II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4990 

To comprehensively combat child marriage in the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2024 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To comprehensively combat child marriage in the United 

States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Marriage Pre5 vention Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Over 300,000 minors were married in the 

9 United States between 2000 and 2018. Most were 

10 wed to adult men and some were as young as 10 


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1 years of age, though most were 16 or 17 years of 

2 age. 

3 (2) Child marriage limits educational opportuni4 ties. Women who marry before they turn 19 years 

5 of age are 50 percent more likely to drop out of high 

6 school and 4 times less likely to graduate from col7 lege. 

8 (3) Girls who marry in their early teens are up 

9 to 31 percent more likely to live in future poverty. 

10 (4) Child marriage has harmful consequences 

11 for mental and physical health. Women who married 

12 as children have higher rates of certain psychiatric 

13 disorders. Another study found that women who 

14 marry before 19 years of age have a 23 percent 

15 greater risk of developing a serious health condition, 

16 including diabetes, cancer, heart attack, or stroke. 

17 (5) Child marriage can facilitate physical, emo18 tional, and verbal abuse. Girls and young women 16 

19 to 24 years of age experience the highest rates of in20 timate partner violence, and girls 16 to 19 years of 

21 age experience intimate partner violence victimiza22 tion rates that are almost triple the national aver23 age. Further, the majority of States allow marriage 

24 to be used as a defense to statutory rape laws, which 


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1 can incentivize perpetrators to marry victims to pre2 empt prosecutions. 

3 (6) 70 to 80 percent of marriages entered into 

4 when at least one person is under 18 years of age 

5 ultimately end in divorce. According to one study 

6 based on census data, 23 percent of children who 

7 marry are already separated or divorced by the time 

8 they turn 18 years of age. 

9 (7) Depending on the State, a child facing a 

10 forced marriage or a married minor trying to leave 

11 may find themselves with few options. A minor try12 ing to avoid a forced marriage may not be able to 

13 leave home without being taken into custody and re14 turned by police and may not be able to stay in a 

15 domestic violence shelter at all or in a youth shelter 

16 for longer than a few days. Friends or allies of a 

17 child escaping a marriage who offer to take them in 

18 could risk being charged with contributing to the de19 linquency of a minor or harboring a runaway. And, 

20 if the minor attempts to obtain a home of their own, 

21 they may find no one willing to rent to them, be22 cause in many circumstances, minors cannot be held 

23 to contracts they enter. 

24 (8) Depending on the State, a minor who is 

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1 titled to file on their own for a protective order. Fur2 ther, not all States clearly treat married minors as 

3 emancipated, meaning they still have the limited 

4 legal status and rights of a child and face similar 

5 vulnerabilities and challenges seeking help. 

6 (9) Child marriage in the United States can 

7 also be facilitated through the immigration system. 

8 Subject to rare exceptions, United States immigra9 tion law recognizes marriages as valid if they were 

10 legal where they took place and where the parties 

11 will reside. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv12 ices reported that between fiscal year 2007 and fis13 cal year 2017, it approved 8,686 petitions for spous14 al or fiance ́ visas that involved at least one minor, 

15 though it remains unclear how many of these visas 

16 were ultimately approved by the Department of 

17 State. However, approximately 2.6 percent of fiance ́

18 and spousal petitions were returned unapproved to 

19 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services between 

20 fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 2017. It is therefore 

21 reasonable to conclude that the United States issued 

22 a visa to a significant number of the spouses and 

23 fiance ́s named on the 8,686 petitions. 

24 (10) Four States set no statutory minimum age 

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1 lumbia, clerks acting on their own—without 

2 judges—can issue marriage licenses for all minors. 

3 Four States permit pregnancy to lower the minimum 

4 marriage age and in one State, Mississippi, the stat5 ute sets different conditions for approvals for girls 

6 and boys. 

7 (11) There is a growing movement to eliminate 

8 child marriage in the United States and 13 States— 

9 Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, 

10 Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, 

11 Connecticut, Michigan, Washington, Virginia, and 

12 New Hampshire have set the minimum age for mar13 riage at 18 years of age, with no exceptions. Since 

14 2016, a total of 35 States have enacted new laws to 

15 end or limit child marriage with 5 more States re16 quiring parties to be legal adults (meaning that the 

17 only exception to the requirement to be 18 years of 

18 age to be married is for certain court-emancipated 

19 minors). Until all States take action, however, the 

20 patchwork of State laws will continue to put all chil21 dren, particularly girls, at risk, given the ease with 

22 which they can be taken out of their home State into 

23 another State with lax or no laws. 

