America's Children Act or the Protecting Children of Long-term Visa Holders Act of 2021
This bill provides lawful permanent resident status to certain college graduates who entered the United States as children and addresses other immigration-related issues.
Specifically, this bill allows an alien to apply for lawful permanent resident status if the alien (1) was lawfully admitted into the United States as a dependent child of an alien on a temporary worker visa, (2) was in the United States with such status for at least four years, (3) has graduated from an institution of higher education in the United States, and (4) is not deportable or otherwise inadmissible. In addition, the alien must have been lawfully present in the United States for at least 10 years at the time of the application.
The bill also modifies various provisions related to the calculation of an alien's age for immigration purposes and the priority date of certain immigration-related applications.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2753 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2753
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize lawful
permanent resident status for certain college graduates who entered the
United States as children, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 15, 2021
Mr. Padilla (for himself, Mr. Paul, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Collins, and Mr.
Coons) 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 authorize lawful
permanent resident status for certain college graduates who entered the
United States as children, 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 ``America's Children Act'' or the
``Protecting Children of Long-term Visa Holders Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR CERTAIN COLLEGE GRADUATES WHO
ENTERED THE UNITED STATES AS CHILDREN.
(a) Requirements.--Section 201(b)(1) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(F) Alien who--
``(i) is not inadmissible under section
212(a) or deportable under section 237(a);
``(ii) was admitted to the United States as
a dependent child of a nonimmigrant admitted
pursuant to an approved employer petition under
section 214 or as a dependent child of a
nonimmigrant with status under section
101(a)(15)(E), and was lawfully present in the
United States pursuant to such status for an
aggregate period of not less than 4 years;
``(iii) had at the time of the application
been lawfully present in the United States for
an aggregate period of not less than 10 years;
and
``(iv) has graduated from an institution of
higher education (as defined in section 102(a)
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1002(a))) in the United States.''.
(b) Petition.--Section 204(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(M) Any alien entitled to classification under
section 201(b)(1)(F) may file a petition with the
Secretary of Homeland Security for such
classification.''.
SEC. 3. AGE-OUT PROTECTIONS.
(a) Age-Out Protections for Immigrants.--
(1) In general.--Section 101(b) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)) is amended by adding at the
end the following--
``(6) A determination of whether an alien is a child shall
be made as follows:
``(A) For purposes of a petition under section 204
and a subsequent application for an immigrant visa or
adjustment of status, such determination shall be made
using the age of the alien on the date on which the
petition is filed with the Secretary of Homeland
Security or the date on which an application for a
labor certification under section 212(a)(5)(A)(i) is
filed with the Secretary of Labor, whichever is
earlier.
``(B) For purposes of a petition under section
214(d) and a subsequent application for adjustment of
status under section 245(d), such determination shall
be made using the age of the alien on the date on which
the petition is filed with the Secretary of Homeland
Security.
``(C) In the case of a petition under section 204
filed for an alien's classification as a married son or
daughter of a United States citizen under section
203(a)(2), if the petition is later converted, due to
the legal termination of the alien's marriage, to a
petition to classify the alien as an immediate relative
under paragraph (2)(A)(i) or as an unmarried son or
daughter of a United States citizen under section
203(a)(1), the determination of the alien's age shall
be made using the age of the alien on the date of the
termination of the marriage.''.
(2) Technical and conforming amendment.--Section 201 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151) is amended by
striking subsection (f).
(3) Effective date.--
(A) In general.--The amendments made by this
section shall be effective as if included in the Child
Status Protection Act (Public Law 107-208; 116 Stat.
927).
(B) Motion to reopen or reconsider.--A motion to
reopen or reconsider the denial of a petition or
application described in the amendments made by
paragraph (1) that would have been approved if the
amendments described in such paragraph had been in
effect at the time of adjudication of the petition or
application may be granted if such motion is filed with
the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney
General not later than the date that is 2 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Age-Out Protections for Nonimmigrants.--Section 214 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is further amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(s) An alien who entered the United States as a dependent child
of a nonimmigrant admitted pursuant to an approved employer petition
under this section or as a nonimmigrant described in section
101(a)(15)(E), and who is the principal or derivative beneficiary of a
properly filed pending or approved petition under section 204, shall be
entitled to retain derivative nonimmigrant status notwithstanding any
time or age limitations until the petition is denied or the alien
receives the status of alien lawfully admitted to permanent
residence.''.
(c) Employment Authorization.--Section 214 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184), as amended by subsection (b), is
further amended by adding at the end the following:
``(t) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall authorize an alien
who entered the United States as a dependent child of a nonimmigrant
admitted pursuant to an approved employer petition under this section
or as a nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(E), and who is the
derivative beneficiary of a properly filed pending or approved petition
under section 204, to engage in employment in the United States, and
shall provide such alien with an `employment authorized' endorsement or
other appropriate work permit.''.
SEC. 4. PRIORITY DATE RETENTION.
Section 203(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1153(h)) is amended to read as follows:
``(h) Retention of Priority Dates.--The priority date for an
individual shall be the date that a petition under section 204 is filed
with the Secretary of Homeland Security (or the Secretary of State, if
applicable), unless such petition was preceded by the filing of a labor
certification with the Secretary of Labor, in which case that date
shall constitute the priority date. The principal beneficiary and all
derivative beneficiaries shall retain the priority date associated with
the earliest of any approved petition or labor certification and such
priority date shall be applicable to any subsequently approved
petition.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6527)
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