H.R. 5492

119 HR 5492 IH: Protect Adoptees and American Families Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-09-18
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 5492  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   September 18, 2025   Mr. Smith of Washington  (for himself and  Mr. Bacon ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To provide for automatic acquisition of United States citizenship for certain internationally adopted individuals, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Protect Adoptees and American Families Act   or the   PAAF Act  .
2.
United States citizenship for certain internationally adopted individuals
Section 320(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1431(b) ) is amended to read as follows:
(b)
Adopted children of citizen parent
(1)
In general
Subsection (a) shall apply to a child adopted by a United States citizen parent if the child satisfies the requirements applicable to adopted children under subparagraph (E), (F), or (G) of section 101(b)(1), regardless of the date on which the adoption was finalized.
(2)
Limited application to certain adopted individuals residing in the united states
Notwithstanding section 318, an individual born outside of the United States who was adopted by a United States citizen parent shall automatically become a citizen of the United States when all of the following conditions have been fulfilled:
(A)
The individual was adopted by a United States citizen before the individual reached 18 years of age.
(B)
The individual was physically present in the United States in the legal custody of the citizen parent pursuant to a lawful admission before the individual reached 18 years of age.
(C)
The individual never acquired United States citizenship before the date of the enactment of the  Protect Adoptees and American Families Act .
(D)
The individual was residing in the United States on the date of the enactment of the  Protect Adoptees and American Families Act  pursuant to a lawful admission.
(3)
Limited application to certain adopted individuals residing outside of the united states
(A)
In general
An individual who meets all of the criteria described in paragraph (2) except for subparagraph (D) shall automatically become a citizen of the United States on the date on which the individual is physically present in the United States pursuant to a lawful admission.
(B)
Inapplicability of grounds of inadmissibility
The grounds of inadmissibility set forth in section 212(a) shall not apply to an individual described in subparagraph (A) who is seeking admission to the United States.
(C)
Criminal background check
Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (B), an individual described in subparagraph (A) may not be issued a visa unless—
(i)
the individual was subjected to a criminal background check; and
(ii)
if the background check conducted pursuant to clause (i) reveals that the individual has committed a crime that was not properly resolved, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State coordinated with relevant law enforcement agencies to ensure that appropriate action is taken to resolve such criminal activity.
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