II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 831 

To reauthorize the EB–5 Regional Center Program in order to prevent 

fraud and to promote and reform foreign capital investment and job 

creation in American communities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 18, 2021 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To reauthorize the EB–5 Regional Center Program in order 

to prevent fraud and to promote and reform foreign 

capital investment and job creation in American communities. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘EB–5 Reform and In5 tegrity Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. 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6 is repealed. 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)) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(E) REGIONAL CENTER PROGRAM.— 

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

12 paragraph shall be made available through 

13 September 30, 2026, to qualified immi14 grants (and the eligible spouses and chil15 dren of such immigrants) pooling their in16 vestments with 1 or more qualified immi17 grants participating in a program imple18 menting this paragraph that involves a re19 gional center in the United States, which 

20 has been designated by the Secretary of 

21 Homeland Security on the basis of a pro22 posal for the promotion of economic 

23 growth, including prospective job creation 

24 and increased domestic capital investment. 

25 ‘‘(ii) PROCESSING.—In processing pe26 titions under section 204(a)(1)(H) for clasVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Apr 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S831.IS S831

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1 sification under this paragraph, the Sec2 retary of Homeland Security— 

3 ‘‘(I) may process petitions in a 

4 manner and order established by the 

5 Secretary; and 

6 ‘‘(II) shall deem such petitions to 

7 include records previously filed with 

8 the Secretary pursuant to subpara9 graph (F) if the alien petitioner cer10 tifies that such records are incor11 porated by reference into the alien’s 

12 petition. 

13 ‘‘(iii) ESTABLISHMENT OF A RE14 GIONAL CENTER.—A regional center shall 

15 operate within a defined, contiguous, and 

16 limited geographic area, which shall be de17 scribed in the proposal and be consistent 

18 with the purpose of concentrating pooled 

19 investment within such area. The proposal 

20 to establish a regional center shall dem21 onstrate that the pooled investment will 

22 have a substantive economic impact on 

23 such geographic area, and shall include— 

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1 tically valid and transparent fore2 casting tools, concerning the amount 

3 of investment that will be pooled, the 

4 kinds of commercial enterprises that 

5 will receive such investments, details 

6 of the jobs that will be created di7 rectly or indirectly as a result of such 

8 investments, and other positive eco9 nomic effects such investments will 

10 have; 

11 ‘‘(II) a description of the policies 

12 and procedures in place reasonably 

13 designed to monitor new commercial 

14 enterprises and any associated job15 creating entity to seek to ensure com16 pliance with— 

17 ‘‘(aa) all applicable laws, 

18 regulations, and Executive orders 

19 of the United States, including 

20 immigration laws, criminal laws, 

21 and securities laws; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) all securities laws of 

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1 ment advice will be rendered, or 

2 the offerors or offerees reside; 

3 ‘‘(III) attestations and informa4 tion confirming that all persons in5 volved with the regional center meet 

6 the requirements under clauses (i) 

7 and (ii) of subparagraph (H); 

8 ‘‘(IV) a description of the policies 

9 and procedures in place that are rea10 sonably designed to ensure program 

11 compliance; and 

12 ‘‘(V) the identities of all natural 

13 persons involved in the regional cen14 ter, as described in subparagraph 

15 (H)(v). 

16 ‘‘(iv) INDIRECT JOB CREATION.— 

17 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec18 retary of Homeland Security shall 

19 permit aliens seeking admission under 

20 this subparagraph to satisfy only up 

21 to 90 percent of the requirement 

22 under subparagraph (A)(ii) with jobs 

23 that are estimated to be created indi24 rectly through investment under this 

25 paragraph in accordance with this 


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1 subparagraph. An employee of the 

2 new commercial enterprise or job-cre3 ating entity may be considered to hold 

4 a job that has been directly created. 

5 ‘‘(II) CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY

6 LASTING LESS THAN 2 YEARS.—If the 

7 jobs estimated to be created are cre8 ated by construction activity lasting 

9 less than 2 years, the Secretary shall 

10 permit aliens seeking admission under 

11 this subparagraph to satisfy only up 

12 to 75 percent of the requirement 

13 under subparagraph (A)(ii) with jobs 

14 that are estimated to be created indi15 rectly through investment under this 

16 paragraph in accordance with this 

17 subparagraph. 

18 ‘‘(v) COMPLIANCE.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In deter20 mining compliance with subparagraph 

21 (A)(ii), the Secretary of Homeland Se22 curity shall permit aliens seeking ad23 mission under this subparagraph to 

24 rely on economically and statistically 

25 valid methodologies for determining 


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1 the number of jobs created by the pro2 gram, including— 

3 ‘‘(aa) jobs estimated to have 

4 been created directly, which may 

5 be verified using such methodolo6 gies; and 

7 ‘‘(bb) consistent with this 

8 subparagraph, jobs estimated to 

9 have been directly or indirectly 

10 created through capital expendi11 tures, revenues generated from 

12 increased exports, improved re13 gional productivity, job creation, 

14 and increased domestic capital 

15 investment resulting from the 

16 program. 

17 ‘‘(II) JOB AND INVESTMENT RE18 QUIREMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(aa) RELOCATED JOBS.— 

20 In determining compliance with 

21 the job creation requirement 

22 under subparagraph (A)(ii), the 

23 Secretary of Homeland Security 

24 may include jobs estimated to be 

25 created under a methodology that 


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1 attributes jobs to prospective ten2 ants occupying commercial real 

3 estate created or improved by 

4 capital investments if the number 

5 of such jobs estimated to be cre6 ated has been determined by an 

7 economically and statistically 

8 valid methodology and such jobs 

9 are not existing jobs that have 

10 been relocated. 

11 ‘‘(bb) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE

12 BONDS.—The Secretary of 

13 Homeland Security shall pre14 scribe regulations to ensure that 

15 alien investor capital may not be 

16 utilized, by a new commercial en17 terprise or otherwise, to purchase 

18 municipal bonds or any other 

19 bonds, if such bonds are available 

20 to the general public, either as 

21 part of a primary offering or 

22 from a secondary market. 

23 ‘‘(cc) CONSTRUCTION ACTIV24 ITY JOBS.—If the number of di25 rect jobs estimated to be created 


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1 has been determined by an eco2 nomically and statistically valid 

3 methodology, and such direct 

4 jobs are created by construction 

5 activity lasting less than 2 years, 

6 the number of such jobs that 

7 may be considered direct jobs for 

8 purposes of clause (iv) shall be 

9 calculated by multiplying the 

10 total number of such jobs esti11 mated to be created by the frac12 tion of the 2-year period that the 

13 construction activity lasts. 

14 ‘‘(vi) AMENDMENTS.—The Secretary 

15 of Homeland Security shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) require a regional center— 

17 ‘‘(aa) to notify the Sec18 retary, not later than 120 days 

19 before the implementation of sig20 nificant proposed changes to its 

21 organizational structure, owner22 ship, or administration, including 

23 the sale of such center, or other 

24 arrangements which would result 

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1 ject to the requirements under 

2 subparagraph (H) becoming in3 volved with the regional center; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(bb) if exigent cir6 cumstances are present, to pro7 vide the notice described in item 

8 (aa) to the Secretary not later 

9 than 5 business days after a 

10 change described in such item; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(II) adjudicate business plans 

13 under subparagraph (F) and petitions 

14 under section 204(a)(1)(H) during 

15 any notice period as long as the 

16 amendment to the business or petition 

17 does not negatively impact program 

18 eligibility. 

19 ‘‘(vii) RECORD KEEPING AND AU20 DITS.— 

21 ‘‘(I) RECORD KEEPING.—Each 

22 regional center shall make and pre23 serve, during the 5-year period begin24 ning on the last day of the Federal 

25 fiscal year in which any transactions 


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1 occurred, books, ledgers, records, and 

2 other documentation from the regional 

3 center, new commercial enterprise, or 

4 job-creating entity used to support— 

5 ‘‘(aa) any claims, evidence, 

6 or certifications contained in the 

7 regional center’s annual state8 ments under subparagraph (G); 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(bb) associated petitions by 

11 aliens seeking classification under 

12 this section or removal of condi13 tions under section 216A. 

14 ‘‘(II) AUDITS.—The Secretary 

15 shall audit each regional center not 

16 less frequently than once every 5 

17 years. Each such audit shall include a 

18 review of any documentation required 

19 to be maintained under subclause (I) 

20 for the preceding 5 years and a review 

21 of the flow of alien investor capital 

22 into any capital investment project. 

23 To the extent multiple regional cen24 ters are located at a single site, the 


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1 Secretary may audit multiple regional 

2 centers in a single site visit. 

3 ‘‘(III) TERMINATION.—The Sec4 retary shall terminate the designation 

5 of a regional center that fails to con6 sent to an audit under subclause (II) 

7 or deliberately attempts to impede 

8 such an audit. 

9 ‘‘(F) BUSINESS PLANS FOR REGIONAL

10 CENTER INVESTMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF

12 AN INVESTMENT IN A COMMERCIAL EN13 TERPRISE.—A regional center shall file an 

14 application with the Secretary of Home15 land Security for each particular invest16 ment offering through an associated new 

17 commercial enterprise before any alien files 

18 a petition for classification under this 

19 paragraph by reason of investment in that 

20 offering. The application shall include— 

21 ‘‘(I) a comprehensive business 

22 plan for a specific capital investment 

23 project; 

24 ‘‘(II) a credible economic analysis 

25 regarding estimated job creation that 


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1 is based upon economically and statis2 tically valid and transparent meth3 odologies; 

4 ‘‘(III) any documents filed with 

5 the Securities and Exchange Commis6 sion under the Securities Act of 1933 

7 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) or with the 

8 securities regulator of any State, as 

9 required by law; 

10 ‘‘(IV) any investment and offer11 ing documents, including subscription, 

12 investment, partnership, and oper13 ating agreements, private placement 

14 memoranda, term sheets, biographies 

15 of management, officers, directors, 

16 and any person with similar respon17 sibilities, the description of the busi18 ness plan to be provided to potential 

19 alien investors, and marketing mate20 rials used, or drafts prepared for use, 

21 in connection with the offering, which 

22 shall contain references, as appro23 priate, to— 

24 ‘‘(aa) all material invest25 ment risks associated with the 


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1 new commercial enterprise and 

2 the job-creating entity; 

3 ‘‘(bb) any conflicts of inter4 est that currently exist or may 

5 arise among the regional center, 

6 the new commercial enterprise, 

7 the job-creating entity, or the 

8 principals, attorneys, or individ9 uals responsible for recruitment 

10 or promotion of such entities; 

11 ‘‘(cc) any pending material 

12 litigation or bankruptcy, or mate13 rial adverse judgments or bank14 ruptcy orders issued during the 

