[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 30 (Thursday, February 15, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2020. Mr. MORAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 2579, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
to allow the premium tax credit with respect to unsubsidized COBRA
continuation coverage; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS.
(a) Qualified Alien Entrepreneurs.--
(1) Admission as immigrants.--Chapter 1 of title II of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 210A. QUALIFIED ALIEN ENTREPRENEURS.
``(a) Admission as Immigrants.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security, in accordance with the provisions of this section
and of section 216A, may issue a conditional immigrant visa
to not more than 75,000 qualified alien entrepreneurs.
``(b) Application for Conditional Permanent Resident
Status.--Every alien applying for a conditional immigrant
visa under this section shall submit an application to the
Secretary of Homeland Security in such form and manner as the
Secretary shall prescribe by regulation.
``(c) Revocation.--If, during the 4-year period beginning
on the date on which an alien is granted a visa under this
section, the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that
such alien is no longer a qualified alien entrepreneur, the
Secretary shall--
``(1) revoke such visa; and
``(2) notify the alien that the alien--
``(A) may voluntarily depart from the United States in
accordance to section 240B; or
``(B) will be subject to removal proceedings under section
240 if the alien does not depart from the United States not
later than 6 months after receiving notification under this
paragraph.
``(d) Removal of Conditional Basis.--The Secretary of
Homeland Security shall remove the conditional basis of the
status of an alien issued an immigrant visa under this
section on that date that is 4 years after the date on which
such visa was issued if such visa was not revoked pursuant to
subsection (c).
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Full-time employee.--The term `full-time employee'
means a United States citizen or legal permanent resident who
is paid by the new business entity registered by a qualified
alien entrepreneur at a rate that is comparable to the median
income of employees in the region.
``(2) Qualified alien entrepreneur.--The term `qualified
alien entrepreneur' means an alien who--
``(A) at the time the alien applies for an immigrant visa
under this section--
``(i) is lawfully present in the United States; and
``(ii)(I) holds a nonimmigrant visa pursuant to section
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b); or
``(II) holds a nonimmigrant visa pursuant to section
101(a)(15)(F)(i);
``(B) during the 1-year period beginning on the date the
alien is granted a visa under this section--
``(i) registers at least 1 new business entity in a State;
``(ii) employs, at such business entity in the United
States, at least 2 full-time employees who are not relatives
of the alien; and
``(iii) invests, or raises capital investment of, not less
than $100,000 in such business entity; and
``(C) during the 3-year period beginning on the last day of
the 1-year period described in paragraph (2), employs, at
such business entity in the United States, an average of at
least 5 full-time employees who are not relatives of the
alien.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents in the first
section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101
et seq.) is amended by adding after the item relating to
section 210 the following:
``Sec. 210A. Qualified alien entrepreneurs.''.
(b) Conditional Permanent Resident Status.--Section 216A of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place such term
appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security'';
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking ``203(b)(5),'' and
inserting ``203(b)(5) or 210A, as appropriate,'';
(3) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``alien entrepreneur
must'' each place such term appears and inserting ``alien
entrepreneur shall'';
(4) in subsection (d)(1)(B), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``or 210A, as appropriate.''; and
(5) in subsection (f)(1), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``or 210A.''.
(c) Government Accountability Office Study.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit a report to Congress regarding the
qualified alien entrepreneurs granted immigrant status under
section 210A of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added
by subsection (a).
(2) Contents.--The report described in paragraph (1) shall
include information regarding--
(A) the number of qualified alien entrepreneurs who have
received immigrant status under section 210A of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by subsection (a),
listed by country of origin;
(B) the localities in which such qualified alien
entrepreneurs have initially settled;
(C) whether such qualified alien entrepreneurs generally
remain in the localities in which they initially settle;
(D) the types of commercial enterprises that such qualified
alien entrepreneurs have established; and
(E) the types and number of jobs created by such qualified
alien entrepreneurs.
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