing, shall be denied such classi23 fication even if the petitioner later becomes eli24 gible under materially different facts or cir25 cumstances. Aliens asserting eligibility under a 

26 materially different set of facts that did not 


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1 exist when the petition was filed shall file a new 

2 petition. A petitioner shall continue to be eligi3 ble for classification at the time such petition is 

4 adjudicated.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

7 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the en8 actment of this Act. 

9 (2) APPLICABILITY TO PETITIONS.— 

10 (A) FILING.—Clause (i) of section 

11 204(a)(1)(H) of the Immigration and Nation12 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(H)), as added 

13 by subsection (a), shall apply to any petition for 

14 classification pursuant to section 203(b)(5)(H) 

15 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(H)) that is 

16 filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security 

17 on or after the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act. 

19 (B) ELIGIBILITY.—Clause (ii) of section 

20 204(a)(1)(H) of such Act, as added by sub21 section (a), shall apply to any petition for clas22 sification pursuant to section 203(b)(5)(H) of 

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

24 1153(b)(5)(E)) filed with the Secretary of 

25 Homeland Security at any time. 


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1 SEC. 7. TIMELY PROCESSING. 

2 (a) FEE STUDY.—Not later than 180 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of United 

4 States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall com5 plete a study of fees charged in the administration of the 

6 program described in sections 203(b)(5) and 216A of the 

7 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) 

8 and 1186b). 

9 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF FEES TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENT

10 PROCESSING.—Notwithstanding section 286(m) of the 

11 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(m)), and 

12 except as provided under subsection (c), the Director shall 

13 set fees for services provided pursuant to section 

14 203(b)(5) and 216A of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) and 

15 1186b), as amended by this Act, and for adjudicating peti16 tions filed pursuant to section 204(a)(1)(H) of such Act 

17 (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(H)), as amended by this Act, at a 

18 level sufficient to ensure the full recovery only of the costs 

19 of providing such services, including the cost of attaining 

20 the goal of completing adjudications, on average, not later 

21 than— 

22 (1) 120 days after receiving a proposal for the 

23 establishment of a regional center described in sec24 tion 203(b)(5)(H); 


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1 (2) 120 days after receiving an application for 

2 approval of investment in a commercial enterprise 

3 described in section 203(b)(5)(I); 

4 (3) 150 days after receiving a petition from an 

5 alien desiring to be classified under section 

6 203(b)(5)(H); and 

7 (4) 180 days after receiving a petition from an 

8 alien for removal of conditions described in section 

9 216A(c). 

10 (c) ADDITIONAL FEES.—Additional fees in excess of 

11 the fee levels described in subsection (b) may be charged 

12 only to contribute— 

13 (1) in an amount that is equal to the amount 

14 paid by all other classes of fee-paying applicants for 

15 immigration-related benefits, to the coverage or re16 duction of the costs of processing or adjudicating 

17 classes of immigration benefit applications that Con18 gress, or the Secretary in the case of asylum applica19 tions, has authorized to be processed or adjudicated 

20 at no cost or at a reduced cost to the applicant; and 

21 (2) in an amount that is not greater than 1 

22 percent of the fee for filing a petition pursuant to 

23 section 204(a)(1)(H) of the Immigration and Na24 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(H)), to make im25 provements to the information technology systems 


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1 used by the Secretary to process, adjudicate, and ar2 chive applications and petitions under such section, 

3 including the conversion to electronic format of doc4 uments filed by petitioners and applicants for bene5 fits under such section. 