15 most recent 10-year period, in 

16 the United States or in another 

17 country, affecting the regional 

18 center, the new commercial enter19 prise, any associated job-creating 

20 entity, or any other enterprise in 

21 which any principal of any of the 

22 aforementioned entities held ma23 jority ownership at the time; and 

24 ‘‘(dd)(AA) any fees, ongoing 

25 interest, or other compensation 


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1 paid, or to be paid by the re2 gional center, the new commer3 cial enterprise, or any issuer of 

4 securities intended to be offered 

5 to alien investors, to agents, find6 ers, or broker dealers involved in 

7 the offering of securities to alien 

8 investors in connection with the 

9 investment; 

10 ‘‘(BB) a description of the 

11 services performed, or that will 

12 be performed, by such person to 

13 entitle the person to such fees, 

14 interest, or compensation; and 

15 ‘‘(CC) the name and contact 

16 information of any such person, 

17 if known at the time of filing; 

18 ‘‘(V) a description of the policies 

19 and procedures, such as those related 

20 to internal and external due diligence, 

21 reasonably designed to cause the re22 gional center and any issuer of securi23 ties intended to be offered to alien in24 vestors in connection with the relevant 

25 capital investment project, to comply, 


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1 as applicable, with the securities laws 

2 of the United States and the laws of 

3 the applicable States in connection 

4 with the offer, purchase, or sale of its 

5 securities; and 

6 ‘‘(VI) a certification from the re7 gional center, and any issuer of secu8 rities intended to be offered to alien 

9 investors in connection with the rel10 evant capital investment project, that 

11 their respective agents and employees, 

12 and any parties associated with the 

13 regional center and such issuer of se14 curities affiliated with the regional 

15 center are in compliance with the se16 curities laws of the United States and 

17 the laws of the applicable States in 

18 connection with the offer, purchase, or 

19 sale of its securities, to the best of the 

20 certifier’s knowledge, after a due dili21 gence investigation. 

22 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF APPROVAL OF A

23 BUSINESS PLAN FOR AN INVESTMENT IN A

24 REGIONAL CENTER’S COMMERCIAL ENTER25 PRISE.—The approval of an application 


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1 under this subparagraph, including an ap2 proval before the date of the enactment of 

3 this subparagraph, shall be binding for 

4 purposes of the adjudication of subsequent 

5 petitions seeking classification under this 

6 paragraph by immigrants investing in the 

7 same offering described in such applica8 tion, and of petitions by the same immi9 grants filed under section 216A unless— 

10 ‘‘(I) the applicant engaged in 

11 fraud, misrepresentation, or criminal 

12 misuse; 

13 ‘‘(II) such approval would threat14 en public safety or national security; 

15 ‘‘(III) there has been a material 

16 change that affects eligibility; 

17 ‘‘(IV) the discovery of other evi18 dence affecting program eligibility was 

19 not disclosed by the applicant during 

20 the adjudication process; or 

21 ‘‘(V) the previous adjudication 

22 involved a material mistake of law or 

23 fact. 

24 ‘‘(iii) AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) APPROVAL.—The Secretary 

2 of Homeland Security may establish 

3 procedures by which a regional center 

4 may seek approval of an amendment 

5 to an approved application under this 

6 subparagraph that reflects changes 

7 specified by the Secretary to any in8 formation, documents, or other as9 pects of the investment offering de10 scribed in such approved application 

11 not later than 30 days after any such 

12 changes. 

13 ‘‘(II) INCORPORATION.—Upon 

14 the approval of a timely filed amend15 ment to an approved application, any 

16 changes reflected in such amendment 

17 may be incorporated into and consid18 ered in determining program eligibility 

19 through adjudication of— 

20 ‘‘(aa) pending petitions from 

21 immigrants investing in the offer22 ing described in the approved ap23 plication who are seeking classi24 fication under this paragraph; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) petitions by immi2 grants described in item (aa) 

3 that are filed under section 

4 216A. 

5 ‘‘(iv) SITE VISITS.—The Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) perform site visits to re8 gional centers not earlier than 24 

9 hours after providing notice of such 

10 site visit; and 

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

12 to, as applicable, each new commercial 

13 enterprise or job-creating entity, or 

14 the business locations where any jobs 

15 that are claimed as being created. 

16 ‘‘(G) REGIONAL CENTER ANNUAL STATE17 MENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each regional cen19 ter designated under subparagraph (E) 

20 shall submit an annual statement, in a 

21 manner prescribed by the Secretary of 

22 Homeland Security. Each such statement 

23 shall include— 

24 ‘‘(I) a certification stating that, 

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1 edge, after a due diligence investiga2 tion, the regional center is in compli3 ance with clauses (i) and (ii) of sub4 paragraph (H); 

5 ‘‘(II) a certification described in 

6 subparagraph (I)(ii)(II); 

7 ‘‘(III) a certification stating that, 

8 to the best of the certifier’s knowl9 edge, after a due diligence investiga10 tion, the regional center is in compli11 ance with subparagraph (K)(iii); 

12 ‘‘(IV) a description of any pend13 ing material litigation or bankruptcy 

14 proceedings, or material litigation or 

15 bankruptcy proceedings resolved dur16 ing the preceding fiscal year, involving 

17 the regional center, the new commer18 cial enterprise, or any affiliated job19 creating entity; 

20 ‘‘(V) an accounting of all indi21 vidual alien investor capital invested 

22 in the regional center, new commercial 

23 enterprise, and job-creating entity; 


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1 ‘‘(VI) for each new commercial 

2 enterprise associated with the regional 

3 center— 

4 ‘‘(aa) an accounting of the 

5 aggregate capital invested in the 

6 new commercial enterprise and 

7 any job-creating entity by alien 

8 investors under this paragraph 

9 for each capital investment 

10 project being undertaken by the 

11 new commercial enterprise; 

12 ‘‘(bb) a description of how 

13 the capital described in item (aa) 

14 is being used to execute each 

15 capital investment project in the 

16 filed business plan or plans; 

17 ‘‘(cc) evidence that 100 per18 cent of the capital described in 

19 item (aa) has been committed to 

20 each capital investment project; 

21 ‘‘(dd) detailed evidence of 

22 the progress made toward the 

23 completion of each capital invest24 ment project; 


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1 ‘‘(ee) an accounting of the 

2 aggregate direct jobs created or 

3 preserved; 

4 ‘‘(ff) to the best of the re5 gional center’s knowledge, for all 

6 fees, including administrative 

7 fees, loan monitoring fees, loan 

8 management fees, commissions 

9 and similar transaction-based 

10 compensation, collected from 

11 alien investors by the regional 

12 center, the new commercial enter13 prise, any affiliated job-creating 

14 entity, any affiliated issuer of se15 curities intended to be offered to 

16 alien investors, or any promoter, 

17 finder, broker-dealer, or other en18 tity engaged by any of the afore19 mentioned entities to locate indi20 vidual investors— 

21 ‘‘(AA) a description of 

22 all fees collected; 

23 ‘‘(BB) an accounting of 

24 the entities that received 

25 such fees; and 


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1 ‘‘(CC) the purpose for 

2 which such fees were col3 lected; 

4 ‘‘(gg) any documentation re5 ferred to in subparagraph 

6 (F)(i)(IV) if there has been a 

7 material change during the pre8 ceding fiscal year; and 

9 ‘‘(hh) a certification by the 

10 regional center that the informa11 tion provided under items (aa) 

12 through (gg) is accurate, to the 

13 best of the certifier’s knowledge, 

14 after a due diligence investiga15 tion; and 

16 ‘‘(VII) a description of the re17 gional center’s policies and procedures 

18 that are designed to enable the re19 gional center to comply with applica20 ble Federal labor laws. 

21 ‘‘(ii) AMENDMENT OF ANNUAL STATE22 MENTS.—The Secretary of Homeland Se23 curity— 

24 ‘‘(I) shall require the regional 

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1 nual statement required under clause 

2 (i) if the Secretary determines that 

3 such statement is deficient; and 

4 ‘‘(II) may require the regional 

5 center to amend or supplement such 

6 annual statement if the Director de7 termines that such an amendment or 

8 supplement is appropriate. 

9 ‘‘(iii) SANCTIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(I) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.— 

11 The Director shall sanction any re12 gional center entity in accordance 

13 with subclause (II) if the regional cen14 ter fails to submit an annual state15 ment or if the Director determines 

16 that the regional center— 

17 ‘‘(aa) knowingly submitted 

18 or caused to be submitted a 

19 statement, certification, or any 

20 information submitted pursuant 

21 to this subparagraph that con22 tained an untrue statement of 

23 material fact; or 

24 ‘‘(bb) is conducting itself in 

25 a manner inconsistent with its 


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1 designation under subparagraph 

2 (E), including any willful, undis3 closed, and material deviation by 

4 new commercial enterprises from 

5 any filed business plan for such 

6 new commercial enterprises. 

7 ‘‘(II) AUTHORIZED SANCTIONS.— 

8 The Director shall establish a grad9 uated set of sanctions based on the 

10 severity of the violations referred to in 

11 subclause (I), including— 

12 ‘‘(aa) fines equal to not 

13 more than 10 percent of the total 

14 capital invested by alien investors 

15 in the regional center’s new com16 mercial enterprises or job-cre17 ating entities directly involved in 

18 such violations, the payment of 

19 which shall not in any cir20 cumstance utilize any of such 

21 alien investors’ capital invest22 ments, and which shall be depos23 ited into the EB–5 Integrity 

24 Fund established under subpara25 graph (J); 


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1 ‘‘(bb) temporary suspension 

2 from participation in the pro3 gram described in subparagraph 

4 (E), which may be lifted by the 

5 Director if the individual or enti6 ty cures the alleged violation 

7 after being provided such an op8 portunity by the Director; 

9 ‘‘(cc) permanent bar from 

10 participation in the program de11 scribed in subparagraph (E) for 

12 1 or more individuals or business 

13 entities associated with the re14 gional center, new commercial 

15 enterprise, or job-creating entity; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(dd) termination of re18 gional center designation. 

19 ‘‘(iv) AVAILABILITY OF ANNUAL

20 STATEMENTS TO INVESTORS.—Not later 

21 than 30 days after a request from an alien 

22 investor, a regional center shall make 

23 available to such alien investor a copy of 

24 the filed annual statement and any amend25 ments filed to such statement, which shall 


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1 be redacted to exclude any information un2 related to such alien investor or the new 

3 commercial enterprise or job creating enti4 ty into which the alien investor invested. 

