[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 672 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 672
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the
continued classification of certain aliens as children for purposes of
that Act in cases where the aliens ``age-out'' while awaiting
immigration processing, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 2 (legislative day, March 30), 2001
Mrs. Feinstein introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the
continued classification of certain aliens as children for purposes of
that Act in cases where the aliens ``age-out'' while awaiting
immigration processing, and for other purposes.
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 ``Child Status Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. CHILD STATUS PROTECTION.
(a) Immediate Relatives.--Section 201(b)(2)(A) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)(A)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(iii) Notwithstanding section 101(b)(1), an unmarried
alien 21 years of age or older on whose behalf a petition was
filed under section 204 to classify the alien as an immediate
relative under clause (i) shall be classified as a child of a
citizen of the United States for purposes of that clause, and
the petition shall be considered a petition for classification
under that clause, if the alien attained 21 years of age after
the date on which the petition was filed but while the petition
is pending before the Attorney General.
``(iv) An unmarried alien under 21 years of age on whose
behalf a petition was filed under section 204 to classify the
alien as an immigrant under section 203(a)(2)(A) shall be
classified as a child of a citizen of the United States for
purposes of clause (i), and the petition shall be considered a
petition for classification under that clause, if a petitioning
parent became a naturalized citizen of the United States after
the petition was filed but while the petition is pending before
the Attorney General.
``(v) An unmarried alien who was in a marriage on the date
a petition was filed under section 204 to classify the alien as
an immigrant under section 203(a)(3) shall be classified as a
child of a citizen of the United States for purposes of clause
(i), and the petition shall be considered a petition for
classification under that clause, if--
``(I) the alien's marriage was legally terminated
while the petition is pending before the Attorney
General; and
``(II) the alien was under 21 years of age on the
date of legal termination of the marriage.''.
(b) Family-Sponsored, Employment-Based, and Diversity Immigrants.--
Section 203(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1153(d)) is amended to read as follows:
``(d) Treatment of Family Members.--
``(1) In general.--A spouse or child (as defined in
subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) of section 101(b)(1))
shall, if not otherwise entitled to immigrant status and the
immediate issuance of a visa under subsection (a), (b), or (c),
be entitled to the same status, and the same order of
consideration provided in the respective subsection, if
accompanying or following to join, the spouse or parent.
``(2) Continued classification of certain aliens as
children.--An unmarried alien 21 years of age or older on whose
behalf a petition was filed under section 204 to classify the
alien as an immigrant under subsection (a), (b), or (c), who is
accompanying or following to join his or her parent under this
section, shall be classified as a child for purposes of
entitlement to the same immigrant status of the parent, and the
petition shall be considered a petition for classification for
such purposes, if the alien attained 21 years of age after the
date on which the petition was filed but while the petition is
pending before the Attorney General.''.
(c) Asylees.--Section 208(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(b)(3)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``A spouse'' and inserting ``(A) In
general.--A spouse''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Continued classification of certain aliens as
children for asylum eligibility.--An unmarried alien
who is accompanying or seeking to join a parent granted
asylum under this subsection, who is seeking to be
granted asylum under this paragraph, and who was under
21 years of age on the date on which the alien's parent
applied for asylum under this section shall continue to
be classified as a child for purposes of this
paragraph, if the alien attained 21 years of age after
the application was filed but while the application is
pending before the Attorney General.''.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Section 2, and the amendments made by section 2, shall apply to--
(1) all applications and petitions filed before the date of
enactment of this Act and pending on such date; and
(2) all applications and petitions filed on or after such
date.
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