6 (d) PREMIUM PROCESSING OF EB–5 PETITIONS AND

7 APPLICATIONS.— 

8 (1) MODIFICATION OF EXISTING PREMIUM

9 PROCESSING PROVISION.—Section 286(u) of the Im10 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(u)) is 

11 amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(u) PREMIUM FEE FOR EMPLOYMENT-BASED PETI13 TIONS AND APPLICATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 

15 Security is authorized to establish and collect a pre16 mium fee for employment-based petitions and appli17 cations. The fee under this paragraph shall be used 

18 to provide certain premium-processing services to 

19 business customers and to make infrastructure im20 provements in the adjudications and customer-serv21 ice processes. For approval of the benefit applied 

22 for, the petitioner or applicant shall meet the legal 

23 criteria for such benefit. Except as provided under 

24 paragraph (2), the fee under this paragraph shall be 

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1 mal petition or application fee that may be applica2 ble, and shall be deposited as offsetting collections in 

3 the Immigration Examinations Fee Account. The 

4 Secretary may adjust the fee under this paragraph 

5 in proportion to changes in the Consumer Price 

6 Index. 

7 ‘‘(2) ALIEN INVESTOR PETITIONS AND APPLICA8 TIONS.—The Secretary shall establish and collect a 

9 premium fee for expeditious processing of applica10 tions for regional center designation or regional cen11 ter amendment under section 203(b)(5)(H), peti12 tions under section 203(b)(5), petitions for removal 

13 of conditions on lawful permanent residence under 

14 section 216A(c), and applications under section 

15 203(b)(5)(I) related to investment in a new commer16 cial enterprise (as defined in section 203(b)(5)(Q)). 

17 A petitioner or applicant shall be permitted an op18 portunity to provide additional evidence identified by 

19 the Secretary in any such petition or application 

20 prior to a final determination. The premium fee for 

21 each such application or petition shall be set at an 

22 amount sufficient to adjudicate such application or 

petition within 1 23 ⁄2 of the relevant period set forth in 

24 section 6(b) of the American Job Creation and In25 vestment Promotion Reform Act of 2016, and shall 


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1 otherwise only be used to recover the costs of such 

2 processing, including the hiring of additional adju3 dicatory staff, shall be paid in addition to any nor4 mal petition or application fee that may be applica5 ble, and shall be deposited as offsetting collections in 

6 the Immigration Examinations Fee Account.’’. 

7 (2) ESTABLISHMENT OF EB–5 PREMIUM PROC8 ESSING.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Home10 land Security shall establish the premium processing 

11 of immigrant investor petitions and applications, as 

12 described in section 286(u) of the Immigration and 

13 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1356(u)), as amended by 

14 paragraph (1). 

15 (e) DELAY IN ADJUDICATION.—Nothing in this Act 

16 may be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary 

17 of Homeland Security to suspend the adjudication of any 

18 application or petition under section 203(b)(5) or 216A 

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

20 1153(b)(5) and 1186b) or related petition under section 

21 204(a)(1)(H) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(H)) pend22 ing the completion of a national security or law enforce23 ment investigation relating to such application or petition. 

24 (f) EXEMPTION FROM PAPERWORK REDUCTION

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1 ment of this Act, the requirements of chapter 35 of title 

2 44, United States Code, shall not apply to any collection 

3 of information required under this Act, under any amend4 ment made by this Act, or under any rule promulgated 

5 by the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement this 

6 Act or the amendments made by this Act, to the extent 

7 the Secretary determines that compliance with such re8 quirements would impede the expeditious implementation 

9 of this Act or the amendments made by this Act. 

10 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec11 tion may be construed to require any modification of fees 

12 before the completion of— 

13 (1) the fee study described in subsection (a); 

14 and 

15 (2) regulations promulgated by the Secretary of 

16 Homeland Security, in accordance with subchapter 

17 II of chapter 5 and chapter 7 of title 5, United 

18 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Administra19 tive Procedure Act’’), to carry out subsections (b) 

20 and (c). 