5 ‘‘(H) BONA FIDES OF PERSONS INVOLVED

6 WITH REGIONAL CENTER PROGRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security may not permit any 

9 person to be involved with any regional 

10 center, new commercial enterprise, or job11 creating entity if— 

12 ‘‘(I) the person has been found to 

13 have committed— 

14 ‘‘(aa) a criminal or civil of15 fense involving fraud or deceit 

16 within the previous 10 years; 

17 ‘‘(bb) a civil offense involv18 ing fraud or deceit that resulted 

19 in a liability in excess of 

20 $1,000,000; or 

21 ‘‘(cc) a crime for which the 

22 person was convicted and sen23 tenced to a term of imprisonment 

24 of more than 1 year; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the person is subject to a 

2 final order, for the duration of any 

3 penalty imposed by such order, of a 

4 State securities commission (or an 

5 agency or officer of a State per6 forming similar functions), a State 

7 authority that supervises or examines 

8 banks, savings associations, or credit 

9 unions, a State insurance commission 

10 (or an agency or officer of a State 

11 performing similar functions), an ap12 propriate Federal banking agency, the 

13 Commodity Futures Trading Commis14 sion, the Securities and Exchange 

15 Commission, a financial self-regu16 latory organization recognized by the 

17 Securities and Exchange Commission, 

18 or the National Credit Union Admin19 istration, which is based on a violation 

20 of any law or regulation that— 

21 ‘‘(aa) prohibits fraudulent, 

22 manipulative, or deceptive con23 duct; or 

24 ‘‘(bb) bars the person 

25 from— 


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1 ‘‘(AA) association with 

2 an entity regulated by such 

3 commission, authority, agen4 cy, or officer; 

5 ‘‘(BB) appearing before 

6 such commission, authority, 

7 agency, or officer; 

8 ‘‘(CC) engaging in the 

9 business of securities, insur10 ance, or banking; or 

11 ‘‘(DD) engaging in sav12 ings association or credit 

13 union activities; 

14 ‘‘(III) the Secretary determines 

15 that the person is engaged in, has 

16 ever been engaged in, or seeks to en17 gage in— 

18 ‘‘(aa) any illicit trafficking 

19 in any controlled substance or in 

20 any listed chemical (as defined in 

21 section 102 of the Controlled 

22 Substances Act); 

23 ‘‘(bb) any activity relating to 

24 espionage, sabotage, or theft of 

25 intellectual property; 


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1 ‘‘(cc) any activity related to 

2 money laundering (as described 

3 in section 1956 or 1957 of title 

4 18, United States Code); 

5 ‘‘(dd) any terrorist activity 

6 (as defined in section 

7 212(a)(3)(B)); 

8 ‘‘(ee) any activity consti9 tuting or facilitating human traf10 ficking or a human rights of11 fense; 

12 ‘‘(ff) any activity described 

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

14 ‘‘(gg) the violation of any 

15 statute, regulation, or Executive 

16 order regarding foreign financial 

17 transactions or foreign asset con18 trol; or 

19 ‘‘(IV) the person— 

20 ‘‘(aa) is, or during the pre21 ceding 10 years has been, in22 cluded on the Department of 

23 Justice’s List of Currently Dis24 ciplined Practitioners; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) during the preceding 

2 10 years, has received a rep3 rimand or has otherwise been 

4 publicly disciplined for conduct 

5 related to fraud or deceit by a 

6 State bar association of which 

7 the person is or was a member. 

8 ‘‘(ii) FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT IN RE9 GIONAL CENTER PROGRAM.— 

10 ‘‘(I) LAWFUL STATUS RE11 QUIRED.—A person may not be in12 volved with a regional center unless 

13 the person— 

14 ‘‘(aa) is a national of the 

15 United States or an individual 

16 who has been lawfully admitted 

17 for permanent residence (as such 

18 terms are defined in paragraphs 

19 (20) and (22) of section 101(a)); 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(bb) is not the subject of 

22 rescission or removal pro23 ceedings. 

24 ‘‘(II) FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.— 

25 No agency, official, or other similar 


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1 entity or representative of a foreign 

2 government entity may provide capital 

3 to, or be directly or indirectly involved 

4 with the ownership or administration 

5 of, a regional center, a new commer6 cial enterprise, or a job-creating enti7 ty, except that a foreign or domestic 

8 investment fund or other investment 

9 vehicle that is wholly or partially 

10 owned, directly or indirectly, by a 

11 bona fide foreign sovereign wealth 

12 fund or a foreign state-owned enter13 prise otherwise permitted to do busi14 ness in the United States may be in15 volved with the ownership, but not the 

16 administration, of a job-creating enti17 ty that is not an affiliated job-creating 

18 entity. 

19 ‘‘(III) RULEMAKING.—Not later 

20 than 270 days after the date of the 

21 enactment of the EB–5 Reform and 

22 Integrity Act of 2021, the Secretary 

23 shall issue regulations implementing 

24 subparagraphs (I) and (II). 


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1 ‘‘(iii) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The 

2 Secretary of Homeland Security— 

3 ‘‘(I) shall require such attesta4 tions and information, including the 

5 submission of fingerprints or other 

6 biometrics to the Federal Bureau of 

7 Investigation with respect to a re8 gional center, a new commercial enter9 prise, and any affiliated job creating 

10 entity, and persons involved with such 

11 entities (as described in clause (v)), as 

12 may be necessary to determine wheth13 er such entities are in compliance with 

14 clauses (i) and (ii); 

15 ‘‘(II) shall perform such criminal 

16 record checks and other background 

17 and database checks with respect to a 

18 regional center, a new commercial en19 terprise, and any affiliated job-cre20 ating entity, and persons involved 

21 with such entities (as described in 

22 clause (v)), as may be necessary to de23 termine whether such entities are in 

24 compliance with clauses (i) and (ii); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(III) may, at the Secretary’s 

2 discretion, require the information de3 scribed to in subclause (I) and may 

4 perform the checks described in sub5 clause (II) with respect to any job cre6 ating entity and persons involved with 

7 such entity if there is a reasonable 

8 basis to believe such entity or person 

9 is not in compliance with clauses (i) 

10 and (ii). 

11 ‘‘(iv) TERMINATION.— 

12 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec13 retary of Homeland Security may sus14 pend or terminate the designation of 

15 any regional center, or the participa16 tion under the program of any new 

17 commercial enterprise or job-creating 

18 entity under this paragraph if the 

19 Secretary determines that such enti20 ty— 

21 ‘‘(aa) knowingly involved a 

22 person with such entity in viola23 tion of clause (i) or (ii) by fail24 ing, within 14 days of acquiring 

25 such knowledge— 


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1 ‘‘(AA) to take commer2 cially reasonable efforts to 

3 discontinue the prohibited 

4 person’s involvement; or 

5 ‘‘(BB) to provide notice 

6 to the Secretary; 

7 ‘‘(bb) failed to provide an 

8 attestation or information re9 quested by the Secretary under 

10 clause (iii)(I); or 

11 ‘‘(cc) knowingly provided 

12 any false attestation or informa13 tion under clause (iii)(I). 

14 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—The Sec15 retary’s authorized sanctions under 

16 subclause (I) shall be limited to enti17 ties that have engaged in any activity 

18 described in subclause (I). 

19 ‘‘(III) INFORMATION.— 

20 ‘‘(aa) NOTIFICATION.—The 

21 Secretary, after performing the 

22 criminal record checks and other 

23 background checks described in 

24 clause (iii), shall notify a regional 

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1 prise, or job-creating entity 

2 whether any person involved with 

3 such entities is not in compliance 

4 with clause (i) or (ii), unless the 

5 information that provides the 

6 basis for the determination is 

7 classified or disclosure is other8 wise prohibited under law. 

9 ‘‘(bb) EFFECT OF FAILURE

10 TO RESPOND.—If the regional 

11 center, new commercial enter12 prise, or job-creating entity fails 

13 to discontinue the prohibited per14 son’s involvement with the re15 gional center, new commercial 

16 enterprise, or job-creating entity, 

17 as applicable, within 30 days 

18 after receiving such notification, 

19 such entity shall be deemed to 

20 have knowledge under subclause 

21 (I)(aa) that the involvement of 

22 such person with the entity is in 

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

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1 TERPRISE, OR JOB-CREATING ENTITY.— 

2 For the purposes of this paragraph, unless 

3 otherwise determined by the Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security, a person is involved 

5 with a regional center, a new commercial 

6 enterprise, any affiliated job-creating enti7 ty, as applicable, if the person is, directly 

8 or indirectly, in a position of substantive 

9 authority to make operational or manage10 rial decisions over pooling, securitization, 

11 investment, release, acceptance, or control 

12 or use of any funding that was procured 

13 under the program described in subpara14 graph (E). An individual may be in a posi15 tion of substantive authority if the person 

16 serves as a principal, a representative, an 

17 administrator, an owner, an officer, a 

18 board member, a manager, an executive, a 

19 general partner, a fiduciary, an agent, or 

20 in a similar position at the regional center, 

21 new commercial enterprise, or job-creating 

22 entity, respectively. 

23 ‘‘(I) COMPLIANCE WITH SECURITIES

24 LAWS.— 

25 ‘‘(i) JURISDICTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The United 

2 States has jurisdiction, including sub3 ject matter jurisdiction, over the pur4 chase or sale of any security offered 

5 or sold, or any investment advice pro6 vided, by any regional center or any 

7 party associated with a regional cen8 ter for purposes of the securities laws. 

9 ‘‘(II) COMPLIANCE WITH REGU10 LATION S.—For purposes of section 5 

11 of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 

12 U.S.C. 77e), a regional center or any 

13 party associated with a regional cen14 ter is not precluded from offering or 

15 selling a security pursuant to Regula16 tion S (17 C.F.R. 230.901 et seq.) to 

17 the extent that such offering or selling 

18 otherwise complies with that regula19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(III) SAVINGS PROVISION.— 

21 Subclause (I) is not intended to mod22 ify any existing rules or regulations of 

23 the Securities and Exchange Commis24 sion related to the application of sec25 tion 15(a) of the Securities and ExVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Apr 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S831.IS S831

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1 change Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 

2 78o(a)) to foreign brokers or dealers. 

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, including those 

15 related to internal and external due 

16 diligence, reasonably designed to con17 firm, as applicable, that all parties as18 sociated with the regional center are 

19 and will remain in compliance with 

20 the securities laws of the United 

21 States and of any State in which— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the offer, purchase, or 

23 sale of securities was conducted; 

24 ‘‘(bb) the issuer of securities 

25 was located; or 


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1 ‘‘(cc) the investment advice 

2 was provided by the regional cen3 ter or parties associated with the 

4 regional center. 

5 ‘‘(II) REISSUE.—A regional cen6 ter shall annually reissue a certifi7 cation described in subclause (I), in 

8 accordance with subparagraph (G), to 

9 certify compliance with clause (iii) by 

10 stating that— 

11 ‘‘(aa) the certification is 

12 made by a certifier; 

13 ‘‘(bb) to the best of the cer14 tifier’s knowledge, after a due 

15 diligence investigation, all such 

16 offers, purchases, and sales of se17 curities or the provision of invest18 ment advice complied with the se19 curities laws of the United States 

20 and the securities laws of any 

21 State in which— 

22 ‘‘(AA) the offer, pur23 chase, or sale of securities 

24 was conducted; 


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1 ‘‘(BB) the issuer of se2 curities was located; or 

3 ‘‘(CC) the investment 

4 advice was provided; and 

5 ‘‘(cc) records, data, and in6 formation related to such offers, 

7 purchases, and sales have been 

8 maintained. 