24 (12) The foreign policy of the United States is 

25 already imbued with these understandings that child 


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1 marriage is harmful and should be prevented, in2 cluding the following: 

3 (A) The Department of State in its For4 eign Affairs Manual states the Federal Govern5 ment view of ‘‘forced marriage to be a violation 

6 of basic human rights. It also considers the 

7 forced marriage of a minor child to be a form 

8 of child abuse, since the child will presumably 

9 be subjected to non-consensual sex.’’. 

10 (B) The United States Agency for Inter11 national Development observes that Child, 

12 Early, and Forced Marriage (In this paragraph 

13 referred to as ‘‘CEFM’’) ‘‘impedes girls’ edu14 cation and increases early pregnancy and the 

15 risk of maternal mortality, obstetric complica16 tions, gender-based violence, and HIV/AIDS. 

17 Children of young mothers have higher rates of 

18 infant mortality and malnutrition compared to 

19 children of mothers older than 18. . . . CEFM 

20 is also associated with reductions in economic 

21 productivity for individuals and nations at 

22 large. CEFM is a human rights abuse and a 

23 practice that undermines efforts to promote 

24 sustainable growth and development.’’. 


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1 (C) Congress enacted the Violence Against 

2 Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Public 

3 Law 113–4; 127 Stat. 54), which requires the 

4 Secretary of State to establish and implement a 

5 multiyear strategy— 

6 (i) to ‘‘prevent child marriages’’; and 

7 (ii) to ‘‘promote the empowerment of 

8 girls at risk of child marriage in developing 

9 countries’’. 

10 (13) In 2021, the National Strategy on Gender 

11 Equity and Equality named child marriage as a 

12 form of gender-based violence that undermines 

13 human rights globally and domestically, noting— 

14 (A) ‘‘Millions of women and girls remain at 

15 risk of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/ 

16 C) and child, early and forced marriage, forms 

17 of gender-based violence that undermine secu18 rity and human rights, including here in the 

19 United States’’; and 

20 (B) ‘‘In the United States, we will collabo21 rate with state officials to prevent and address 

22 harmful practices that undermine human 

23 rights, including laws that permit child, early 

24 and forced marriage . . . and ensure access to 

25 social services for those harmed.’’. 


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1 (14) The report titled ‘‘U.S. National Plan to 

2 End Gender-Based Violence: Strategies for Action,’’ 

3 published in May, 2023, which focuses on preventing 

4 and addressing various forms of interpersonal vio5 lence occurring within the United States, defines 

6 gender-based violence as a ‘‘range of interpersonal 

7 violence across the life course’’ including child, early, 

8 and forced marriage. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) NONCITIZEN.—The term ‘‘noncitizen’’ 

12 means any person who is not a citizen or national 

13 of the United States. 

14 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

15 the several States, the District of Columbia, and any 

16 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

17 States. 

18 SEC. 4. FEDERAL COMMISSION TO ADDRESS CHILD MAR19 RIAGE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the 

21 Department of Health and Human Services a commission, 

22 to be known as the National Commission to Combat Child 

23 Marriage in the United States (in this section referred to 

24 as the ‘‘Commission’’), which shall— 


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1 (1) conduct a comprehensive study on child 

2 marriage in the United States, including— 

3 (A) applicable laws, or the absence of laws, 

4 which define or prohibit child marriage; 

5 (B) the extent to which such marriages 

6 currently occur; 

7 (C) the extent to which such marriages oc8 curred over the last 5 years in each State; 

9 (D) the circumstances in which such mar10 riages take place (including risk factors that 

11 may have played a role in such marriages tak12 ing place); and 

13 (E) the impact of such marriages on the 

14 individuals who were married before turning 18 

15 years of age; 

16 (2) build upon the evaluations of other entities 

17 and avoid unnecessary duplication, by reviewing the 

18 findings, conclusions, and recommendations of other 

19 commissions, the Federal Government, State and 

20 local governments, State task forces, and nongovern21 mental entities relating to child marriage in the 

22 United States; 

23 (3) submit a report on specific findings, conclu24 sions, and recommendations to eliminate child mar25 riage in the United States to— 


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1 (A) the Committee on the Judiciary and 

2 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

3 and Pensions of the Senate; 

4 (B) the Committee on the Judiciary and 

5 the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

6 of the House of Representatives; and 

7 (C) the Secretary of Health and Human 

8 Services; and 

9 (4) carry out other duties as described in sub10 section (c). 

