[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3029 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3029
To establish an employment-based immigrant visa for alien entrepreneurs
who have received significant capital from investors to establish a
business in the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 24, 2010
Mr. Kerry (for himself and Mr. Lugar) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an employment-based immigrant visa for alien entrepreneurs
who have received significant capital from investors to establish a
business in the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``StartUp Visa Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. STARTUP VISAS.
(a) In General.--Section 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 203(b)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
``(6) Sponsored entrepreneurs.--
``(A) In general.--StartUp visas shall be made
available, from the number of visas allocated under
paragraph (5), to qualified immigrant entrepreneurs--
``(i) who have proven that a qualified
venture capitalist or a qualified super angel
investor has invested not less than $100,000 on
behalf of each such entrepreneur in an equity
financing of not less than $250,000; and
``(ii) whose commercial activities will,
during the 2-year period beginning on the date
on which the visa is issued under this
subparagraph--
``(I) create not fewer than 5 new
full-time jobs in the United States
employing people other than the
immigrant's spouse, sons, or daughters;
``(II) raise not less than
$1,000,000 in capital investment in
furtherance of a commercial entity
based in the United States; or
``(III) generate not less than
$1,000,000 in revenue.
``(B) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
``(i) Qualified super angel investor.--The
term qualified super angel investor means an
individual who--
``(I) is an accredited investor (as
defined in section 230.501(a) of title
17, Code of Federal Regulations);
``(II) is a United States citizen;
and
``(III) has made at least 2 equity
investments of not less than $50,000 in
each of the previous 3 years.
``(ii) Qualified venture capitalist.--The
term `qualified venture capitalist' means an
entity that--
``(I) is classified as a `venture
capital operating company' under
section 2510.3-101(d) of the Code of
Federal Regulations;
``(II) is based in the United
States;
``(III) is comprised of partners,
the majority of whom are United States
citizens;
``(IV) has capital commitments of
not less than $10,000,000;
``(V) has been operating for at
least 2 years; and
``(VI) has made at least 2
investments of not less than $500,000
during each of the most recent 2
years.''.
(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 (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``(as defined in subsection
(f)(1))'' and inserting ``, sponsored
entrepreneur''; and
(ii) by striking ``(as defined in
subsection (f)(2)) shall'' and inserting
``shall each''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ``sponsored
entrepreneur,'' after ``alien entrepreneur,'';
(3) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Sponsored entrepreneurs.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security shall terminate the permanent resident status of a
sponsored entrepreneur and the alien spouse and children of
such entrepreneur if the Secretary determines, not later than 3
years after the date on which such permanent resident status
was conferred, that--
``(A) the qualified venture capitalist or qualified
super angel investor who sponsored the entrepreneur
failed to meet the investment requirements under
section 203(b)(6)(A)(i); or
``(B) the entrepreneur failed to meet the job
creation, capital investment, or revenue generation
requirements under section 203(b)(6)(A)(ii).'';
(4) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``sponsored entrepreneur,''
after ``alien entrepreneur,''; and
(ii) by striking ``alien entrepreneur
must'' each place such term appears and
inserting ``entrepreneur shall''; and
(B) in paragraph (3)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by inserting
``or sponsored entrepreneur'' after ``alien
entrepreneur''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting
``sponsored entrepreneur,'' after ``alien
entrepreneur'';
(5) in subsection (d)(1)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
striking ``alien'' and inserting ``alien entrepreneur
or sponsored entrepreneur, as applicable'';
(B) in clause (i), by striking ``invested, or is
actively in the process of investing,'' and inserting
``has invested, is actively in the process of
investing, or has been sponsored by a qualified super
angel investor or qualified venture capitalist who has
invested,''; and
(C) in clause (ii), by inserting ``or 203(b)(6), as
applicable'' before the period at the end; and
(6) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the following:
``(4) The term `sponsored entrepreneur' means an alien who
obtains the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent
residence under section 203(b)(6).''.
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