9 ‘‘(III) EFFECT OF NONCOMPLI10 ANCE.—If a regional center, through 

11 its due diligence, discovered during 

12 the previous fiscal year that the re13 gional center or any party associated 

14 with the regional center was not in 

15 compliance with the securities laws of 

16 the United States or the securities 

17 laws of any State in which the securi18 ties activities were conducted by any 

19 party associated with the regional cen20 ter, the certifier shall— 

21 ‘‘(aa) describe the activities 

22 that led to noncompliance; 

23 ‘‘(bb) describe the actions 

24 taken to remedy the noncompli25 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— 

10 ‘‘(I) use commercially reasonable 

11 efforts to monitor and supervise com12 pliance with the securities laws in re13 lations to all offers, purchases, and 

14 sales of, and investment advice relat15 ing to, securities made by parties as16 sociated with the regional center; 

17 ‘‘(II) maintain records, data, and 

18 information relating to all such offers, 

19 purchases, sales, and investment ad20 vice during the 5-year period begin21 ning on the date of their creation; and 

22 ‘‘(III) make the records, data, 

23 and information described in sub24 clause (II) available to the Secretary 


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1 or to the Securities and Exchange 

2 Commission upon request. 

3 ‘‘(iv) SUSPENSION OR TERMI4 NATION.—In addition to any other author5 ity provided to the Secretary under this 

6 paragraph, the Secretary, in the Sec7 retary’s discretion, may suspend or termi8 nate the designation of any regional center 

9 or impose other sanctions against the re10 gional center if the regional center, or any 

11 parties associated with the regional center 

12 that the regional center knew or reason13 ably should have known— 

14 ‘‘(I) are permanently or tempo15 rarily enjoined by order, judgment, or 

16 decree of any court of competent ju17 risdiction in connection with the offer, 

18 purchase, or sale of a security or the 

19 provision of investment advice; 

20 ‘‘(II) are subject to any final 

21 order of the Securities and Exchange 

22 Commission or a State securities reg23 ulator that— 

24 ‘‘(aa) bars such person from 

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1 lated by the Securities and Ex2 change Commission or a State 

3 securities regulator; or 

4 ‘‘(bb) constitutes a final 

5 order based on a finding of an in6 tentional violation or a violation 

7 related to fraud or deceit in con8 nection with the offer, purchase, 

9 or sale of, or investment advice 

10 relating to, a security; or 

11 ‘‘(III) submitted, or caused to be 

12 submitted, a certification described in 

13 clause (ii) that contained an untrue 

14 statement of a material fact or omit15 ted to state a material fact necessary 

16 in order to make the statements 

17 made, in light of the circumstances 

18 under which they were made, not mis19 leading. 

20 ‘‘(v) DEFINED TERM.—In this sub21 paragraph, the term ‘parties associated 

22 with a regional center’ means— 

23 ‘‘(I) the regional center; 

24 ‘‘(II) any new commercial enter25 prise or affiliated job-creating entity 


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1 or issuer of securities associated with 

2 the regional center; 

3 ‘‘(III) the regional center’s and 

4 new commercial enterprise’s owners, 

5 officers, directors, managers, partners, 

6 agents, employees, promoters and at7 torneys, or similar position, as deter8 mined by the Secretary; and 

9 ‘‘(IV) any person under the con10 trol of the regional center, new com11 mercial enterprise, or issuer of securi12 ties associated with the regional cen13 ter who is responsible for the mar14 keting, offering, or sale of any secu15 rity offered in connection with the 

16 capital investment project. 

17 ‘‘(vi) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing 

18 in this subparagraph may be construed to 

19 impair or limit the authority of the Securi20 ties and Exchange Commission under the 

21 Federal securities laws or any State securi22 ties regulator under State securities laws. 

23 ‘‘(J) EB–5 INTEGRITY FUND.— 

24 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is es25 tablished in the United States Treasury a 


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•S 831 IS

1 special fund, which shall be known as the 

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

3 subparagraph as the ‘Fund’). Amounts de4 posited into the Fund shall be available to 

5 the Secretary of Homeland Security until 

6 expended for the purposes set forth in 

7 clause (iii). 

8 ‘‘(ii) FEES.— 

9 ‘‘(I) ANNUAL FEE.—On October 

10 1, 2021, and each October 1 there11 after, the Secretary of Homeland Se12 curity shall collect for the Fund an 

13 annual fee— 

14 ‘‘(aa) except as provided in 

15 item (bb), of $20,000 from each 

16 regional center designated under 

17 subparagraph (E); and 

18 ‘‘(bb) of $10,000 from each 

19 such regional center with 20 or 

20 fewer total investors in the pre21 ceding fiscal year in its new com22 mercial enterprises. 

23 ‘‘(II) PETITION FEE.—Beginning 

24 on October 1, 2021, the Secretary 

25 shall collect a fee of $1,000 for the 


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•S 831 IS

1 Fund with each petition filed under 

2 section 204(a)(1)(H) for classification 

3 under subparagraph (E). The fee 

4 under this subclause is in addition to 

5 the fee that the Secretary is author6 ized to establish and collect for each 

7 petition to recover the costs of adju8 dication and naturalization services 

9 under section 286(m). 

10 ‘‘(III) INCREASES.—The Sec11 retary may increase the amounts 

12 under this clause by prescribing such 

13 regulations as may be necessary to en14 sure that amounts in the Fund are 

15 sufficient to carry out the purposes 

16 set forth in clause (iii). 

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

18 The Secretary shall— 

‘‘(I) use not less than 1 19 ⁄3 of the 

20 amounts deposited into the Fund for 

21 investigations based outside of the 

22 United States, including— 

23 ‘‘(aa) monitoring and inves24 tigating program-related events 

25 and promotional activities; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) ensuring an alien in2 vestor’s compliance with subpara3 graph (L); and 

4 ‘‘(II) use amounts deposited into 

5 the Fund— 

6 ‘‘(aa) to detect and inves7 tigate fraud or other crimes; 

8 ‘‘(bb) to determine whether 

9 regional centers, new commercial 

10 enterprises, job-creating entities, 

11 and alien investors (and their 

12 alien spouses and alien children) 

13 comply with the immigration 

14 laws; 

15 ‘‘(cc) to conduct audits and 

16 site visits; and 

17 ‘‘(dd) as the Secretary de18 termines to be necessary, includ19 ing monitoring compliance with 

20 the requirements under section 7 

21 of the EB–5 Reform and Integ22 rity Act of 2021. 

23 ‘‘(iv) FAILURE TO PAY FEE.—The 

24 Secretary of Homeland Security shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) impose a reasonable penalty, 

2 which shall be deposited into the 

3 Fund, if any regional center does not 

4 pay the fee required under clause (ii) 

5 within 30 days after the date on 

6 which such fee is due; and 

7 ‘‘(II) terminate the designation 

8 of any regional center that does not 

9 pay the fee required under clause (ii) 

10 within 90 days after the date on 

11 which such fee is due. 

12 ‘‘(v) REPORT.—The Secretary shall 

13 submit an annual report to the Committee 

14 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

15 Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

16 of Representatives that describes how 

17 amounts in the Fund were expended dur18 ing the previous fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(K) DIRECT AND THIRD-PARTY PRO20 MOTERS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) RULES AND STANDARDS.—Direct 

22 and third-party promoters (including mi23 gration agents) of a regional center, any 

24 new commercial enterprise, an affiliated 

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1 ties intended to be offered to alien inves2 tors in connection with a particular capital 

3 investment project shall comply with the 

4 rules and standards prescribed by the Sec5 retary of Homeland Security and any ap6 plicable Federal or State securities laws, to 

7 oversee promotion of any offering of secu8 rities related to the EB–5 Program, in9 cluding— 

10 ‘‘(I) registration with U.S. Citi11 zenship and Immigration Services, 

12 which— 

13 ‘‘(aa) includes identifying 

14 and contact information for such 

15 promoter and confirmation of the 

16 existence of the written agree17 ment required under clause (iii); 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(bb) may be made publicly 

20 available at the discretion of the 

21 Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(II) certification by each pro23 moter that such promoter is not ineli24 gible under subparagraph (H)(i); 


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1 ‘‘(III) guidelines for accurately 

2 representing the visa process to for3 eign investors; and 

4 ‘‘(IV) guidelines describing per5 missible fee arrangements under ap6 plicable securities and immigration 

7 laws. 

8 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—If the 

9 Secretary determines that a direct or 

10 third-party promoter has violated clause 

11 (i), the Secretary shall suspend or perma12 nently bar such individual from participa13 tion in the program described in subpara14 graph (E). 

15 ‘‘(iii) COMPLIANCE.—Each regional 

16 center, new commercial enterprise, and af17 filiated job-creating entity shall maintain a 

18 written agreement between or among such 

19 entities and each direct or third-party pro20 moter operating on behalf of such entities 

21 that outlines the rules and standards pre22 scribed under clause (i). 

23 ‘‘(iv) DISCLOSURE.—Each petition 

24 filed under section 204(a)(1)(H) shall in25 clude a disclosure, signed by the investor, 


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1 that reflects all fees, ongoing interest, and 

2 other compensation paid to any person 

3 that the regional center or new commercial 

4 enterprise knows has received, or will re5 ceive, in connection with the investment, 

6 including compensation to agents, finders, 

7 or broker dealers involved in the offering, 

8 to the extent not already specifically identi9 fied in the business plan filed under sub10 paragraph (F). 

11 ‘‘(L) SOURCE OF FUNDS.— 

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

13 shall demonstrate that the capital required 

14 under subparagraph (A) and any funds 

15 used to pay administrative costs and fees 

16 associated with the alien’s investment were 

17 obtained from a lawful source and through 

18 lawful means. 

19 ‘‘(ii) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The 

20 Secretary of Homeland Security shall re21 quire that an alien investor’s petition 

22 under this paragraph contain, as applica23 ble— 

24 ‘‘(I) business and tax records, or 

25 similar records, including— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) foreign business reg2 istration records; 

3 ‘‘(bb) corporate or partner4 ship tax returns (or tax returns 

5 of any other entity in any form 

6 filed in any country or subdivi7 sion of such country), and per8 sonal tax returns, including in9 come, franchise, property (wheth10 er real, personal, or intangible), 

11 or any other tax returns of any 

12 kind, filed during the past 7 

13 years (or another period to be de14 termined by the Secretary to en15 sure that the investment is ob16 tained from a lawful source of 

17 funds) with any taxing jurisdic18 tion within or outside the United 

19 States by or on behalf of the 

20 alien investor; and 

21 ‘‘(cc) any other evidence 

22 identifying any other source of 

23 capital or administrative 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 

9 within or outside the United States; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(III) the identity of all persons 

12 who transfer into the United States, 

13 on behalf of the investor, any funds 

14 that are used to meet the capital re15 quirement under subparagraph (A). 