11 (b) COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION.— 

12 (1) MEMBERS.—The Commission shall be com13 posed of 10 members, of whom— 

14 (A) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

15 President; 

16 (B) 1 member, who is of a different polit17 ical party than that of the member appointed 

18 under paragraph (1), shall be appointed by the 

19 President; 

20 (C) 4 members shall be appointed by the 

21 Secretary of Health and Human Services; 

22 (D) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

23 majority leader of the Senate; 

24 (E) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

25 minority leader of the Senate; 


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1 (F) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

2 Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 

3 (G) 1 member shall be appointed by the 

4 minority leader of the House of Representa5 tives. 

6 (2) GOVERNMENTAL APPOINTEES.—An indi7 vidual appointed to the Commission may not be an 

8 officer or employee of the Federal Government. 

9 (3) COMMISSION REPRESENTATION.—The Com10 mission shall include at least— 

11 (A) 1 survivor of child marriage; 

12 (B) 1 representative from a private non13 profit entity with demonstrated expertise in 

14 working with survivors of child marriage in the 

15 United States; 

16 (C) 1 representative from a private non17 profit entity with demonstrated expertise in 

18 working with immigrant survivors of child mar19 riage in the United States; and 

20 (D) 1 representative from a private non21 profit entity with demonstrated expertise in 

22 working with State governments to limit child 

23 marriage. 


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1 (4) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members appointed 

2 under paragraph (1) shall have demonstrated experi3 ence or expertise in— 

4 (A) providing services to survivors of child 

5 marriage in the United States; 

6 (B) providing services to immigrant sur7 vivors of child marriage in the United States; 

8 (C) working with State governments to 

9 limit child marriage; 

10 (D) the medical challenges that survivors 

11 of child marriage face; 

12 (E) the mental health challenges that sur13 vivors of child marriage face; 

14 (F) legal issues involving individuals who 

15 were married or sought to marry before becom16 ing 18 years of age; 

17 (G) conducting research on the impact of 

18 child marriage on individuals who were married 

19 before becoming 18 years of age; 

20 (H) risk factors that play a role in child 

21 marriage; or 

22 (I) issues of forced or coerced marriage, 

23 family violence, sexual assault, human traf24 ficking, or child abuse. 


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1 (5) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 120 

2 days after the appointment of members of the Com3 mission, the Commission shall— 

4 (A) hold an initial meeting, at which the 

5 members shall elect a Chairperson and Vice 

6 Chairperson, who shall be of different political 

7 parties, from among such members and shall 

8 determine a schedule of Commission meetings; 

9 and 

10 (B) begin the operations of the Commis11 sion. 

12 (6) QUORUM AND VACANCY.— 

13 (A) QUORUM.—A majority of the members 

14 of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, 

15 but a lesser number of members may hold hear16 ings. 

17 (B) VACANCY.—Any vacancy in the Com18 mission shall not affect its powers and shall be 

19 filled in the same manner in which the original 

20 appointment was made. 

21 (c) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.—The Commission 

22 shall— 

23 (1) conduct pursuant to subsection (a) a com24 prehensive study that examines and assesses the 

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1 tent of child marriage across the country, risk fac2 tors that play a role in child marriage, and the im3 pact of child marriage on those individuals in the 

4 United States who marry before becoming 18 years 

5 of age, including making specific findings relating 

6 to— 

7 (A) threats to such individuals’ safety and 

8 well-being, including— 

9 (i) physical and mental health, eco10 nomic, and educational impacts; 

11 (ii) forced or coerced marriage; 

12 (iii) family violence; 

13 (iv) vulnerability to abuse and exploi14 tation; 

15 (v) sexual assault; 

