S.Amdt. 1734

1. Adds SEC. 4225. SMALL BUSINESS EXPRESS LANE wherever appropriate

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. 4225. SMALL BUSINESS EXPRESS LANE.

   Inserted: Section 212(n) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)), as amended by section 4231, is amended by adding at the end the following:

   Inserted: "(8)(A) The Secretary shall establish a small business express lane for the H-1B visa application process, under which the Secretary--

   Inserted: "(i) may waive the fee for premium processing under section 286(u) for a business that--

   Inserted: "(I) is considered a small business with not more than 25 employees;

   Inserted: "(II) is not considered an H-1B dependent employer; and

   Inserted: "(III) reports a business income on the tax filings for the previous year of not more than $250,000; and

   Inserted: "(ii) shall, to the extent practicable, create or modify an online interface capable of providing real time feedback and error mitigation technology that can be used by small businesses and other employers with the purpose of increasing employer access in streamlining the H-1B visa application process.

   Inserted: "(B) The total amount of fees waived during a fiscal year by the Secretary under subparagraph (A)(i) shall be added to the projected cost for the service in the following fiscal year and a revised fee shall be established based on the projected cost.

   Inserted: "(C) The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, create an online interface and mobile application that can be used by small businesses and other employers with the purpose of increasing employer access in streamlining the H-1B visa application process.

   Inserted: "(D)(i) The Secretary, in coordination with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shall set a goal of not less than 30 percent of H-1B visas being awarded to small businesses.

   Inserted: "(ii) Of the goal amount described in clause (i)--

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   Inserted: "(I) \1/3\ of the goal shall be reserved for businesses with not more than 25 employees; and

   Inserted: "(II) \2/3\ of the goal may be used by businesses with not more than 500 employees.

   Inserted: "(iii) The goal described in clause (i) may be modified by the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, based on any feedback provided by the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration.

   Inserted: "(E) The Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research shall submit a report, on an annual basis, to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives, and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee of the House of Representatives that contains--

   Inserted: "(i) the total number of H-1B visa applications broken down by business size category and expressed as a percentage of the total--

   Inserted: "(I) 0-25 employees;

   Inserted: "(II) 26-50 employees;

   Inserted: "(III) 50-100 employees;

   Inserted: "(IV) 100-500 employees; or

   Inserted: "(V) more than 500 employees;

   Inserted: "(ii) the total number of H-1B visa applications broken down by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code and expressed as a percentage of the total; and

   Inserted: "(iii) the percentage and number of--

   Inserted: "(I) small businesses to apply for H-1B visas;

   Inserted: "(II) small businesses awarded H-1B visas;

   Inserted: "(III) small businesses that used the premium processing service;

   Inserted: "(IV) all businesses that used the premium processing service and were awarded H-1B visas; and

   Inserted: "(V) all businesses that did not use the premium processing service and were awarded H-1B visas; and

   Inserted: "(iv) a longitudinal and graphical view of the small business percentages described in subparagraph (D) and this subparagraph.

   Inserted: "(F) Beginning 4 years after the date of enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, and every 4 years thereafter, as part of the report submitted under subparagraph (E), the Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research shall include description of the impact of the application process on the on small business, which shall take into consideration--

   Inserted: "(i) the cost to apply for the visas;

   Inserted: "(ii) the impact of the fee waiver under subparagraph (A)(i) on small businesses; and

   Inserted: "(iii) recommendations for streamlining the application process, including recommended modifications and updates to the online user interface and mobile application.".

   The amendment doesn't say where this goes; the clerk decides.

   Original wording

   At the appropriate place, insert the following:

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As printed