21 SEC. 8. TRANSPARENCY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Employees of the Department of 

23 Homeland Security, including the Secretary of Homeland 

24 Security, the Secretary’s counselors, the Assistant Sec25 retary for the Private Sector, the Director of United 


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1 States Citizenship and Immigration Services, counselors 

2 to such Director, and the Chief of Immigrant Investor 

3 Programs at United States Citizenship and Immigration 

4 Services, shall act impartially and may not give pref5 erential treatment to any entity, organization, or indi6 vidual in connection with any aspect of the immigrant visa 

7 program described in section 203(b)(5) of the Immigra8 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)). 

9 (b) IMPROPER ACTIVITIES.—Activities that con10 stitute preferential treatment under subsection (a) shall 

11 include— 

12 (1) working on, or in any way attempting to in13 fluence, in a manner not available to or accorded to 

14 all other petitioners, applicants, and seekers of bene15 fits under the immigrant visa program described in 

16 section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nation17 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), as amended by this 

18 Act, the standard processing of an application, peti19 tion, or benefit for— 

20 (A) a regional center established under 

21 subparagraph (H) of such section; 

22 (B) a new commercial enterprise (as de23 fined in subparagraph (Q) of such section); 

24 (C) a job-creating entity (as so defined); or 


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1 (D) any person or entity associated with 

2 such regional center, new commercial enter3 prise, or job-creating entity; and 

4 (2) meeting or communicating with persons as5 sociated with the entities described in paragraph (1), 

6 at the request of such persons, in a manner not 

7 available to or accorded to all other petitioners, ap8 plicants, and seekers of benefits under such immi9 grant visa program. 

10 (c) REPORTING OF COMMUNICATIONS.— 

11 (1) WRITTEN COMMUNICATION.—Employees of 

12 the Department of Homeland Security, including the 

13 officials listed in subsection (a), shall include, in the 

14 record of proceeding for a case under section 

15 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

16 actual or electronic copies of all case-specific written 

17 communication, including e-mails from government 

18 and private accounts, with non-Department persons 

19 or entities advocating for regional center applica20 tions or individual petitions under such section that 

21 are pending on or after the date of the enactment 

22 of this Act (other than routine communications with 

23 other agencies of the Federal Government regarding 

24 the case, including communications involving back25 ground checks and litigation defense). 


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1 (2) ORAL COMMUNICATION.—If substantive oral 

2 communication, including telephonic communication, 

3 virtual communication, and in-person meetings, 

4 takes place between officials of the Department of 

5 Homeland Security and non-Department persons or 

6 entities advocating for regional center applications 

7 or individual petitions under section 203(b)(5) of the 

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

9 1153(b)(5)) that are pending on or after the date of 

10 the enactment of this Act (other than routine com11 munications with other agencies of the Federal Gov12 ernment regarding the case, including communica13 tions involving background checks and litigation de14 fense)— 

15 (A) the conversation shall be recorded; or 

16 (B) detailed minutes of the session shall be 

17 taken and included in the record of proceeding. 

18 (3) NOTIFICATION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary, in the 

20 course of written or oral communication de21 scribed in this subsection, receives evidence 

22 about a specific case from anyone other than an 

23 affected party or his or her representative (ex24 cluding Federal Government or law enforcement 

25 sources), such information may not be made 


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1 part of the record of proceeding and may not 

2 be considered in adjudicative proceedings un3 less— 

4 (i) the affected party has been given 

5 notice of such evidence; and 

6 (ii) if such evidence is derogatory, the 

7 affected party has been given an oppor8 tunity to respond to the evidence. 

9 (B) INFORMATION FROM LAW ENFORCE10 MENT, INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES, OR CON11 FIDENTIAL SOURCES.— 

12 (i) LAW ENFORCEMENT OR INTEL13 LIGENCE AGENCIES.—Evidence received 

14 from law enforcement or intelligence agen15 cies may not be made part of the record of 

16 proceeding without the consent of the rel17 evant agency or law enforcement entity. 