16 (vi) child abuse and neglect; and 

17 (vii) human trafficking; 

18 (B) barriers to and gaps in services for mi19 nors facing the threat of forced marriage or al20 ready married minors seeking protection from 

21 abuse; 

22 (C) Federal laws, regulations, policies, and 

23 programs relevant to child marriage and indi24 viduals who marry before becoming 18 years of 

25 age; and 


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1 (D) based on a survey of such laws, State 

2 laws defining or prohibiting child marriage, in3 cluding lessons learned from States that have, 

4 or that lack, laws, regulations, and policies to 

5 limit child marriage; and 

6 (2) submit to the President, the Secretary of 

7 Health and Human Services, and Congress a report 

8 on the specific findings, conclusions, and rec9 ommendations to address and ultimately eliminate 

10 child marriage in the United States and improve 

11 services and outcomes for survivors of child marriage 

12 in the United States, including specific recommenda13 tions on policies, regulations, and legislative changes 

14 as the Commission considers appropriate to address 

15 child marriage in the United States. 

16 (d) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

17 (1) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold 

18 such hearings, meet and act at such times and 

19 places, and receive such evidence as may be nec20 essary to carry out the functions of the Commission. 

21 (2) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

23 access, to the extent authorized by law, from 

24 any executive department, bureau, agency, 

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1 lishment, or instrumentality of the Federal Gov2 ernment such information, suggestions, esti3 mates, and statistics as the Commission con4 siders necessary to carry out this section. 

5 (B) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—On 

6 written request of the Chairperson of the Com7 mission, each department, bureau, agency, 

8 board, commission, office, independent estab9 lishment, or instrumentality shall, to the extent 

10 authorized by law, provide the requested infor11 mation to the Commission. 

12 (C) RECEIPT, HANDLING, STORAGE, AND

13 DISSEMINATION.—Information shall only be re14 ceived, handled, stored, and disseminated by 

15 members of the Commission and its staff con16 sistent with all applicable statutes, regulations, 

17 and Executive orders. 

18 (3) LISTENING SESSIONS.—The Commission 

19 shall organize and facilitate listening sessions with 

20 survivors of, advocates on issues relating to, and ex21 perts on child marriage in order to discharge its du22 ties under this section. 

23 (4) DONATIONS.—The Commission may accept, 

24 use, and dispose of donations of services or property. 


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1 (5) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may 

2 use the United States mails in the same manner and 

3 under the same conditions as a department or agen4 cy of the United States. 

5 (e) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Com6 mission shall serve without compensation, but shall receive 

7 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 

8 in accordance with applicable provisions in the same man9 ner as persons employed intermittently in the Government 

10 service are allowed expenses under section 5703 of title 

11 5, United States Code. 

12 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT APPLICA13 BILITY.—Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, shall 

14 apply to the Commission, including the staff of the Com15 mission. 

16 (g) REPORTS OF COMMISSION AND TERMINATION.— 

17 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—The Commission shall, 

18 not later than 1 year after the date of the initial 

19 meeting of the Commission, submit to the President 

20 and Congress an interim report containing specific 

21 findings, conclusions, and recommendations required 

22 under this section as have been agreed to by a ma23 jority of Commission members. 

24 (2) OTHER REPORTS AND INFORMATION.— 


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1 (A) REPORTS.—The Commission may 

2 issue additional reports as the Commission de3 termines necessary. 

4 (B) INFORMATION.—The Commission may 

5 hold public hearings to collect information and 

6 shall make such information available for use 

7 by the public. 

8 (3) FINAL REPORT.—The Commission shall, 

9 not later than 2 years after the date of the initial 

10 meeting of the Commission, submit a final report 

11 containing specific findings, conclusions, and rec12 ommendations required under this section as have 

13 been agreed to by a majority of Commission mem14 bers to— 

15 (A) the President; 

16 (B) the Secretary of Health and Human 

17 Services; 

18 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary and 

19 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

20 and Pensions of the Senate; and 

21 (D) the Committee on the Judiciary and 

22 the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

23 of the House of Representatives. 

24 (4) TERMINATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, and 

2 all the authorities of this section, shall termi3 nate 180 days after the date on which the final 

4 report is submitted under paragraph (3). 