16 ‘‘(iii) GIFT AND LOAN RESTRIC17 TIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Gifted and 

19 borrowed funds may not be counted 

20 toward the minimum capital invest21 ment requirement under subpara22 graph (C) unless such funds— 

23 ‘‘(aa) were gifted or loaned 

24 to the alien investor in good 

25 faith; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) were not gifted or 

2 loaned to circumvent any limita3 tions imposed on permissible 

4 sources of capital under this sub5 paragraph, including but not lim6 ited to proceeds from illegal ac7 tivity. 

8 ‘‘(II) RECORDS REQUIREMENT.— 

9 If funds invested under subparagraph 

10 (A) are gifted or loaned to the alien 

11 investor, the Secretary shall require 

12 that the alien investor’s petition under 

13 this paragraph includes the records 

14 described in subclauses (I) and (II) of 

15 clause (ii) from the donor or, if other 

16 than a bank, the lender. 

17 ‘‘(M) TREATMENT OF GOOD FAITH INVES18 TORS FOLLOWING PROGRAM NONCOMPLI19 ANCE.— 

20 ‘‘(i) TERMINATION OR DEBARMENT

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

22 clause (vi), upon the termination or debar23 ment, as applicable, from the program 

24 under this paragraph of a regional center, 


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1 a new commercial enterprise, or a job-cre2 ating entity— 

3 ‘‘(I) an otherwise qualified peti4 tion under section 204(a)(1)(H) or 

5 the conditional permanent residence of 

6 an alien who has been admitted to the 

7 United States pursuant to section 

8 216A(a)(1) based on an investment in 

9 a terminated regional center, new 

10 commercial enterprise, or job-creating 

11 entity shall remain valid or continue 

12 to be authorized, as applicable, con13 sistent with this subparagraph; and 

14 ‘‘(II) the Secretary of Homeland 

15 Security shall notify the alien bene16 ficiaries of such petitions of such ter17 mination or debarment. 

18 ‘‘(ii) NEW REGIONAL CENTER OR IN19 VESTMENT.—The petition under section 

20 204(a)(1)(H) of an alien described in 

21 clause (i) and the conditional permanent 

22 resident status of an alien described in 

23 clause (i) shall be terminated 180 days 

24 after notification of the termination from 

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1 gional center, a new commercial enterprise, 

2 or a job creating entity (but not sooner 

3 than 180 days after the date of the enact4 ment of the EB–5 Reform and Integrity 

5 Act of 2021) unless— 

6 ‘‘(I) in the case of the termi7 nation of a regional center— 

8 ‘‘(aa) the new commercial 

9 enterprise associates with an ap10 proved regional center, regardless 

11 of the approved geographical 

12 boundaries of such regional cen13 ter’s designation; or 

14 ‘‘(bb) such alien makes a 

15 qualifying investment in another 

16 new commercial enterprise; or 

17 ‘‘(II) in the case of the debar18 ment of a new commercial enterprise 

19 or job-creating entity, such alien— 

20 ‘‘(aa) associates with a new 

21 commercial enterprise in good 

22 standing; and 

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1 ing job creation requirements 

2 under subparagraph (A)(ii). 

3 ‘‘(iii) AMENDMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(I) FILING REQUIREMENT.— 

5 The Secretary shall permit a petition 

6 described in clause (i)(I) to be amend7 ed to allow such petition to meet the 

8 applicable eligibility requirements 

9 under clause (ii), or to notify the Sec10 retary that a pending or approved pe11 tition continues to meet the eligibility 

12 requirements described in clause (ii) 

13 notwithstanding termination or debar14 ment described in clause (i) if such 

15 amendment is filed not later than 180 

16 days after the Secretary provides noti17 fication of termination or debarment 

18 of a regional center, a new commercial 

19 enterprise, or a job-creating entity, as 

20 applicable. 

21 ‘‘(II) DETERMINATION OF ELIGI22 BILITY.—For purposes of determining 

23 eligibility under subclause (I)— 

24 ‘‘(aa) the Secretary shall 

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1 ness plan, without such facts un2 derlying the amendment being 

3 deemed a material change; and 

4 ‘‘(bb) may deem any funds 

5 obtained or recovered by an alien 

6 investor, directly or indirectly, 

7 from claims against third parties, 

8 including insurance proceeds, or 

9 any additional investment capital 

10 provided by the alien, to be such 

11 alien’s investment capital for the 

12 purposes of subparagraph (A) if 

13 such investment otherwise com14 plies with the requirements under 

15 this paragraph and section 216A. 

16 ‘‘(iv) REMOVAL OF CONDITIONS.— 

17 Aliens described in subclauses (I)(bb) and 

18 (II) of clause (ii) shall be eligible to have 

19 their conditions removed pursuant to sec20 tion 216A beginning on the date that is 2 

21 years after the date of the subsequent in22 vestment. 

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1 lowing an amendment filed under clause 

2 (iii), the Secretary— 

3 ‘‘(I) shall retain the immigrant 

4 visa priority date related to the origi5 nal petition and prevent age-out of de6 rivative beneficiaries; and 

7 ‘‘(II) may hold such petition in 

8 abeyance and extend any applicable 

9 deadlines under this paragraph. 

10 ‘‘(vi) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary 

11 has reason to believe that an alien was a 

12 knowing participant in the conduct that led 

13 to the termination of a regional center, 

14 new commercial enterprise, or job-creating 

15 entity described in clause (i)— 

16 ‘‘(I) the alien shall not be ac17 corded any benefit under this sub18 paragraph; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(aa) notify the alien of 

21 such belief; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) subject to section 

23 216A(b)(2), shall deny or initiate 

24 proceedings to revoke the ap25 proval of such alien’s petition, 


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1 application, or benefit (and that 

2 of any spouse or child, if applica3 ble) described in this paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(N) THREATS TO THE NATIONAL INTER5 EST.— 

6 ‘‘(i) DENIAL OR REVOCATION.—The 

7 Secretary of Homeland Security shall deny 

8 or revoke the approval of a petition, appli9 cation, or benefit described in this para10 graph, including the documents described 

11 in clause (ii), if the Secretary determines, 

12 in the Secretary’s discretion, that the ap13 proval of such petition, application, or ben14 efit is contrary to the national interest of 

15 the United States for reasons relating to 

16 threats to public safety or national secu17 rity. 

18 ‘‘(ii) DOCUMENTS.—The documents 

19 described in this clause are— 

20 ‘‘(I) a certification, designation, 

21 or amendment to the designation of a 

22 regional center; 

23 ‘‘(II) a petition seeking classifica24 tion of an alien as an alien investor 

25 under this paragraph; 


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1 ‘‘(III) a petition to remove condi2 tions under section 216A; 

3 ‘‘(IV) an application for approval 

4 of a business plan in a new commer5 cial enterprise under subparagraph 

6 (F); or 

7 ‘‘(V) a document evidencing con8 ditional permanent resident status 

9 that was issued to an alien pursuant 

10 to section 216A. 

11 ‘‘(iii) DEBARMENT.—If a regional 

12 center, new commercial enterprise, or job13 creating entity has its designation or par14 ticipation in the program under this para15 graph terminated for reasons relating to 

16 public safety or national security, any per17 son associated with such regional center, 

18 new commercial enterprise, or job-creating 

19 entity, including an alien investor, shall be 

20 permanently barred from future participa21 tion in the program under this paragraph 

22 if the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

23 the Secretary’s discretion, determines, by a 

24 preponderance of the evidence, that such 


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1 person was a knowing participant in the 

2 conduct that led to the termination. 

3 ‘‘(iv) NOTICE.—If the Secretary of 

4 Homeland Security determines that the ap5 proval of a petition, application, or benefit 

6 described in this paragraph should be de7 nied or revoked pursuant to clause (i), the 

8 Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(I) notify the relevant indi10 vidual, regional center, or commercial 

11 entity of such determination; 

12 ‘‘(II) deny or revoke such peti13 tion, application, or benefit or termi14 nate the permanent resident status of 

15 the alien (and the alien spouse and 

16 alien children of such immigrant), as 

17 of the date of such determination; and 

18 ‘‘(III) provide any United States19 owned regional center, new commer20 cial enterprise, or job creating entity 

21 an explanation for such determination 

22 unless the relevant information is 

23 classified or disclosure is otherwise 

24 prohibited under law. 


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1 ‘‘(v) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Notwith2 standing any other provision of law (statu3 tory or nonstatutory), including section 

4 2241 of title 28, United States Code, or 

5 any other habeas corpus provision, and 

6 sections 1361 and 1651 of such title, no 

7 court shall have jurisdiction to review a de8 nial or revocation under this subparagraph. 

9 Nothing in this clause may be construed as 

10 precluding review of constitutional claims 

11 or questions of law raised upon a petition 

12 for review filed with an appropriate court 

13 of appeals in accordance with section 242. 

14 ‘‘(O) FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATION, AND

15 CRIMINAL MISUSE.— 

16 ‘‘(i) DENIAL OR REVOCATION.—Sub17 ject to subparagraph (M), the Secretary of 

18 Homeland Security shall deny or revoke 

19 the approval of a petition, application, or 

20 benefit described in this paragraph, includ21 ing the documents described in subpara22 graph (N)(ii), if the Secretary determines, 

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1 tional material misrepresentation, or crimi2 nal misuse. 

3 ‘‘(ii) DEBARMENT.—If a regional cen4 ter, new commercial enterprise, or job-cre5 ating entity has its designation or partici6 pation in the program under this para7 graph terminated for reasons relating to 

8 fraud, intentional material misrepresenta9 tion, or criminal misuse, any person associ10 ated with such regional center, new com11 mercial enterprise, or job-creating entity, 

12 including an alien investor, shall be perma13 nently barred from future participation in 

14 the program if the Secretary determines, 

15 in the Secretary’s discretion, by a prepon16 derance of the evidence, that such person 

17 was a knowing participant in the conduct 

18 that led to the termination. 

19 ‘‘(iii) NOTICE.—If the Secretary de20 termines that the approval of a petition, 

21 application, or benefit described in this 

22 paragraph should be denied or revoked 

23 pursuant to clause (i), the Secretary 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) notify the relevant indi2 vidual, regional center, or commercial 

3 entity of such determination; and 

4 ‘‘(II) deny or revoke such peti5 tion, application, or benefit or termi6 nate the permanent resident status of 

7 the alien (and the alien spouse and 

8 alien children of such immigrant), in 

9 accordance with clause (i), as of the 

10 date of such determination. 