18 (ii) WHISTLEBLOWERS, CONFIDEN19 TIAL SOURCES, OR INTELLIGENCE AGEN20 CIES.—Evidence received from whistle21 blowers, other confidential sources, or the 

22 intelligence community that is included in 

23 the record of proceeding and considered in 

24 adjudicative proceedings shall be handled 

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1 tity of the whistleblower or confidential 

2 source, or reveal classified information. 

3 (d) CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—No case-specific communica5 tion with persons or entities that are not part of the 

6 Department of Homeland Security may be consid7 ered in the adjudication of an application or petition 

8 under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Na9 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)) unless the com10 munication is included in the record of proceeding of 

11 the case. 

12 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Homeland Se13 curity may waive the requirement under paragraph 

14 (1) only in the interests of national security or for 

15 investigative or law enforcement purposes. 

16 (e) CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION.— 

17 (1) E-MAIL ADDRESS OR EQUIVALENT.—The 

18 Director of United States Citizenship and Immigra19 tion Services shall maintain an e-mail account (or 

20 equivalent means of communication) for persons or 

21 entities— 

22 (A) with inquiries regarding specific peti23 tions or applications under the immigrant visa 

24 program described in section 203(b)(5) of the 


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

2 1153(b)(5)); or 

3 (B) seeking non-case-specific information 

4 about the immigrant visa program described in 

5 such section 203(b)(5). 

6 (2) COMMUNICATION ONLY THROUGH APPRO7 PRIATE CHANNELS OR OFFICES.— 

8 (A) ANNOUNCEMENT OF APPROPRIATE

9 CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION.—Not later 

10 than 40 days after the date of the enactment of 

11 this Act, the Director of United States Citizen12 ship and Immigration Services shall announce 

13 that the only channels or offices by which in14 dustry stakeholders, petitioners, applicants, and 

15 seekers of benefits under the immigrant visa 

16 program described in section 203(b)(5) of the 

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

18 1153(b)(5)) may communicate with the Depart19 ment of Homeland Security regarding specific 

20 cases under such section (except for commu21 nication made by applicants and petitioners 

22 pursuant to regular adjudicatory procedures), 

23 or non-case-specific information about the visa 

24 program applicable to certain cases under such 

25 section, are through— 


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1 (i) the e-mail address or equivalent 

2 channel described in paragraph (1); 

3 (ii) the United States Citizenship and 

4 Immigration Services National Customer 

5 Service Center, or any successor to that 

6 Center; or 

7 (iii) the United States Citizenship and 

8 Immigration Services Office of Public En9 gagement, Immigrant Investor Program 

10 Office, Stakeholder Engagement Branch, 

11 or any successors to those Offices or 

12 Branch. 

13 (B) DIRECTION OF INCOMING COMMUNICA14 TIONS.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—Employees of the 

16 Department of Homeland Security shall di17 rect communications described in subpara18 graph (A) to the channels of communica19 tion or offices listed in subparagraph (A). 

20 (ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth21 ing in this subparagraph may be construed 

22 to prevent— 

23 (I) any person from commu24 nicating with the Ombudsman of 

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1 gration Services regarding the immi2 grant investor program under section 

3 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Na4 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)); 

5 or 

6 (II) the Ombudsman from resolv7 ing problems regarding such immi8 grant investor program pursuant to 

9 the authority granted under section 

10 452 of the Homeland Security Act of 

11 2002 (6 U.S.C. 272). 

12 (C) LOG.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Director of 

14 United States Citizenship and Immigration 

15 Services shall maintain a written or elec16 tronic log of— 

17 (I) all communications described 

18 in subparagraph (A) and communica19 tions from members of Congress, 

20 which shall reference the date, time, 

21 and subject of the communication, 

22 and the identity of the Department of23 ficial, if any, to whom the inquiry was 

24 forwarded; 


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1 (II) with respect to written com2 munications described in subsection 

3 (c)(1), the date the communication 

4 was received, the identities of the 

5 sender and addressee, and the subject 

6 of the communication; and 

7 (III) with respect to oral commu8 nications described in subsection 

9 (c)(2), the date on which the commu10 nication occurred, the participants in 

11 the conversation or meeting, and the 

12 subject of the communication. 