5 (B) RECORDS.—Not later than the date of 

6 termination of the Commission under subpara7 graph (A), all records and papers of the Com8 mission shall be delivered to the Archivist of the 

9 United States for deposit in the National Ar10 chives. 

11 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

13 $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 and 2028. 

14 SEC. 5. GAO REPORTS. 

15 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro16 priate committees of Congress’’ means the Committee on 

17 the Judiciary and the Committee on Health, Education, 

18 and Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee 

19 on the Judiciary and the Committee on Education and the 

20 Workforce of the House of Representatives. 

21 (b) CHILD MARRIAGE IN THE UNITED STATES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

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1 propriate committees of Congress a report describ2 ing— 

3 (A) Federal laws, regulations, policies, and 

4 programs relevant to child marriage and indi5 viduals who marry before becoming 18 years of 

6 age; 

7 (B) applicable laws, or the absence of laws, 

8 which define or prohibit child marriage; 

9 (C) the extent to which such marriages oc10 curred during the 5-year period ending on the 

11 date of enactment of this Act in each State; 

12 and 

13 (D) research and studies published during 

14 the 10-year period ending on the date of enact15 ment of this Act assessing— 

16 (i) the common or typical cir17 cumstances in which such marriages take 

18 place, including information indicating the 

19 prevalence of forced or coerced marriage 

20 and risk factors that may have played a 

21 role in such marriages taking place; and 

22 (ii) the impact of such marriages on 

23 the individuals who were married before 

24 turning 18 years of age in the United 

25 States, including the impact on the safety 


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1 and well-being of such individuals, includ2 ing— 

3 (I) medical and mental health; 

4 (II) economic and educational 

5 outcomes; 

6 (III) risk of or vulnerability to— 

7 (aa) family violence; 

8 (bb) abuse or exploitation; 

9 (cc) sexual assault; 

10 (dd) child abuse or neglect; 

11 or 

12 (ee) human trafficking; and 

13 (IV) barriers to and gaps in serv14 ices for minors facing the threat of 

15 forced marriage or already married 

16 minors seeking protection from abuse. 

17 (2) ASSISTANCE IN OBTAINING INFORMA18 TION.—The Comptroller General of the United 

19 States may request that States provide the informa20 tion necessary to address the portion of the report 

21 required under paragraph (1)(C). 

22 (c) CHILD MARRIAGE AND IMMIGRATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years 

25 thereafter through 2030, the Comptroller General of 


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1 the United States shall submit to the appropriate 

2 committees of Congress a report that assesses the 

3 extent to which— 

4 (A) noncitizens who were under 18 years 

5 of age on the date of marriage are admitted to 

6 the United States as beneficiaries of approved 

7 petitions submitted by the United States citizen 

8 or lawful permanent resident spouses of the 

9 noncitizens; and 

10 (B) the United States has admitted non11 immigrant spouses who, on the date on which 

12 a nonimmigrant visa petition was submitted for 

13 the principal noncitizens, were under 18 years 

14 of age. 

15 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required under 

16 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

17 (A) For each petition described in para18 graph (1)(A) approved during the 2-year period 

19 preceding the report— 

20 (i) the gender of the beneficiary and 

21 petitioner; 

22 (ii) the ages of the beneficiary and pe23 titioner on— 

24 (I) the date of the marriage; 


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1 (II) the date on which the peti2 tion was submitted; and 

3 (III) the date on which the peti4 tion was approved; and 

5 (iii) in the case of a noncitizen who 

6 was under 18 years of age on the date on 

7 which such a petition was submitted, a de8 scription of the basis upon which the evi9 dentiary requirements were determined to 

10 have been met under, as applicable— 

11 (I) clause (ii) of section 

12 101(a)(15)(K) of the Immigration and 

13 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

14 1101(a)(15)(K)), as amended by sec15 tion 8 of this Act; 

16 (II) clause (iii)(II) of section 

17 201(b)(2)(A) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 

18 1151(b)(2)(A)), as amended by sec19 tion 8 of this Act; or 

20 (III) subparagraph (A)(ii) of sec21 tion 203(a)(2) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 

22 1153(a)(2)), as amended by section 8 

23 of this Act. 

