AMENDMENTS TO PILOT IMMIGRATION PROGRAM FOR REGIONAL CENTERS TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC GROWTH.

SEC. 11037. AMENDMENTS TO PILOT IMMIGRATION PROGRAM FOR REGIONAL CENTERS TO PROMOTE ECONOMIC GROWTH. (a) Purpose of Program.—Section 610(a) of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (8 U.S.C. 1153 note), is amended— (1) by inserting after “regional center in the United States” the following: “, designated by the Attorney General on the basis of a general proposal,”; (2) by striking “and increased domestic” and inserting “or increased domestic”; and (3) by adding at the end the following: “A regional center shall have jurisdiction over a limited geographic area, which shall be described in the proposal and consistent with the purpose of concentrating pooled investment in defined economic zones. The establishment of a regional center may be based on general predictions, contained in the proposal, concerning the kinds of commercial enterprises that will receive capital from aliens, the jobs that will be created directly or indirectly as a result 116 STAT. 1848of such capital investments, and the other positive economic effects such capital investments will have.”. (b) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply to— (1) any proposal for a regional center pending before the Attorney General (whether for an initial decision or on appeal) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) any of the following petitions, if filed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act: (A) A petition under section 204(a)(1)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(H)) (or any predecessor provision) (or any predecessor provision), with respect to status under section 203(b)(5) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)). (B) A petition under section 216A(c)(1)(A) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1186b(c)(1)(A)) to remove the conditional basis of an alien’s permanent resident status.