11 ‘‘(P) ADMINISTRATIVE APPELLATE RE12 VIEW.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Director of 

14 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

15 shall provide an opportunity for an admin16 istrative appellate review by the Adminis17 trative Appeals Office of U.S. Citizenship 

18 and Immigration Services of any deter19 mination made under this paragraph, in20 cluding— 

21 ‘‘(I) an application for regional 

22 center designation or regional center 

23 amendment; 


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1 ‘‘(II) an application for approval 

2 of a business plan filed under sub3 paragraph (F); 

4 ‘‘(III) a petition by an alien in5 vestor for status as an immigrant 

6 under this paragraph; 

7 ‘‘(IV) the termination or suspen8 sion of any benefit accorded under 

9 this paragraph; and 

10 ‘‘(V) any sanction imposed by the 

11 Secretary under this paragraph. 

12 ‘‘(ii) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Subject to 

13 subparagraph (N)(v) and section 

14 242(a)(2), and notwithstanding any other 

15 provision of law (statutory or nonstatu16 tory), including section 2241 of title 28, 

17 United States Code, or any other habeas 

18 corpus provision, and sections 1361 and 

19 1651 of such title, no court shall have ju20 risdiction to review a determination under 

21 this paragraph until the regional center, its 

22 associated entities, or the alien investor 

23 has exhausted all administrative appeals. 

24 ‘‘(Q) FUND ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each new com2 mercial enterprise shall deposit and main3 tain the capital investment of each alien 

4 investor in a separate account, including 

5 amounts held in escrow. 

6 ‘‘(ii) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in a 

7 separate account may only— 

8 ‘‘(I) be transferred to another 

9 separate account or a job creating en10 tity; 

11 ‘‘(II) otherwise be deployed into 

12 the capital investment project for 

13 which the funds were intended; or 

14 ‘‘(III) be transferred to the alien 

15 investor who contributed the funds as 

16 a refund of that investor’s capital in17 vestment, if otherwise permitted 

18 under this paragraph. 

19 ‘‘(iii) DEPLOYMENT OF FUNDS INTO

20 AN AFFILIATED JOB-CREATING ENTITY.— 

21 If amounts are transferred to an affiliated 

22 job-creating entity pursuant to clause 

23 (ii)(I)— 

24 ‘‘(I) the affiliated job-creating 

25 entity shall maintain such amounts in 


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1 a separate account until they are de2 ployed into the capital investment 

3 project for which they were intended; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) not later than 30 days after 

6 such amounts are deployed pursuant 

7 to subclause (I), the affiliated job-cre8 ating entity shall provide written no9 tice to the fund administrator re10 tained pursuant to clause (iv) that a 

11 construction consultant or other indi12 vidual authorized by the Secretary has 

13 verified that such amounts have been 

14 deployed into the project. 

15 ‘‘(iv) FUND ADMINISTRATOR.—Except 

16 as provided in clause (v), the new commer17 cial enterprise shall retain a fund adminis18 trator to fulfill the requirements under this 

19 subparagraph. The fund administrator— 

20 ‘‘(I) shall be independent of, and 

21 not directly related to, the new com22 mercial enterprise, the regional center 

23 associated with the new commercial 

24 enterprise, the job creating entity, or 


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1 any of the principals or managers of 

2 such entities; 

3 ‘‘(II) shall be licensed, active, 

4 and in good standing as— 

5 ‘‘(aa) a certified public ac6 countant; 

7 ‘‘(bb) an attorney; 

8 ‘‘(cc) a broker-dealer or in9 vestment adviser registered with 

10 the Securities and Exchange 

11 Commission; or 

12 ‘‘(dd) an individual or com13 pany that otherwise meets such 

14 requirements as may be estab15 lished by the Secretary; 

16 ‘‘(III) shall monitor and track 

17 any transfer of amounts from the sep18 arate account; 

19 ‘‘(IV) shall serve as a cosignatory 

20 on all separate accounts; 

21 ‘‘(V) before any transfer of 

22 amounts from a separate account, 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(aa) verify that the trans25 fer complies with all governing 


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1 documents, including organiza2 tional, operational, and invest3 ment documents; and 

4 ‘‘(bb) approve such transfer 

5 with a written or electronic sig6 nature; 

7 ‘‘(VI) shall periodically provide 

8 each alien investor with information 

9 about the activity of the account in 

10 which the investor’s capital invest11 ment is held, including— 

12 ‘‘(aa) the name and location 

13 of the bank or financial institu14 tion at which the account is 

15 maintained; 

16 ‘‘(bb) the history of the ac17 count; and 

18 ‘‘(cc) any additional infor19 mation required by the Secretary; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(VII) shall make and preserve, 

22 during the 5-year period beginning on 

23 the last day of the Federal fiscal year 

24 in which any transactions occurred, 

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1 umentation necessary to comply with 

2 this clause, which shall be provided to 

3 the Secretary upon request. 

4 ‘‘(v) WAIVER.— 

5 ‘‘(I) WAIVER PERMITTED.—The 

6 Secretary of Homeland Security, after 

7 consultation with the Securities and 

8 Exchange Commission, may waive the 

9 requirements under clause (iv) for any 

10 new commercial enterprise or affili11 ated job-creating entity that is con12 trolled by or under common control of 

13 an investment adviser or broker-dealer 

14 that is registered with the Securities 

15 and Exchange Commission if the Sec16 retary, in the Secretary’s discretion, 

17 determines that the Securities and 

18 Exchange Commission provides com19 parable protections and transparency 

20 for alien investors as the protections 

21 and transparency provided under 

22 clause (iv). 

23 ‘‘(II) WAIVER REQUIRED.—The 

24 Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

25 waive the requirements under clause 


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1 (iv) for any new commercial enterprise 

2 that commissions an annual inde3 pendent financial audit of such new 

4 commercial enterprise or job creating 

5 entity conducted in accordance with 

6 Generally Accepted Auditing Stand7 ards, which audit shall be provided to 

8 the Secretary and all investors in the 

9 new commercial enterprise. 

10 ‘‘(vi) DEFINED TERM.—In this sub11 paragraph, the term ‘separate account’ 

12 means an account that— 

13 ‘‘(I) is maintained in the United 

14 States by a new commercial enterprise 

15 or job creating entity at a federally 

16 regulated bank or at another financial 

17 institution (as defined in section 20 of 

18 title 18, United States Code) in the 

19 United States; 

20 ‘‘(II) is insured; and 

21 ‘‘(III) contains only the pooled 

22 investment funds of alien investors in 

23 a new commercial enterprise with re24 spect to a single capital investment 

25 project.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Unless otherwise provided in 

2 this section, the amendments made by this section shall 

3 take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of 

4 the enactment of this Act. 

5 SEC. 3. CONDITIONAL PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR 

6 ALIEN INVESTORS, SPOUSES, AND CHILDREN. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

13 term appears and inserting ‘‘investor’’; 

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

15 (1) to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) CONDITIONAL BASIS FOR STATUS.—An 

17 alien investor, alien spouse, and alien child shall be 

18 considered, at the time of obtaining status as an 

19 alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, to 

20 have obtained such status on a conditional basis sub21 ject to the provisions of this section.’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

24 ‘‘ENTREPRENEURSHIP’’ and inserting ‘‘INVEST25 MENT’’; and 


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

2 as follows: 

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

4 capital; or’’; 

5 (5) in subsection (c)— 

6 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

7 ‘‘OF TIMELY PETITION AND INTERVIEW’’; 

8 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (i) in the matter preceding subpara10 graph (A), by striking ‘‘In order’’ and in11 serting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph 

12 (3)(D), in order’’; 

13 (ii) in subparagraph (A)— 

14 (I) by striking ‘‘must’’ and in15 serting ‘‘shall’’; and 

16 (II) by striking ‘‘, and’’ and in17 serting a semicolon; 

18 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

19 (I) by striking ‘‘must’’ and in20 serting ‘‘shall’’; 

21 (II) by striking ‘‘Service’’ and in22 serting ‘‘Department of Homeland Se23 curity’’; and 

24 (III) by striking the period at the 

25 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (iv) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

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

4 site visit to the relevant corporate office or busi5 ness location described in section 

6 203(b)(5)(F)(iv).’’; and 

7 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (A), in the undes9 ignated matter following clause (ii), by 

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

11 (ii) by amending subparagraph (B) to 

12 read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(B) REMOVAL OR EXTENSION OF CONDI14 TIONAL BASIS.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro16 vided in clause (ii), if the Secretary deter17 mines that the facts and information con18 tained in a petition submitted under para19 graph (1)(A) are true, including dem20 onstrating that the alien complied with 

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

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(I) notify the alien involved of 

24 such determination; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) remove the conditional 

2 basis of the alien’s status effective as 

3 of the second anniversary of the 

4 alien’s lawful admission for permanent 

5 residence. 

6 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—If the petition 

7 demonstrates that the facts and informa8 tion are true and that the alien is in com9 pliance with subsection (d)(1)(B)(ii)— 

10 ‘‘(I) the Secretary, in the Sec11 retary’s discretion, may provide a 1- 

12 year extension of the alien’s condi13 tional status; and 

14 ‘‘(II)(aa) if the alien files a peti15 tion not later than 30 days after the 

16 third anniversary of the alien’s lawful 

17 admission for permanent residence 

18 demonstrating that the alien complied 

19 with subsection (d)(1)(B)(i), the Sec20 retary shall remove the conditional 

21 basis of the alien’s status effective as 

22 of such third anniversary; or 

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

24 petition described in item (aa), the 


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1 conditional status shall terminate at 

2 the end of such additional year.’’; 

3 (6) in subsection (d)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

6 read as follows: 

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

8 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

9 (B) as subparagraph (C); and 

10 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

11 (A) the following: 

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

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

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

15 the employment required under section 

16 203(b)(5)(A)(ii) and will create such employ17 ment before the third anniversary of the alien’s 

18 lawful admission for permanent residence, pro19 vided that such alien’s capital will remain in20 vested during such time; and’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (2), by amending sub22 paragraph (A) to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(A) NINETY-DAY PERIOD BEFORE SEC24 OND ANNIVERSARY.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro2 vided in clause (ii) and subparagraph (B), 

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

4 be filed during the 90-day period imme5 diately preceding the second anniversary of 

6 the alien investor’s lawful admission for 

7 permanent residence. 

