[House Report 112-410]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 112-410
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TO ALLOW OTHERWISE ELIGIBLE ISRAELI NATIONALS TO RECEIVE E-2
NONIMMIGRANT VISAS IF SIMILARLY SITUATED UNITED STATES NATIONALS ARE
ELIGIBLE FOR SIMILAR NONIMMIGRANT STATUS IN ISRAEL
_______
March 8, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3992]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 3992) to allow otherwise eligible Israeli nationals
to receive E-2 nonimmigrant visas if similarly situated United
States nationals are eligible for similar nonimmigrant status
in Israel, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 1
Background and Need for the Legislation.......................... 2
Hearings......................................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 3
Committee Votes.................................................. 3
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 3
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................ 3
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 3
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 4
Advisory on Earmarks............................................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 5
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 3992 makes Israeli nationals eligible to receive E-2
nonimmigrant visas.
Background and Need for the Legislation
``E-2'' visas are nonimmigrant visas available for treaty
investors. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a visa is
available to an alien who is:
entitled to enter the United States under and in
pursuance of the provisions of a treaty of commerce and
navigation between the United States and the foreign
state of which he is a national, and the spouse and
children of any such alien if accompanying or following
to join him . . . solely to develop and direct the
operations of an enterprise in which he has invested .
. . a substantial amount of capital. . . .\1\
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\1\Section 101(a)(15)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Alien employees of a treaty investor may receive E-2 visas
if they are coming to the U.S. ``to engage in duties of an
executive or supervisory character, or, if employed in a lesser
capacity, if the employee has special qualifications that make
the services to be rendered essential to the efficient
operation of the enterprise.''\2\ There is no numerical cap on
E-2 visas. In fiscal year 2010, 25,500 aliens (including
dependents) were granted E-2 visas. An alien may be admitted
initially for a period of 2 years, and can apply for extensions
in 2-year increments.\3\
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\2\22 C.F.R. sec. 41.51(b)(2).
\3\See 8 C.F.R. sec. 214.2(e)(19)-(20).
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The U.S. has entered into treaties of commerce containing
language similar to the E-2 visas since at least 1815, when we
entered into a Convention to Regulate Commerce with the United
Kingdom. Currently, the nationals of more than 75 countries are
eligible for E-2 status, including Albania, Argentina, Armenia,
Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium,
Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada,
Chile, Taiwan, Columbia, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa),
Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt,
Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Grenada,
Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan,
Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia,
Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama,
Paraguay, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Singapore,
the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname,
Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago,
Tunisia, Turkey, the Ukraine and the United Kingdom.\4\
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\4\See Foreign Affairs Manual sec. 41.51 Exhibit 1.
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In the past, countries became eligible for the E-2 program
through treaties signed with the U.S. However, in 2003 the
Judiciary Committee reached an understanding with the U.S.
Trade Representative (USTR) that no immigration provisions were
to be included in future trade agreements.\5\ Thus, henceforth,
legislation would be required to add countries to the E-2
program. In 2005, Chairman Sensenbrenner introduced legislation
(H.R. 3647) to make Denmark eligible for the E-2 program. The
Judiciary Committee passed the bill by voice vote, as did the
House. The Senate never acted. However, in 2008, the USTR
agreed to add Denmark to the E-2 program based on a treaty
signed before the agreement between USTR and the Judiciary
Committee was reached.
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\5\See letter from F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman, House
Judiciary Committee and John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member, House
Judiciary Committee, to Robert Zoellick, Ambassador, United States
Trade Representative, July 10, 2003, found at H.R. Rep. No. 108-224,
pt. 2, at 46-47 (2003).
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H.R. 3992 would add Israel to the E-2 program (Israelis are
already eligible for ``E-1'' (treaty trader) visas pursuant to
a 1954 treaty).
Hearings
The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R.
3992.
Committee Consideration
On February 28, 2012, the Committee met in open session and
ordered the bill H.R. 3992 favorably reported without
amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.
Committee Votes
In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of
H.R. 3992.
Committee Oversight Findings
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the
descriptive portions of this report.
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures
Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax
expenditures.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with
respect to the bill, H.R. 3992, the following estimate and
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, March 7, 2012.
Hon. Lamar Smith, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3992, a bill ``To
allow otherwise eligible Israeli nationals to receive E-2
nonimmigrant visas if similarly situated United States
nationals are eligible for similar nonimmigrant status in
Israel''.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Sunita
D'Monte, who can be reached at 226-2840.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf,
Director.
Enclosure
cc:
Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member
H.R. 3992--a bill ``To allow otherwise eligible Israeli nationals to
receive E-2 nonimmigrant visas if similarly situated United States
nationals are eligible for similar nonimmigrant status in Israel''
As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on
February 28, 2012
H.R. 3992 would permit nationals of Israel to enter the
United States temporarily under the E-2 visa program if Israel
extends reciprocal treatment to U.S. nationals. Enacting H.R.
3992 would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effects
would be insignificant for each year and over the 2012-2022
period. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
The E-2 visa allows nonimmigrant investors to enter the
United States temporarily to oversee a business in which they
have made a significant investment. Under the bill, if an
Israeli national applied for the E-2 visa, the Department of
State would charge a $390 fee to cover the cost of adjudicating
the application and processing the visa. Israeli nationals are
already eligible for a similar visa category--the E-1 visa for
nonimmigrant traders. Based on information from the Department
of State about the number of Israeli citizens who received E-1
visas and the ratio of E-2 to E-1 visas in countries comparable
to Israel, CBO expects that under the bill the department would
issue about 500 additional E-2 visas each year and collect
about $200,000 in additional fees annually. The department is
authorized to collect and spend such fees without further
appropriation, so the net impact on Federal spending would not
be significant.
H.R. 3992 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on State, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sunita D'Monte.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Performance Goals and Objectives
The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R.
3992 makes Israeli nationals eligible to receive E-2
nonimmigrant visas.
Advisory on Earmarks
In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, H.R. 3992 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI.
Section-by-Section Analysis
The following discussion describes the bill as reported by
the Committee.
Sec. 1. Nonimmigrant Traders and Investor from Israel
Section 1 of the bill deems Israel to be a foreign state
described in section 101(a)(15)(E) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act for purposes of clauses (i) and (ii) of the
section if the government of Israel provides similar
nonimmigrant status to nationals of the United States.