[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4561 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4561

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify the treatment of 
                           adopted children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 14, 2004

   Ms. Lofgren (for herself, Mr. Camp, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Portman, Mr. 
 Berman, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, 
and Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify the treatment of 
                           adopted children.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. MODIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF ADOPTED CHILDREN.

    (a) In General.--Section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (E)(i), by striking ``a child adopted 
        while under the age of sixteen years if the child has been in 
        the legal custody of, and has resided with, the adopting parent 
        or parents for at least two years:'' and inserting ``a child 
        adopted while under the age of 18 years if the child has been 
        in the legal custody of, and has resided with, the adopting 
        parent or parents for at least two years and the adoption was 
        officially initiated while the child was under the age of 16 
        years:''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (F)--
                    (A) in clause (i)--
                            (i) by striking ``child, under the age of 
                        sixteen at the time a petition is filed in his 
                        behalf to accord a classification as an 
                        immediate relative under section 201(b), who'' 
                        and inserting ``child who'';
                            (ii) by inserting ``while under the age of 
                        18 years'' after ``who has been adopted 
                        abroad''; and
                            (iii) by striking ``the Attorney General is 
                        satisfied that proper care will be furnished 
                        the child if admitted to the United States:'' 
                        and inserting ``the Secretary of Homeland 
                        Security is satisfied that proper care will be 
                        furnished the child if admitted to the United 
                        States and that the adoption abroad, or the 
                        compliance with domestic preadoption 
                        requirements, was officially initiated while 
                        the child was under the age of 16 years:''; and
                    (B) in clause (ii), by striking ``except that the 
                child is under the age of 18 at the time a petition is 
                filed in his or her behalf to accord a classification 
                as an immediate relative under section 201(b).'' and 
                inserting ``except that the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security shall be satisfied that the adoption abroad, 
                or the compliance with domestic preadoption 
                requirements, was officially initiated while the child 
                was under the age of 18 years.''.
    (b) Provisions Effective Upon Entry Into Force of Convention.--
            (1) In general.--Section 101(b)(1)(G) of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(G)) is amended--
                    (A) in the matter preceding clause (i)--
                            (i) by striking ``child, under the age of 
                        sixteen at the time a petition is filed on the 
                        child's behalf to accord a classification as an 
                        immediate relative under section 201(b), who'' 
                        and inserting ``child who''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``while under the age of 
                        18 years'' after ``who has been adopted''; and
                    (B) in clause (i)--
                            (i) in subclause (IV), by striking ``and'' 
                        at the end; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(VI) in the case of a child who--
                                    ``(aa) has been adopted, the 
                                adoption was officially initiated while 
                                the child was under the age of 16 
                                years; or
                                    ``(bb) has not been adopted, the 
                                approval described in subparagraph 
                                (V)(aa) was officially sought while the 
                                child was under the age of 16 years; 
                                and''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
        shall take effect as if included in the enactment of section 
        302(a) of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (Public Law 
        106-279).
    (c) Naturalization Purposes.--Section 101(c)(1) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(c)(1)) is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(1) The term `child' means an unmarried person under 21 years of 
age and includes--
            ``(A) a child legitimated under the law of the child's 
        residence or domicile, or under the law of the father's 
        residence or domicile, whether in the United States or 
        elsewhere, if such legitimation takes place before the child 
        reaches the age of 16 years and the child is in the legal 
        custody of the legitimating parent or parents at the time of 
        such legitimation; and
            ``(B) except as otherwise provided in sections 320 and 321, 
        a child adopted in the United States, if such adoption is 
        officially initiated before the child reaches the age of 16 
        years and the child is in the legal custody of the adopting 
        parent or parents at the time of such adoption.''.
                                 <all>