&sect; 2301 : MERIT-BASED POINTS TRACK ONE

IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph (B) and paragraph (3), if in any fiscal year the worldwide level of visas available for merit-based immigrants under this section—

i.: is less than 75 percent of the number of applicants for such fiscal year, the worldwide level shall increase by 5 percent for the next fiscal year; and
ii.: is equal to or more than 75 percent of such number, the worldwide level for the next fiscal year shall be the same as the worldwide level for such fiscal year, minus any amount added to the worldwide level for such fiscal year under paragraph (4).

LIMITATION ON INCREASE.—The worldwide level of visas available for merit-based immigrants shall not exceed 250,000.

3.

EMPLOYMENT CONSIDERATION.—The worldwide level of visas available for merit-based immigrants may not be increased for a fiscal year under paragraph (2) if the annual average unemployment rate for the civilian labor force 18 years or over in the United States, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for such previous fiscal year is more than 8½ percent.

4.

RECAPTURE OF UNUSED VISAS.—The worldwide level of merit-based immigrants described in paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall be increased by the difference (if any) between the worldwide level established under paragraph (1) for the previous fiscal year and the number of visas actually issued under this subsection during that fiscal year. Such visas shall be allocated for the following year pursuant to section 203(c)(3).

MERIT-BASED IMMIGRANTS.— Section 203(8 U.S.C. 1153), is amended by inserting after subsection (b) the following:

c.

MERIT-BASED IMMIGRANTS.—

1.

FISCAL YEARS 2015 THROUGH 2017.—During each of the fiscal years 2015 through 2017, the worldwide level of merit-based immigrant visas made available under section 201(e)(1) shall be available for aliens described in section 203(b)(3) and in addition to any visas available for such aliens under such section.

2.

SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—During fiscal year 2018 and each subsequent fiscal year, aliens subject to the worldwide level specified in section 201(e) for merit-based immigrants shall be allocated as follows:

A.: 50 percent shall be available to applicants with the highest number of points allocated under tier 1 in paragraph (4).
B.: 50 percent shall be available to applicants with the highest number of points allocated under tier 2 in paragraph (5).

3.

UNUSED VISAS.—If the total number of visas allocated to tier 1 or tier 2 for a fiscal year are not granted during that fiscal year, such number may be added to the number of visas available under section 201(e)(1) for the following fiscal year and allocated as follows:

A.: If the unused visas were allocated for tier 1 in a fiscal year, 2/3 of such visas shall be available for aliens allocated visas under tier 1 in the following fiscal year and 1/3 of such visas shall be available for aliens allocated visas under either tier 1 or tier 2 in the following fiscal year.
B.: If the unused visas were allocated for tier 2 in a fiscal year, 2/3 of such visas shall be available for aliens allocated visas under tier 2 in the following fiscal year and 1/3 of such visas shall be available for aliens allocated visas under either tier 1 or tier 2 in the following fiscal year.

4.

TIER 1.—The Secretary shall allocate points to each alien seeking to be a tier 1 merit-based immigrant as follows:

EDUCATION.—

i.

IN GENERAL.—An alien may receive points under only 1 of the following categories:

I.: An alien who has received a doctorate degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or the foreign equivalent shall be allocated 15 points.
II.: An alien who has received a master’s degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or the foreign equivalent shall be allocated 10 points.

ii.

An alien who has received a bachelor’s degree from an institution of higher education (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)) shall be allocated 5 points.

EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE.—An alien shall be allocated not more than 20 points as follows:

i.: 3 points for each year the alien has been lawfully employed in a zone 5 occupation in the United States.
ii.: 2 points for each year the alien has been lawfully employed in a zone 4 occupation in the United States.

EMPLOYMENT RELATED TO EDUCATION.—An alien who is in the United States and is employed full-time or has an offer of fulltime employment in a field related to the alien’s education—

i.: in a zone 5 occupation shall be allocated 10 points; or
ii.: in a zone 4 occupation shall be allocated 8 points.

D.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP.—An alien who is an entrepreneur in business that employs at least 2 employees in a zone 4 occupation or a zone 5 occupation shall be allocated 10 points.

E.

HIGH DEMAND OCCUPATION.—An alien who is employed full-time in the United States or has an offer of full-time employment in a high demand tier 1 occupation shall be allocated 10 points.

F.

CIVIC INVOLVEMENT.—An alien who has attested that he or she has engaged in a significant amount of community service, as determined by the Secretary, shall be allocated 2 points.

G.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE.—An alien who received a score of 80 or more on the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or an equivalent score on a similar test, as determined by the Secretary, shall be allocated 10 points.

H.

SIBLINGS AND MARRIED SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF CITIZENS.—An alien who is the sibling of a citizen of the United States or who is over 31 years of age and is the married son or married daughter of a citizen of the United States shall be allocated 10 points.

I.

AGE.—An alien who is—

i.: between 18 and 24 years of age shall be allocated 8 points;
ii.: between 25 and 32 years of age shall be allocated 6 points; or
iii.: between 33 and 37 years of age shall be allocated 4 points.

J.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.—An alien who is a national of a country of which fewer than 50,000 nationals were lawfully admitted to permanent residence in the United States in the previous 5 years shall be allocated 5 points.

5.

TIER 2.—The Secretary shall allocate points to each alien seeking to be a tier 2 merit-based immigrant as follows:

EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE.—An alien shall be allocated 2 points for each year the alien has been lawfully employed in the United States, for a total of not more than 20 points.

SPECIAL EMPLOYMENT CRITERIA.—An alien who is employed full-time in the United States, or has an offer of full-time employment—

i.: in a high demand tier 2 occupation shall be allocated 10 points; or
ii.: in a zone 1, zone 2, or zone 3 occupation shall be allocated 10 points.

