Targeted Employment Areas Improvement Act

Bill: 114-s-2115
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ]
Introduced: 2015-10-01
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Business investment and capital

Economic development

Employee hiring

Foreign labor

Rural conditions and development

Unemployment

Visas and passports
Latest action: action_date: 2015-10-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2015-10-01
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Targeted Employment Areas Improvement Act</strong></p> <p>This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase the number of fiscal year EB-5 (employment creation) visas for qualified immigrants who invest in a new commercial enterprise which, in addition to creating jobs in a targeted employment area, will invest the required capital in such area.</p> <p>Designation of a high unemployment area as a targeted employment area shall be valid for renewable five-year periods.</p>

tv_txt: II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2115 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES October 1, 2015 Mr. Flake introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To continue job creation and the promotion of investment through improvements to targeted employment areas.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Targeted Employment Areas Improvement Act . 2. Targeted employment areas Section 203(b)(5)(B) ( 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)(B) ) is amended to read as follows: (B) Set aside for targeted employment areas (i) In general Not fewer than 5,000 of the visas made available under this paragraph in each fiscal year shall be reserved for qualified immigrants who invest in a new commercial enterprise described in subparagraph (A) that— (I) is investing such capital in a targeted employment area; and (II) will create employment in such targeted employment area. (ii) Duration of targeted employment area designation (I) In general A designation of a high unemployment area as a targeted employment area— (aa) shall be valid for 5 years; and (bb) may be renewed for additional 5-year periods if the area continues to meet the definition of high unemployment area under clause (iii). (II) Effect of designation expiration An investor who makes the required investment under this paragraph in a targeted employment area shall not be required to increase the amount of such investment upon the expiration of such designation. (iii) Definitions In this subparagraph: (I) High unemployment area The term high unemployment area means an area that— (aa) consists of a census tract, or a group of census tracts that are economically integrated in light of commuter flow patterns based on Federal data sets, with an unemployment rate that is at least 150 percent of the national average unemployment rate; or (bb) is within the boundaries established for purposes of— (AA) a Federal or State economic development incentive program, including any area designated by the Federal Government or a State as an enterprise zone, a renewal community, a promise zone, or an empowerment zone; or (BB) any Federal or State program designed to create jobs, start small businesses, or revitalize neighborhoods. (II) Rural area The term rural area means— (aa) any area other than an area within a metropolitan statistical area unless it is a town on the outer boundary of a metropolitan statistical area with a population of 20,000 or fewer residents (based on the most recent decennial census of the United States); (bb) any city or town having a population of fewer than 20,000 residents (based on the most recent decennial census of the United States) that is located within a State having a population of fewer than 1,500,000 residents (based on such census); or (cc) any area located in a census tract of a metropolitan statistical area if the census tract has a population density of fewer than 500 people per square mile (based on such census). (III) Targeted employment area The term targeted employment area means a rural area, any community adversely affected by a recommendation by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, or a high unemployment area. .