[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1376 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1376

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To restore immunization and sibling age exemptions for children adopted 
 by United States citizens under the Hague Convention on Intercountry 
       Adoption to allow their admission into the United States.

    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 ``International Adoption Simplification 
Act''.

SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FROM VACCINATION DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENT.

    Section 212(a)(1)(C)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1182(a)(1)(C)(ii)) is amended by striking ``section 
101(b)(1)(F),'' and inserting ``subparagraph (F) or (G) of section 
101(b)(1);''.

SEC. 3. SIBLING ADOPTIONS.

    Section 101(b)(1)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(G)) is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(G)(i) a child, younger than 16 years of age 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 has been adopted in a foreign state 
                that is a party to the Convention on Protection of 
                Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry 
                Adoption, done at The Hague on May 29, 1993, or who is 
                emigrating from such a foreign state to be adopted in 
                the United States by a United States citizen and spouse 
                jointly or by an unmarried United States citizen who is 
                at least 25 years of age, Provided, That--
                            ``(I) the Secretary of Homeland Security is 
                        satisfied that proper care will be furnished 
                        the child if admitted to the United States;
                            ``(II) the child's natural parents (or 
                        parent, in the case of a child who has one sole 
                        or surviving parent because of the death or 
                        disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, 
                        the other parent), or other persons or 
                        institutions that retain legal custody of the 
                        child, have freely given their written 
                        irrevocable consent to the termination of their 
                        legal relationship with the child, and to the 
                        child's emigration and adoption;
                            ``(III) in the case of a child having two 
                        living natural parents, the natural parents are 
                        incapable of providing proper care for the 
                        child;
                            ``(IV) the Secretary of Homeland Security 
                        is satisfied that the purpose of the adoption 
                        is to form a bona fide parent-child 
                        relationship, and the parent-child relationship 
                        of the child and the natural parents has been 
                        terminated (and in carrying out both 
                        obligations under this subclause the Secretary 
                        of Homeland Security may consider whether there 
                        is a petition pending to confer immigrant 
                        status on one or both of such natural parents); 
                        and
                            ``(V) in the case of a child who has not 
                        been adopted--
                                    ``(aa) the competent authority of 
                                the foreign state has approved the 
                                child's emigration to the United States 
                                for the purpose of adoption by the 
                                prospective adoptive parent or parents; 
                                and
                                    ``(bb) the prospective adoptive 
                                parent or parents has or have complied 
                                with any pre-adoption requirements of 
                                the child's proposed residence; and
                    ``(ii) except that no natural parent or prior 
                adoptive parent of any such child shall thereafter, by 
                virtue of such parentage, be accorded any right, 
                privilege, or status under this chapter; or
                    ``(iii) subject to the same provisos as in clauses 
                (i) and (ii), a child who--
                            ``(I) is a natural sibling of a child 
                        described in clause (i), subparagraph (E)(i), 
                        or subparagraph (F)(i);
                            ``(II) was adopted abroad, or is coming to 
                        the United States for adoption, by the adoptive 
                        parent (or prospective adoptive parent) or 
                        parents of the sibling described in clause (i), 
                        subparagraph (E)(i), or subparagraph (F)(i); 
                        and
                            ``(III) is otherwise described in clause 
                        (i), except that the child is younger than 18 
                        years of age at the time a petition is filed on 
                        his or her behalf for classification as an 
                        immediate relative under section 201(b).''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the 
amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (b) Exception.--An alien who is described in section 
101(b)(1)(G)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 
section 3, and attained 18 years of age on or after April 1, 2008, 
shall be deemed to meet the age requirement specified in subclause 
(III) of such section if a petition for classification of the alien as 
an immediate relative under section 201(b) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)) is filed not later than 2 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.

            Passed the Senate July 21, 2010.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
111th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1376

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To restore immunization and sibling age exemptions for children adopted 
 by United States citizens under the Hague Convention on Intercountry 
       Adoption to allow their admission into the United States.