13 (ii) TRANSPARENCY.—The log of com14 munications described in clause (i) shall be 

15 made publicly available in accordance with 

16 section 552 of title 5, United States Code 

17 (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of In18 formation Act’’). 

19 (3) PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION.—If, as a 

20 result of a communication with an official of the De21 partment of Homeland Security, a person or entity 

22 inquiring about a specific case or generally about the 

23 immigrant visa program described in section 

24 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

25 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)) received generally applicable and 


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1 non-case specific information about program require2 ments or administration that has not been made 

3 publicly available by the Department, the Director of 

4 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, 

5 not later than 30 days after the communication of 

6 such information to such person or entity, shall pub7 lish such information on the United States Citizen8 ship and Immigration Services Web site as an up9 date to the relevant Frequently Asked Questions 

10 page or by some other comparable mechanism. 

11 (f) PENALTY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who inten13 tionally violates the prohibition on preferential treat14 ment under this section or intentionally violates the 

15 reporting requirements under subsection (c) shall be 

16 disciplined in accordance with paragraph (2). 

17 (2) SANCTIONS.—Not later than 90 days after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 of Homeland Security shall establish a graduated set 

20 of sanctions based on the severity of the violation re21 ferred to in paragraph (1), which may include, in 

22 addition to any criminal or civil penalties that may 

23 be imposed, written reprimand, suspension, demo24 tion, or removal. 


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1 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion may be construed to modify any law, regulation, or 

3 policy regarding the handling or disclosure of classified in4 formation. 

5 (h) NO CREATION OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

6 Nothing in this section may be construed to create or au7 thorize a private right of action to challenge a decision 

8 of an employee of the Department of Homeland Security. 

9 SEC. 9. REPORTS. 

10 (a) GAO REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 

11 2019, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

12 submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

13 Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

14 of Representatives that describes— 

15 (1) the economic benefits of the regional center 

16 program established under section 203(b)(5) of the 

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

18 1153(b)(5)), including the steps taken by United 

19 States Citizenship and Immigration Services to 

20 verify job creation; 

21 (2) the extent to which United States Citizen22 ship and Immigration Services ensures compliance 

23 by regional center participants with their obligations 

24 under the immigrant investor program; 


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1 (3) the extent to which United States Citizen2 ship and Immigration Services has maintained 

3 records of regional centers and associated commer4 cial enterprises, including annual statements and 

5 certifications; 

6 (4) the steps taken by United States Citizen7 ship and Immigration Services to verify the source 

8 of funds, as required under section 203(b)(5)(D) of 

9 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 

10 section 2 of this Act; 

11 (5) the extent to which United States Citizen12 ship and Immigration Services collaborates with 

13 other Federal and law enforcement agencies, par14 ticularly to detect illegal activity and threats to na15 tional security related to the regional center pro16 gram; 

17 (6) the extent to which United States Citizen18 ship and Immigration Services has prevented fraud 

19 and abuse in regional center activities, including the 

20 designation of targeted employment areas in areas 

21 that otherwise have high employment; 

22 (7) the extent to which United States Citizen23 ship and Immigration Services has used its authority 

24 to sanction, suspend, bar, or terminate regional cen25 ters or individuals affiliated with regional centers; 


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1 (8) the steps that have been taken to oversee 

2 direct and third-party promoters under section 

3 203(b)(5)(N) of the Immigration and Nationality 

4 Act, as added by section 3 of this Act; 

5 (9) the extent to which employees of the De6 partment of Homeland Security have complied with 

