I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6210 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for additional 
immigrant visas for certain entrepreneurs and job creators, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2012 
Mr. CONYERS (for himself and Mr. CHAFFETZ) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide 
for additional immigrant visas for certain entrepreneurs 
and job creators, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Investment 
and Job Creation Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. IMMIGRANT VISAS FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND JOB 
CREATORS. 
(a) ALIENS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE PROFES-
SIONS
HOLDING
ADVANCED
DEGREES.—Section 
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203(b)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1153(b)(2)(B)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(B) (i) Subject to clause (ii)’’ 
and inserting the following: ‘‘(B) NATIONAL INTER-
EST WAIVERS.—’’ 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 
(ii) and (iii)’’; 
(2) in clause (ii)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(ii) (I) The Attorney Gen-
eral’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘(ii) PHYSI-
CIANS WORKING IN SHORTAGE AREAS OR VET-
ERANS FACILITIES.—’’ 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—The Sec-
retary of Homeland Security’’; 
(B) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘(II) No 
permanent resident visa’’ and inserting the fol-
lowing: ‘‘(II) PROHIBITION.—No permanent 
resident visa’’; 
(C) in subclause (III), by striking ‘‘(III) 
Nothing in this subparagraph’’ and inserting 
the following: ‘‘(III) STATUTORY
CONSTRUC-
TION.—Nothing in this subparagraph’’; and 
(D) in subclause (IV), by striking ‘‘(IV) 
The requirements of’’ and inserting the fol-
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lowing: ‘‘(IV) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The require-
ments of’’; and 
(3) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: 
‘‘(iii) ENTREPRENEURS AND JOB CRE-
ATORS.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity shall grant a national interest waiver 
pursuant to clause (i) on behalf of any 
alien entrepreneur with respect to whom a 
petition for preference classification has 
been filed under subparagraph (A) if— 
‘‘(I) the alien has engaged in a 
new commercial enterprise (including 
a limited partnership or similar enti-
ty) in the United States; and 
‘‘(II) such enterprise has bene-
fitted the United States economy and 
satisfied the employment creation re-
quirements 
described 
in 
section 
204(m).’’. 
(b) SKILLED
WORKERS, PROFESSIONALS, 
AND 
OTHER WORKERS.—Section 203(b)(3) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(3)) is amended by 
inserting after subparagraph (C) the following: 
‘‘(D) NATIONAL
INTEREST
WAIVER
FOR 
ENTREPRENEURS
AND
JOB
CREATORS.—The 
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Secretary of Homeland Security shall waive ap-
plication of subparagraph (C) on behalf of any 
alien entrepreneur with respect to whom a peti-
tion for preference classification has been filed 
under subparagraph (A) if— 
‘‘(i) the alien has engaged in a new 
commercial enterprise (including a limited 
partnership or similar entity) in the United 
States; and 
‘‘(ii) such enterprise has benefitted 
the United States economy and satisfied 
the employment creation requirements de-
scribed in section 204(m).’’. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 204 of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(m) ENTREPRENEURS AND JOB CREATORS.— 
‘‘(1) JOB CREATION REQUIREMENTS.—For pur-
poses of sections 203(b)(2)(B) and 203(b)(3)(D), a 
new commercial enterprise shall be deemed to have 
benefitted the United States economy and satisfied 
the employment creation requirements of this sub-
section if the enterprise— 
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‘‘(A) has, during the period beginning 4 
years prior to the date that a petition for pref-
erence classification with respect to the alien 
has been filed under subparagraph (A), created 
direct, full-time employment— 
‘‘(i) for not less than 5 United States 
workers; or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of an enterprise in a 
Distressed Area Development Zone, for not 
less than 3 United States workers; and 
‘‘(B) the enterprise has received enough in-
vestment or revenue during the period described 
in subparagraph (A) to support the employment 
creation requirements described in such sub-
paragraph. 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of sections 
203(b)(2)(B) and 203(b)(3)(D): 
‘‘(A) 
FULL-TIME
EMPLOYMENT.—The 
term ‘full-time employment’ means employment 
in a position that requires at least 35 hours of 
service per week at any time, regardless of who 
fills the position. Such employment may be sat-
isfied on a full-time equivalent basis by calcu-
lating the number of full-time employees that 
could have been employed if the reported num-
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ber of hours worked by part-time employees had 
been worked by full-time employees. Full-time 
equivalent employment shall be calculated by di-
viding the part-time hours paid by the standard 
number of hours for full-time employees. 
‘‘(B) INVESTMENT
OR
REVENUE.—The 
term ‘investment or revenue’ does not include 
any assets acquired, directly or indirectly, by 
unlawful means. The term ‘investment’ includes 
assets provided by the alien entrepreneur and 
may include assets, including venture capital in-
vestments, provided pursuant to an investment 
agreement with investors who are United States 
citizens or aliens lawfully admitted to the 
United States for permanent residence. 
‘‘(C) UNITED STATES WORKER.—The term 
‘United States worker’ means an employee 
(other than the immigrant or the immigrant’s 
spouse, sons, or daughters) who— 
‘‘(i) is a citizen or national of the 
United States; or 
‘‘(ii) is an alien who is lawfully admit-
ted for permanent residence, is admitted as 
a refugee under section 207, is granted 
asylum under section 208, or is an immi-
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grant otherwise authorized to be employed 
in the United States. 
‘‘(3) PRIORITY
DATE.—The priority date for 
any alien who is adjusting status from any non-
immigrant 
classification 
described 
in 
section 
101(a)(15) and who receives a national interest 
waiver under section 203(b)(2)(B) or 203(b)(3)(D) 
shall be the date of the first petition or application 
for status under section 101(a)(15) filed with re-
spect to that alien.’’. 
(2) 
DISTRESSED
AREA
DEVELOPMENT 
ZONES.—Section 101(a) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(53) The term ‘Distressed Area Development 
Zone’ means— 
‘‘(A) a low-income geographic area, as 
such term is defined in section 351 of the Small 
Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 
689); or 
‘‘(B) a city or county in the United 
States— 
‘‘(i) that has experienced high unem-
ployment (of not less than 150 percent of 
the national average, as determined by the 
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Secretary of Labor) within the preceding 
24 months; or 
‘‘(ii) has had a 20 percent or more de-
crease in population since 1970.’’. 
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 203 of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act is amended by striking ‘‘Attorney General’’ 
each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘Sec-
retary of Homeland Security’’. 
(2) Section 204(a)(1)(E) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act is amended by inserting ‘‘or 
under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 203(b) if such 
alien is seeking a national interest waiver under sec-
tion 
203(b)(2)(B) 
or 
203(b)(3)(D),’’ 
after 
‘‘203(b)(1)(A)’’. 
Æ 
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