[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5191 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5191
To provide for the acquisition of United States citizenship for certain
individuals who were internationally adopted, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 30, 2026
Mr. Lee (for himself and Mr. Scott of Florida) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the acquisition of United States citizenship for certain
individuals who were internationally adopted, 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 ``Citizenship for International
Adoptees Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP FOR CERTAIN ADOPTED INDIVIDUALS BORN
OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--Chapter 2 of title III of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is amended by inserting after
section 322 the following:
``SEC. 323. ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP FOR CERTAIN ADOPTED INDIVIDUALS
BORN OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.
``(a) In General.--An individual born outside the United States
shall automatically acquire United States citizenship, on the date that
is 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, if all
conditions under subsection (b) have been fulfilled. The Secretary of
Homeland Security shall issue a certificate of citizenship to such
individual if the individual submits to the Secretary an application
that demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that such
conditions have been fulfilled.
``(b) Conditions.--The conditions for acquiring citizenship under
this section are as follows:
``(1) Before the individual attained 18 years of age, the
individual was adopted by a citizen of the United States and
was admitted to the United States pursuant to a lawful entry
for the purpose of adoption.
``(2) The individual satisfies a requirement applicable to
adopted children under subparagraph (E), (F), or (G) of section
101(b)(1).
``(3) The individual was physically present in the United
States, in the legal and physical custody of the citizen
parent, pursuant to a final legal adoption in the United States
before the individual attained 18 years of age.
``(4) The individual has not previously acquired United
States citizenship.
``(5) The individual demonstrates a commitment to the
United States by establishing that, on the date of the
enactment of this section, the individual was physically
present in the United States.
``(6) An exception under subsection (c) does not apply to
the individual.
``(c) Exceptions.--
``(1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to a
person who--
``(A) is not regarded as or found to be of good
moral character because the person is described in
paragraph (3), (6), (8) or (9) of section 101(f);
``(B) is considered inadmissible under paragraph
(2)(D), (2)(E), (2)(H), (3)(A), (3)(B), (3)(C), (3)(D),
(3)(F), (6), (8), (9), (10)(C), (10)(D), or 10(E) of
section 212(a);
``(C) is deportable under section 237(a), except
any person deportable under paragraph (1)(C), (1)(D),
(2)(A)(i), (2)(B)(ii), or (5) of such section; or
``(D) has been convicted of--
``(i) promoting, furthering, aiding, or
supporting the illegal activity of a criminal
gang; or
``(ii) a criminal offense involving--
``(I) domestic violence;
``(II) sexual abuse or
exploitation, including sexually
explicit conduct involving minors (as
such terms are defined in section 2256
of title 18, United States Code); or
``(III) burglary.
``(2) Burden of proof.--For purposes of establishing that
an exception to inadmissibility set forth in paragraph
(6)(C)(ii) or (10)(D) of section 212(a) does not apply to an
individual who is otherwise eligible for citizenship under this
section, the Government shall be required to demonstrate, by
clear and convincing evidence, that the individual did not
reasonably believe that the individual was a citizen of the
United States.
``(d) Cap on Application Fee.--With respect to applications
submitted to the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to this
section, notwithstanding section 344, the Secretary shall charge a fee
that is not more than half the fee charged for an Application for
Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600).
``(e) Criminal Gang Defined.--
``(1) In general.--The term `criminal gang' means any
ongoing group, club, organization, or association, inside or
outside the United States, of 2 or more persons that has, as
one of its primary purposes, the commission of 1 or more of the
criminal offenses described in paragraph (2) and the members of
which engage, or have engaged within the last 5 years, in a
continuing series of such offenses.
``(2) Offenses described.--The offenses described in this
paragraph, whether in violation of Federal or State law or the
law of a foreign country and regardless of whether the offenses
occurred before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this
section, are the following:
``(A) Any aggravated felony (as defined in section
101(a)(43)).
``(B) A felony drug offense (as defined in section
102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)).
``(C) An offense involving illicit trafficking in a
controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), including a
drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 924(c) of
title 18, United States Code).
``(D) An offense under section 274 (relating to
bringing in and harboring certain aliens), section 277
(relating to aiding or assisting certain aliens to
enter the United States), or section 278 (relating to
importation of aliens for immoral purposes).
``(E) Any offense under Federal, State, or Tribal
law, that has, as an element of the offense, the use or
attempted use of physical force or the threatened use
of physical force or a deadly weapon.
``(F) Any offense that has, as an element of the
offense, the use, attempted use, or threatened use of
any physical object to inflict or cause (either
directly or indirectly) serious bodily injury,
including an injury that may ultimately result in the
death of a person.
``(G) An offense involving obstruction of justice
or tampering with or retaliating against a witness,
victim, or informant.
``(H) Any conviction under section 1028 or 1029 of
title 18, United States Code (relating to fraud and
related activity in connection with identification
documents or access devices), sections 1581 through
1594 of such title (relating to peonage, slavery, and
trafficking in persons), section 1952 of such title
(relating to interstate and foreign travel or
transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises),
section 1956 of such title (relating to the laundering
of monetary instruments), section 1957 of such title
(relating to engaging in monetary transactions in
property derived from specified unlawful activity), or
sections 2312 through 2315 of such title (relating to
interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles or
stolen property).
``(I) A conspiracy or attempt to commit an offense
described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (H).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting
after the item related to section 322 the following:
``323. Acquisition of citizenship for certain adopted persons born
outside the United States.''.
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