7 the ethical standards and transparency requirements 

8 under section 8 of this Act; and 

9 (10) an accounting of the expenditure of 

10 amounts from the EB–5 Integrity Fund established 

11 under section 203(b)(5)(M) of the Immigration and 

12 Nationality Act, as added by section 3 of this Act. 

13 (b) INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than 

14 December 31, 2019, the Inspector General of the Intel15 ligence Community, in coordination with the Inspector 

16 General of the Department of Homeland Security and 

17 after consultation with relevant Federal agencies, includ18 ing United States Immigration and Customs Enforce19 ment, shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judi20 ciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 

21 of the House of Representatives concerning the immigrant 

22 visa program set forth in section 203(b)(5) of the Immi23 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)) that 

24 describes— 


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1 (1) the vulnerabilities within the program that 

2 may undermine the national security of the United 

3 States; 

4 (2) the actual or potential use of the program 

5 to facilitate export of sensitive technology; 

6 (3) the actual or potential use of the program 

7 to facilitate economic espionage; 

8 (4) the actual or potential use of the program 

9 by foreign government agents; and 

10 (5) the actual or potential use of the program 

11 to facilitate terrorist activity, including funding ter12 rorist activity or laundering terrorist funds. 

13 (c) REVIEW OF JOB CREATION METHODOLOGIES.— 

14 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consulta16 tion with the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Depart17 ment of Commerce, or another component within the De18 partment of Commerce, as determined by the Secretary 

19 of Commerce, shall publish regulations to determine eco20 nomically and statistically valid general economic meth21 odologies that are in compliance with section 

22 203(b)(5)(A)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

23 (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(A)(ii)). 

24 (d) REPORT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Sec4 retary of Commerce and after consultation with rel5 evant Federal agencies, shall submit a report to the 

6 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

7 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep8 resentatives that describes, with respect to the pro9 gram under section 203(b)(5) of the Immigration 

10 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5))— 

11 (A) the percentage of completed and pend12 ing capital investment projects and the number 

13 of alien investors investing pursuant to such 

14 program in the States, metropolitan and 

15 micropolitan statistical areas, and counties in 

16 which such projects occurred in each fiscal year, 

17 within the scope of business plans filed pursu18 ant to section 203(b)(5)(I) of the Immigration 

19 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(I)), 

20 as added by this Act, both approved and await21 ing approval— 

22 (i) in rural areas; 

23 (ii) in rural areas where the median 

24 family income is 125 percent or more than 

25 the national average; 


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1 (iii) in priority urban investment 

2 areas; 

3 (iv) for infrastructure projects; 

4 (v) for manufacturing projects; and 

5 (vi) in areas that are not described in 

6 any of the clauses (i) through (v); 

7 (B) whether other Federal financial assist8 ance and tax incentive programs, such as eco9 nomic development programs administered by 

10 the Department of Agriculture, the Department 

11 of Housing and Urban Development, or the 

12 Community Development Financial Institutions 

13 Fund, are also used or available for use by 

14 projects described in subparagraph (A); 

15 (C)(i) what data is available to assess com16 muting patterns from high unemployment cen17 sus tracts to project locations; 

18 (ii) whether the consideration of such com19 muting patterns may be an appropriate factor 

20 for targeted employment area designations; and 

21 (iii) whether such data can be used to as22 sess job creation in high unemployment census 

23 tracts; 

24 (D) whether market demands to approve 

25 projects described in subparagraph (A) exceed 


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1 the number of visas allowed under section 

2 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality 

3 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)); 

4 (E) whether other metrics or Federal data 

5 sets are available that capture underserved or 

6 undercapitalized communities that may provide 

7 an appropriate factor for targeted employment 

8 area designations; and 

9 (F) what data is available to assess the 

10 percentage of jobs created through the investor 

11 visa program that are held by persons who re12 side in census tracts that have an unemploy13 ment rate of at least 150 percent of the na14 tional average. 

15 (2) PUBLIC INPUT.—Not later than 60 days be16 fore the submission of the report required under 

17 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Homeland Security 

18 shall provide the public with notice and an oppor19 tunity to comment on the draft report. 

Æ 


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