CAREGIVER.—An alien who is or has been a primary caregiver shall be allocated 10 points.

D.

EXCEPTIONAL EMPLOYMENT RECORD.—An alien who has a record of exceptional employment, as determined by the Secretary, shall be allocated 10 points. In determining a record of exceptional employment, the Secretary shall consider factors including promotions, longevity, changes in occupations from a lower job zone to a higher job zone, participated in safety training, and increases in pay.

E.

CIVIC INVOLVEMENT.—An alien who has demonstrated significant civic involvement shall be allocated 2 points.

F.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE.—

i.: ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.—An alien who has demonstrated English proficiency, as determined by a standardized test designated by the Secretary of Education, shall be allocated 10 points.
ii.: ENGLISH KNOWLEDGE.—An alien who has demonstrated English knowledge, as determined by a standardized test designated by the Secretary of Education, shall be allocated 5 points.

G.

SIBLINGS AND MARRIED SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF CITIZENS.—An alien who is the sibling of a citizen of the United States or is over the age of 31 and is the married son or married daughter of a citizen of the United States shall be allocated 10 points.

H.

AGE.—An alien who is—

i.: between 18 and 24 years of age shall be allocated 8 points;
ii.: between 25 and 32 years of age shall be allocated 6 points; or
iii.: between 33 and 37 years of age shall be allocated 4 points.

I.

6.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES.—

SUBMISSION.—During the 30-day period beginning on the first October 1 occurring at least 3 years after the date of the enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, and during each 30-day period beginning on October 1 in subsequent years, eligible aliens may submit, to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an application for a merit-based immigrant visa that contains such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

ADJUDICATION.—Before the last day of each fiscal year in which applications are filed pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, shall—

i.: review the applications to determine which aliens will be granted a meritbased immigrant visa in the following fiscal year in accordance with this subsection; and
ii.: in coordination with the Secretary of State, provide such visas to all successful applicants.

FEE.—An alien who is allocated a visa under this subsection shall pay a fee of $1,500 in addition to any fee assessed to cover the costs to process an application under this subsection. Fees collected under this paragraph shall be deposited by the Secretary into the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund established under section 6(a)(1) of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.

7.

ELIGIBILITY OF ALIENS IN REGISTERED PROVISIONAL IMMIGRANT STATUS.—An alien who was granted registered provisional immigrant status under section 245B is not eligible to receive a meritbased immigrant visa under section 201(e).

8.

INELIGIBILITY OF ALIENS WITH PENDING OR APPROVED PETITIONS.—An alien who has a petition pending or approved in another immigrant category under this section or section 201 may not apply for a merit-based immigrant visa.

9.

DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:

HIGH DEMAND TIER 1 OCCUPATION.— The term high demand tier 1 occupation means 1 of the 5 occupations for which the highest number of nonimmigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) were sought to be admitted by employers during the previous fiscal year.

HIGH DEMAND TIER 2 OCCUPATION.— The term high demand tier 2 occupation means 1 of the 5 occupations for which the highest number of positions were sought to become registered positions by employers under section 220(e) during the previous fiscal year.

SECRETARY.—The term Secretary means the Secretary of Homeland Security.

D.

ZONE 1 OCCUPATION.—The term zone 1 occupation means an occupation that requires little or no preparation and is classified as a zone 1 occupation on—

i.: the Occupational Information Network Database (O*NET) on the date of the enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act; or
ii.: such Database or a similar successor database, as designated by the Secretary of Labor, after such date of enactment.

E.

ZONE 2 OCCUPATION.—The term zone 2 occupation means an occupation that requires some preparation and is classified as a zone 2 occupation on—

i.: the Occupational Information Network Database (O*NET) on the date of the enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act; or
ii.: such Database or a similar successor database, as designated by the Secretary of Labor, after such date of enactment.

F.

ZONE 3 OCCUPATION.—The term zone 3 occupation means an occupation that requires medium preparation and is classified as a zone 3 occupation on—

i.: the Occupational Information Network Database (O*NET) on the date of the enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act; or
ii.: such Database or a similar successor database, as designated by the Secretary of Labor, after such date of enactment.

G.

ZONE 4 OCCUPATION.—The term zone 4 occupation means an occupation that requires considerable preparation and is classified as a zone 4 occupation on—

i.: the Occupational Information Network Database (O*NET) on the date of the enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act; or
ii.: such Database or a similar successor database, as designated by the Secretary of Labor, after such date of enactment.

H.

ZONE 5 OCCUPATION.—The term zone 5 occupation means an occupation that requires extensive preparation and is classified as a zone 5 occupation on—

i.: the Occupational Information Network Database (O*NET) on the date of the enactment of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act; or
ii.: such Database or a similar successor database, as designated by the Secretary of Labor, after such date of enactment.

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GAO STUDY AND REPORT.—

STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study of the merit-based immigration system established under section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by paragraph (2), to determine, during the first 7 years of such system—

i.: how the points described in paragraphs (4)(H), (4)(J), (5)(G), and (5)(I) of section 203(c) of such Act were utilized;
ii.: how many of the points allocated to people lawfully admitted for permanent residence were allocated under such paragraphs;
iii.: how many people who were allocated points under such paragraphs were not lawfully admitted to permanent residence;
iv.: the countries of origin of the people who applied for a merit-based visa under section 203(c) of such Act;
v.: the number of such visas issued under tier 1 and tier 2 to males and females, respectively;
vi.: the age of individuals who were issued such visas; and
vii.: the educational attainment and occupation of people who were issued such visas.