Dive Brief:
-
U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) proposed legislation that would provide a new type of visa, the EB-6, to immigrants who can establish a business in the U.S. that creates jobs.
-
The legislation could renew a debate over whether green cards are a way to retain foreign technology graduates.
-
A Sept. 30 deadline to renew a key element of the EB-5 visa program for immigrant investors is prompting activity around the issue.
Dive Insight:
Today, foreign investors can gain permanent residency in the U.S. with an EB-5 visa if they invest at least $500,000 in an area with high unemployment. But over the years, the program has raised national security concerns.
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), introduced legislation last month to reauthorize the program for five years with a revised bill that would also improve oversight and raise the investment threshold from $500,000 to $800,000.
The Lofgren-Gutierrez bill, called the Entrepreneurial Business Creating Jobs Act, is similar, but includes a proposal that would enable venture capital-backed start-up entrepreneurs who obtain backing of at least $500,000 toward a new commercial enterprise that leads to jobs to obtain a new type of visa, the EB-6.