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

9 subclauses (I)(bb) and (II) of section 

10 203(b)(5)(M)(ii) shall file a petition under 

11 subsection (c)(1)(A) during the 90-day pe12 riod before the second anniversary of the 

13 subsequent investment.’’; and 

14 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

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

16 inserting the following: 

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

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘Service’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘Department of Homeland Security’’; 

20 and 

21 (iii) by striking the last sentence and 

22 inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Home24 land Security, in the Secretary’s discretion, may 

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1 section (c)(1)(B) or the requirement for such 

2 an interview according to criteria developed by 

3 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in 

4 consultation with its Fraud Detection and Na5 tional Security Directorate and U.S. Immigra6 tion and Customs Enforcement, provided that 

7 such criteria do not include a reduction of case 

8 processing times or the allocation of adjudica9 tory resources. A waiver may not be granted 

10 under this subparagraph if the alien to be inter11 viewed— 

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

13 commercial enterprise, or job-creating enti14 ty that was sanctioned under section 

15 203(b)(5); or 

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

17 by the Secretary to be threats to public 

18 safety or national security.’’; and 

19 (7) in subsection (f)(3), by striking ‘‘a limited 

20 partnership’’ and inserting ‘‘any entity formed for 

21 the purpose of doing for-profit business’’. 

22 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), the amendments made by subsection (a) 


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

2 Act. 

3 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

4 (A) SITE VISITS.—The amendment made 

5 by subsection (a)(5)(B)(iv) shall take effect on 

6 the date that is 2 years after the date of the 

7 enactment of this Act. 

8 (B) PETITION BENEFICIARIES.—The 

9 amendments made by subsection (a) shall not 

10 apply to the beneficiary of a petition that is 

11 filed under section 216A of the Immigration 

12 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b) if the un13 derlying petition was filed under section 

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

15 before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 4. EB–5 VISA REFORMS. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 203(b)(5)(D) of the Im18 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(D)) 

19 is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(D) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(i) AFFILIATED JOB-CREATING ENTI22 TY.—The term ‘affiliated job-creating enti23 ty’ means any job-creating entity that is 

24 controlled, managed, or owned by any of 

25 the people involved with the regional center 


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1 or new commercial enterprise under section 

2 203(b)(5)(H)(v). 

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

4 ‘‘(I) means cash and all real, per5 sonal, or mixed tangible assets owned 

6 and controlled by the alien investor, 

7 or held in trust for the benefit of the 

8 alien and to which the alien has unre9 stricted access; 

10 ‘‘(II) shall be valued at fair mar11 ket value in United States dollars, in 

12 accordance with Generally Accepted 

13 Accounting Principles or other stand14 ard accounting practice adopted by 

15 the Securities and Exchange Commis16 sion, at the time it is invested under 

17 this paragraph; 

18 ‘‘(III) does not include— 

19 ‘‘(aa) assets directly or indi20 rectly acquired by unlawful 

21 means, including any cash pro22 ceeds of indebtedness secured by 

23 such assets; 

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1 ible debt, obligation, or any other 

2 debt arrangement between the 

3 alien investor and the new com4 mercial enterprise; 

5 ‘‘(cc) capital invested with a 

6 guaranteed rate of return on the 

7 amount invested by the alien in8 vestor; or 

9 ‘‘(dd) except as provided in 

10 subclause (IV), capital invested 

11 that is subject to any agreement 

12 between the alien investor and 

13 the new commercial enterprise 

14 that provides the investor with a 

15 contractual right to repayment, 

16 such as a mandatory redemption 

17 at a certain time or upon the oc18 currence of a certain event, or a 

19 put or sell-back option held by 

20 the alien investor, even if such 

21 contractual right is contingent on 

22 the success of the new commer23 cial enterprise, such as having 

24 sufficient available cash flow; and 


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1 ‘‘(IV) includes capital invested 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(aa) is subject to a buy 

4 back option that may be exer5 cised solely at the discretion of 

6 the new commercial enterprise; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(bb) results in the alien in9 vestor withdrawing his or her pe10 tition unless the alien investor 

11 has fulfilled his or her 

12 sustainment period and other re13 quirements under this paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(iii) CERTIFIER.—The term ‘cer15 tifier’ means a person in a position of sub16 stantive authority for the management or 

17 operations of a regional center, new com18 mercial enterprise, affiliated job-creating 

19 entity, or issuer of securities, such as a 

20 principal executive officer or principal fi21 nancial officer, with knowledge of such en22 tities’ policies and procedures related to 

23 compliance with the requirements under 

24 this paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) JOB-CREATING ENTITY.—The 

2 term ‘job-creating entity’ means any orga3 nization formed in the United States for 

4 the ongoing conduct of lawful business, in5 cluding sole proprietorship, partnership 

6 (whether limited or general), corporation, 

7 limited liability company, business trust, or 

8 other entity, which may be publicly or pri9 vately owned, including an entity con10 sisting of a holding company and its wholly 

11 owned subsidiaries or affiliates (provided 

12 that each subsidiary or affiliate is engaged 

13 in an activity formed for the ongoing con14 duct of a lawful business) that receives, or 

15 is established to receive, capital investment 

16 from alien investors or a new commercial 

17 enterprise under the regional center pro18 gram described in subparagraph (E) and 

19 which is responsible for creating jobs to 

20 satisfy the requirement under subpara21 graph (A)(ii). 

22 ‘‘(v) NEW COMMERCIAL ENTER23 PRISE.—The term ‘new commercial enter24 prise’ means any for-profit organization 

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1 ing conduct of lawful business, including 

2 sole proprietorship, partnership (whether 

3 limited or general), holding company and 

4 its wholly owned subsidiaries (provided 

5 that each subsidiary is engaged in a for6 profit activity formed for the ongoing con7 duct of a lawful business), joint venture, 

8 corporation, business trust, limited liability 

9 company, or other entity (which may be 

10 publicly or privately owned) that receives, 

11 or is established to receive, capital invest12 ment from investors under this para13 graph.’’. 

14 (b) AGE DETERMINATION FOR CHILDREN OF ALIEN

15 INVESTORS.—Section 203(h) of the Immigration and Na16 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(h)) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(5) AGE DETERMINATION FOR CHILDREN OF

19 ALIEN INVESTORS.—An alien who has reached 21 

20 years of age and has been admitted under subsection 

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

22 basis as the child of an alien lawfully admitted for 

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

24 lawful permanent resident status on a conditional 

25 basis is terminated under section 216A or subsection 


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1 (b)(5)(M), shall continue to be considered a child of 

2 the principal alien for the purpose of a subsequent 

3 immigrant petition by such alien under subsection 

4 (b)(5) if the alien remains unmarried and the subse5 quent petition is filed by the principal alien not later 

6 than 1 year after the termination of conditional law7 ful permanent resident status. No alien shall be con8 sidered a child under this paragraph with respect to 

9 more than 1 petition filed after the alien reaches 21 

10 years of age.’’. 

11 (c) ENHANCED PAY SCALE FOR CERTAIN FEDERAL

12 EMPLOYEES ADMINISTERING THE EMPLOYMENT CRE13 ATION PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Homeland Security 

14 may establish, fix the compensation of, and appoint indi15 viduals to designated critical, technical, and professional 

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

17 216A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

18 1153(b)(5) and 1186b). 

19 (d) CONCURRENT FILING OF EB–5 PETITIONS AND

20 APPLICATIONS FOR ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—Section 

21 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

22 1255) is amended— 

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

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

25 ‘‘(3), or (5)’’; and 


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

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

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

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

5 application for adjustment of status under this section 

6 shall be considered to be properly filed whether the appli7 cation is submitted concurrently with, or subsequent to, 

8 the visa petition.’’. 

9 (e) TYPE OF INVESTMENT.—Section 203(b)(5)(A) of 

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

11 1153(b)(5)(A)), as amended by subsection (a)(2), is fur12 ther amended— 

13 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘(C), and’’ and in14 serting ‘‘(C) and which is expected to remain in15 vested for not less than 2 years; and’’; and 

16 (2) in clause (ii)— 

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

18 ‘‘by creating’’; and 

19 (B) by inserting ‘‘, United States nation20 als,’’ after ‘‘citizens’’. 

21 (f) REQUIRED CHECKS.—Section 203(b)(5) of the 

22 Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by this sec23 tion and section 2, is further amended by adding at the 

24 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(R) REQUIRED CHECKS.—Any petition 

2 filed by an alien under section 204(a)(1)(H) 

3 may not be approved under this paragraph un4 less the Secretary of Homeland Security has 

5 searched for the alien and any associated em6 ployer of such alien on the Specially Designated 

7 Nationals List of the Department of the Treas8 ury Office of Foreign Assets Control.’’. 

9 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act. 

12 SEC. 5. PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING IMMIGRANT STATUS. 

13 (a) FILING ORDER AND ELIGIBILITY.—Section 

14 204(a)(1)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

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

16 ‘‘(H)(i) Any alien seeking classification under section 

17 203(b)(5) may file a petition for such classification with 

18 the Secretary of Homeland Security. An alien seeking to 

19 pool his or her investment with 1 or more additional aliens 

20 seeking classification under section 203(b)(5) shall file for 

21 such classification in accordance with section 

22 203(b)(5)(E), or before the date of the enactment of the 

23 EB–5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2021, in accordance 

24 with section 203(b)(5). An alien petitioning for classifica25 tion under section 203(b)(5)(E) may file a petition with 


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1 the Secretary after a regional center has filed an applica2 tion for approval of an investment under section 

3 203(b)(5)(F). 

4 ‘‘(ii) A petitioner described in clause (i) shall estab5 lish eligibility at the time he or she files a petition for 

6 classification under section 203(b)(5). A petitioner who 

7 was eligible for such classification at the time of such fil8 ing shall be deemed eligible for such classification at the 

9 time such petition is adjudicated, subject to the approval 

10 of the petitioner’s associated application under section 

11 203(b)(5)(F).’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

14 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the en15 actment of this Act. 

16 (2) APPLICABILITY TO PETITIONS.—Section 

17 204(a)(1)(H)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 

18 Act, as added by subsection (a), shall apply to any 

19 petition for classification pursuant to section 

20 203(b)(5)(E) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(E)) 

21 that is filed with the Secretary of Homeland Secu22 rity on or after the date of the enactment of this 

23 Act. 

24 (c) ADJUDICATION OF PETITIONS.—The Secretary of 

25 Homeland Security shall continue to adjudicate petitions 


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1 and benefits under sections 203(b)(5) and 216A of the 

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

3 and 1186b) during the implementation of this Act and the 

4 amendments made by this Act. 

5 SEC. 6. TIMELY PROCESSING. 

6 (a) FEE STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of U.S. 

8 Citizenship and Immigration Services shall complete a 

9 study of fees charged in the administration of the program 

10 described in sections 203(b)(5) and 216A of the Immigra11 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) and 

12 1186b). 

