Protecting Children Through Eliminating Visa Loopholes Act
This bill requires an alien who seeks to qualify for a nonimmigrant visa as the fiance or spouse of a U.S. citizen to be at least 18 years old, and the sponsoring U.S. citizen must also be at least 18 years old. The bill also establishes that the terms "spouse," "wife," and "husband" shall not apply to any individual less than 18 years old for the purposes of the immigration and nationality laws.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1738 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1738
To protect children through eliminating visa loopholes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 13, 2019
Mr. Sensenbrenner introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect children through eliminating visa loopholes.
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 ``Protecting Children Through
Eliminating Visa Loopholes Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the laws of the United States and the policies of the
Department of State aim to prevent and reduce the risks of
child marriages, sex trafficking, and sexual abuse occurring
throughout the world;
(2) major loopholes in Federal law have allowed thousands
of minors to be subjected to child marriages;
(3) under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101 et seq.)--
(A) a United States citizen child may petition for
an immigrant visa for a spouse or fiance living in
another country; and
(B) a United States citizen adult may petition for
an immigrant visa for a minor spouse or fiance living
abroad;
(4) the United States Government has advocated for
preventing and reducing the occurrence of child marriages
throughout the world;
(5) Congress passed the Violence Against Women
Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Public Law 113-4), which requires
the Secretary of State to establish and implement a multiyear
strategy--
(A) to ``prevent child marriages''; and
(B) to ``promote the empowerment of girls at risk
of child marriage in developing countries'';
(6) acknowledges that although the Federal Government is
limited in its ability to address child marriage within
individual States, establishing a minimum age of 18 years for
marriage-based and fiance-based immigrant visa petitions is an
immediate and viable solution for preventing child marriage
through exploitation of the United States immigration system;
(7) affirms that child well being is a foremost priority
and consideration when imposing strict age requirements for
visa spousal and fiance petitions within the United States
immigration system;
(8) recognizes that under the current immigration legal
framework, individuals may exploit visa marriage and fiance
petitions for nefarious purposes, including--
(A) coercing forced marriages; and
(B) the trafficking and abuse of children; and
(9) acknowledges that between 2007 and 2017--
(A) loopholes in the United States immigration laws
resulted in the approval by U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services of 8,868 petitions involving
minors for spousal or fiance entry into the United
States; and
(B) girls were the younger party in 95 percent of
such petitions.
SEC. 3. PROTECTING CHILDREN THROUGH ELIMINATING VISA LOOPHOLES.
(a) Definitions.--Section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (15)(K)--
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking
``(p) of section 214, an alien'' and inserting ``(r) of
section 214, an alien who is at least 18 years of
age''; and
(B) by inserting ``who is at least 18 years of
age'' after ``a citizen of the United States'' each
time such term appears; and
(2) in paragraph (35), by adding at the end the following:
``Such terms do not include any individual who is younger than
18 years of age or who is married to an individual who is
younger than 18 years of age.''.
(b) Effective Date.--
(1) K nonimmigrants.--The amendments made by subsection
(a)(1)--
(A) shall take effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act; and
(B) shall apply to any petition or application
seeking nonimmigrant status for any alien under section
101(a)(15)(K) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(K)) that is pending before any
agency, officer, or employee of the United States on or
after such date of enactment.
(2) Spouse; wife; husband.--The amendment made by
subsection (a)(2)--
(A) subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), shall
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act;
(B) subject to subparagraph (C), shall apply to
marriages entered into before, on, or after such date
of enactment; and
(C) shall apply to any petition or application for
any status or benefit under the immigration laws (as
defined in section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17)) that is filed or
otherwise submitted on or after such date of enactment,
except for a petition under section 216 of such Act (8
U.S.C. 1186a) to remove the conditional basis of lawful
permanent residence based upon a grant of conditional
lawful permanent resident status before such date of
enactment.
(c) Rule of Construction.--The amendment made by subsection
(a)(2)--
(1) shall apply to the immigration laws (as defined in
section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1101(a)(17));
(2) may not be construed to affect or modify any reference
to, or legal effect of, any marriage under any provision of the
immigration laws using a term not defined by such amendment,
including whether any person is married or has been born in
wedlock or legitimated for purposes of determining whether such
person is a child or is a married or unmarried son or daughter;
and
(3) may not be construed to limit or modify the eligibility
of any VAWA self-petitioner (as defined in section 101(a)(51)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(51))
for any available relief under the immigration laws.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
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