13 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF FEES TO ACHIEVE EFFICIENT

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

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

16 except as provided under subsection (c), the Director, not 

17 later than 60 days after the completion of the study under 

18 subsection (a), shall set fees for services provided under 

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

20 1153(b)(5) and 1186b) at a level sufficient to ensure the 

21 full recovery only of the costs of providing such services, 

22 including the cost of attaining the goal of completing adju23 dications, on average, not later than— 


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1 (1) 180 days after receiving a proposal for the 

2 establishment of a regional center described in sec3 tion 203(b)(5)(E) of such Act; 

4 (2) 180 days after receiving an application for 

5 approval of an investment in a new commercial en6 terprise described in section 203(b)(5)(F) of such 

7 Act; 

8 (3) 90 days after receiving an application for 

9 approval of an investment in a new commercial en10 terprise described in section 203(b)(5)(F) of such 

11 Act that is located in a targeted employment area 

12 (as defined in section 203(b)(5)(B) of such Act); 

13 (4) 240 days after receiving a petition from an 

14 alien desiring to be classified under section 

15 203(b)(5)(E) of such Act; 

16 (5) 120 days after receiving a petition from an 

17 alien desiring to be classified under section 

18 203(b)(5)(E) of such Act with respect to an invest19 ment in a targeted employment area (as defined in 

20 section 203(b)(5)(B) of such Act); and 

21 (6) 240 days after receiving a petition from an 

22 alien for removal of conditions described in section 

23 216A(c) of such Act. 

24 (c) ADDITIONAL FEES.—Fees in excess of the fee lev25 els described in subsection (b) may be charged only— 


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

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

3 immigration-related benefits, to contribute to the 

4 coverage or reduction of the costs of processing or 

5 adjudicating classes of immigration benefit applica6 tions that Congress, or the Secretary of Homeland 

7 Security in the case of asylum applications, has au8 thorized to be processed or adjudicated at no cost or 

9 at a reduced cost to the applicant; and 

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

11 percent of the fee for filing a petition under section 

12 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

13 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), to make improvements to the 

14 information technology systems used by the Sec15 retary of Homeland Security to process, adjudicate, 

16 and archive applications and petitions under such 

17 section, including the conversion to electronic format 

18 of documents filed by petitioners and applicants for 

19 benefits under such section. 

20 (d) EXEMPTION FROM PAPERWORK REDUCTION

21 ACT.—During the 1-year period beginning on the date of 

22 the enactment of this Act, the requirements under chapter 

23 35 of title 44, United States Code, shall not apply to any 

24 collection of information required under this subtitle, any 

25 amendment made by this subtitle, or any rule promulgated 


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1 by the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement this 

2 subtitle or the amendments made by this subtitle, to the 

3 extent that the Secretary determines that compliance with 

4 such requirements would impede the expeditious imple5 mentation of this subtitle or the amendments made by this 

6 subtitle. 

7 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING ADJUDICA8 TION DELAYS.—Nothing in this subtitle may be construed 

9 to limit the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Secu10 rity to suspend the adjudication of any application or peti11 tion under section 203(b)(5) or 216A of the Immigration 

12 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5) and 1186b) 

13 pending the completion of a national security or law en14 forcement investigation relating to such application or pe15 tition. 

16 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING MODIFICA17 TION OF FEES.—Nothing in this section may be construed 

18 to require any modification of fees before the completion 

19 of— 

20 (1) the fee study described in subsection (a); or 

21 (2) regulations promulgated by the Secretary of 

22 Homeland Security, in accordance with subchapter 

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

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1 tive Procedure Act’’), to carry out subsections (b) 

2 and (c). 

3 SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY. 

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

5 Homeland Security, including the Secretary of Homeland 

6 Security, the Secretary’s counselors, the Assistant Sec7 retary for the Private Sector, the Director of U.S. Citizen8 ship and Immigration Services, counselors to such Direc9 tor, and the Chief of the Immigrant Investor Programs 

10 Office (or any successor to such Office) at U.S. Citizen11 ship and Immigration Services, shall act impartially and 

12 may not give preferential treatment to any entity, organi13 zation, or individual in connection with any aspect of the 

14 immigrant visa program described in section 203(b)(5) of 

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

16 1153(b)(5)). 

17 (b) IMPROPER ACTIVITIES.—Activities that con18 stitute preferential treatment under subsection (a) shall 

19 include— 

20 (1) working on, or in any way attempting to in21 fluence, in a manner not available to or accorded to 

22 all other petitioners, applicants, and seekers of bene23 fits under the immigrant visa program referred to in 

24 subsection (a), the standard processing of an appli25 cation, petition, or benefit for— 


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1 (A) a regional center; 

2 (B) a new commercial enterprise; 

3 (C) a job-creating entity; or 

4 (D) any person or entity associated with 

5 such regional center, new commercial enter6 prise, or job-creating entity; and 

7 (2) meeting or communicating with persons as8 sociated with the entities listed in paragraph (1), at 

9 the request of such persons, in a manner not avail10 able to or accorded to all other petitioners, appli11 cants, and seekers of benefits under such immigrant 

12 visa program. 

13 (c) REPORTING OF COMMUNICATIONS.— 

14 (1) WRITTEN COMMUNICATION.—Employees of 

15 the Department of Homeland Security, including the 

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

17 record of proceeding for a case under section 

18 203(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)), actual or electronic copies of all 

20 case-specific written communication, including 

21 emails from government and private accounts, with 

22 non-Department persons or entities advocating for 

23 regional center applications or individual petitions 

24 under such section that are pending on or after the 

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1 tine communications with other agencies of the Fed2 eral Government regarding the case, including com3 munications involving background checks and litiga4 tion defense). 

5 (2) ORAL COMMUNICATION.—If substantive oral 

6 communication, including telephonic communication, 

7 virtual communication, or in-person meetings, takes 

8 place between officials of the Department of Home9 land Security and non-Department persons or enti10 ties advocating for regional center applications or in11 dividual petitions under section 203(b)(5) of such 

12 Act that are pending on or after the date of the en13 actment of this Act (except communications exempt14 ed under paragraph (1))— 

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) EMAIL ADDRESS OR EQUIVALENT.—The Di18 rector of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

19 shall maintain an email account (or equivalent 

20 means of communication) for persons or entities— 

21 (A) with inquiries regarding specific peti22 tions or applications under the immigrant visa 

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

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

25 1153(b)(5)); or 


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1 (B) seeking information that is not case2 specific about the immigrant visa program de3 scribed in such section 203(b)(5). 

4 (2) COMMUNICATION ONLY THROUGH APPRO5 PRIATE CHANNELS OR OFFICES.— 

6 (A) ANNOUNCEMENT OF APPROPRIATE

7 CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION.—Not later 

8 than 40 days after the date of the enactment of 

9 this Act, the Director of U.S. Citizenship and 

10 Immigration Services shall announce that the 

11 only channels or offices by which industry 

12 stakeholders, petitioners, applicants, and seek13 ers of benefits under the immigrant visa pro14 gram described in section 203(b)(5) of the Im15 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

16 1153(b)(5)) may communicate with the Depart17 ment of Homeland Security regarding specific 

18 cases under such section (except for commu19 nication made by applicants and petitioners 

20 pursuant to regular adjudicatory procedures), 

21 or information that is not case-specific about 

22 the visa program applicable to certain cases 

23 under such section, are through— 

24 (i) the email address or equivalent 

25 channel described in paragraph (1); 


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1 (ii) the National Customer Service 

2 Center, or any successor to such Center; or 

3 (iii) the Office of Public Engagement, 

4 Immigrant Investor Program Office, in5 cluding the Stakeholder Engagement 

6 Branch, or any successors to those Offices 

7 or that Branch. 

8 (B) DIRECTION OF INCOMING COMMUNICA9 TIONS.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—Employees of the 

11 Department of Homeland Security shall di12 rect communications described in subpara13 graph (A) to the channels of communica14 tion or offices listed in clauses (i) through 

15 (iii) of subparagraph (A). 

16 (ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth17 ing in this subparagraph may be construed 

18 to prevent— 

19 (I) any person from commu20 nicating with the Ombudsman of U.S. 

21 Citizenship and Immigration Services 

22 regarding the immigrant investor pro23 gram under section 203(b)(5) of the 

24 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

25 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)); or 


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1 (II) the Ombudsman from resolv2 ing problems regarding such immi3 grant investor program pursuant to 

4 the authority granted under section 

5 452 of the Homeland Security Act of 

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

7 (C) LOG.— 

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Director of 

9 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

10 shall maintain a written or electronic log 

11 of— 

12 (I) all communications described 

13 in subparagraph (A) and communica14 tions from Members of Congress, 

15 which shall reference the date, time, 

16 and subject of the communication, 

17 and the identity of the Department of18 ficial, if any, to whom the inquiry was 

19 forwarded; 

20 (II) with respect to written com21 munications described in subsection 

22 (c)(1), the date on which the commu23 nication was received, the identities of 

24 the sender and addressee, and the 

25 subject of the communication; and 


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1 (III) with respect to oral commu2 nications described in subsection 

3 (c)(2), the date on which the commu4 nication occurred, the participants in 

5 the conversation or meeting, and the 

6 subject of the communication. 

7 (ii) TRANSPARENCY.—The log of com8 munications described in clause (i) shall be 

9 made publicly available in accordance with 

10 section 552 of title 5, United States Code 

11 (commonly known as the ‘‘Freedom of In12 formation Act’’). 

13 (3) PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION.—Not later 

14 than 30 days after a person or entity inquiring 

15 about a specific case or generally about the immi16 grant visa program described in section 203(b)(5) of 

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

18 1153(b)(5)) receives, as a result of a communication 

19 with an official of the Department of Homeland Se20 curity, generally applicable information that is not 

21 case-specific about program requirements or admin22 istration that has not been made publicly available 

23 by the Department, the Director of U.S. Citizenship 

24 and Immigration Services shall publish such infor25 mation on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 


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1 Services website as an update to the relevant Fre2 quently Asked Questions page or by some other com3 parable mechanism. 

4 (f) PENALTY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who inten6 tionally violates the prohibition on preferential treat7 ment under this section or intentionally violates the 

8 reporting requirements under subsection (c) shall be 

9 disciplined in accordance with paragraph (2). 

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

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

12 of Homeland Security shall establish a graduated set 

13 of sanctions based on the severity of the violation re14 ferred to in paragraph (1), which may include, in 

15 addition to any criminal or civil penalties that may 

16 be imposed, written reprimand, suspension, demo17 tion, or removal. 

18 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING CLASSI19 FIED INFORMATION.—Nothing in this section may be con20 strued to modify any law, regulation, or policy regarding 

21 the handling or disclosure of classified information. 

22 (h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING PRIVATE

23 RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing in this section may be con24 strued to create or authorize a private right of action to 


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1 challenge a decision of an employee of the Department of 

2 Homeland Security. 

3 (i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, and the amend4 ments made by this section, shall take effect on the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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