24 (B) A summary of feedback from adjudica25 tors of such petitions with respect to whether 


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1 the evidentiary requirements under the provi2 sions described in subclauses (I) through (III) 

3 of subparagraph (A)(ii) provide sufficient guid4 ance, and the manner in which such guidance 

5 may be improved. 

6 (C) Specific conclusions and recommenda7 tions with respect to whether a minimum age 

8 on the date of marriage should be required for 

9 beneficiaries of petitions submitted by their 

10 United States citizen or lawful permanent resi11 dent spouses. 

12 SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM FOR STATE TASK FORCES TO EX13 AMINE CHILD MARRIAGE. 

14 The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 10401 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 315. STATE TASK FORCES TO EXAMINE CHILD MAR18 RIAGE. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM.—From amounts made available 

21 under subsection (c), the Secretary may award 

22 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible States to 

23 establish a State-based task force to examine child 

24 marriage in the eligible State. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—In this section, the 

2 term ‘eligible State’ means a State that permits an 

3 individual younger than 18 years of age to marry. 

4 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a 

5 grant under paragraph (1), an eligible State shall 

6 submit to the Secretary an application at such time, 

7 in such manner, and containing such information as 

8 the Secretary may require. 

9 ‘‘(b) STATE TASK FORCE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible State awarded a 

11 grant under subsection (a)(1) shall establish a task 

12 force to examine child marriage in the eligible State. 

13 ‘‘(2) APPOINTEES.—A task force established 

14 under paragraph (1) shall include individuals with— 

15 ‘‘(A) advocacy expertise in combating fam16 ily violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, 

17 or child abuse or neglect issues; 

18 ‘‘(B) experience in social work or school 

19 counseling, with preference for such individuals 

20 with experience providing culturally specific 

21 services; 

22 ‘‘(C) experience in providing legal assist23 ance to survivors of family violence, sexual as24 sault, or human trafficking, with a preference 

25 for such individuals with experience serving 


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1 such survivors who are younger than 18 years 

2 of age; 

3 ‘‘(D) experience in providing legal assist4 ance to individuals with needs for child protec5 tion services, including foster youth, homeless 

6 and runaway youth, and youth otherwise at-risk 

7 for needing such services; 

8 ‘‘(E) judicial experience with cases involv9 ing child protection and family violence issues; 

10 ‘‘(F) legal experience with cases involving 

11 emancipation, guardianship, or child-specific 

12 protection orders, with special preference for 

13 such individuals who have worked on cases in14 volving forced or coerced marriage; or 

15 ‘‘(G) professional medical or mental health 

16 experience. 

17 ‘‘(3) TASKS.—A task force established under 

18 paragraph (1) shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) collect Statewide statistics for each of 

20 the 10 years preceding the date of the grant 

21 award on the number, age, gender, and resi22 dency of individuals in the eligible State who 

23 were younger than 18 years of age at the time 

24 of the marriage of such individual; 


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1 ‘‘(B) examine the risk factors that lead to 

2 child marriage and negative impacts from child 

3 marriage in the eligible State, including the re4 lationship between child marriage and threats 

5 to a minor’s safety, health, and well-being, and 

6 including risk factors and impacts such as 

7 forced or coerced marriage, family violence, sex8 ual assault, child abuse and neglect, human 

9 trafficking, educational impacts, poverty, and 

10 other negative impacts on individuals who are 

11 younger than 18 years of age who marry; 

12 ‘‘(C) examine whether marriages that in13 clude an individual younger than 18 years of 

14 age should be prohibited in the eligible State; 

15 ‘‘(D) develop policy recommendations for 

16 the eligible State to address negative impacts of 

17 child marriage on individuals and the intersec18 tion between child marriage and forced or co19 erced marriage, family violence, sexual assault, 

20 child abuse and neglect, and human trafficking; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(E) prepare a report with the rec23 ommendations of the task force, including on 

24 protecting individuals who are younger than 18 

25 years of age from the negative impacts of child 


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•S 4990 IS

1 marriage and forced or coerced marriages and 

2 enabling already-married individuals who are 

3 younger than 18 years of age to protect them4 selves from abuse. 

5 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

7 $375,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2032.’’. 

8 SEC. 7. STATE INCENTIVES TO ELIMINATE CHILD MAR9 RIAGE. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 

11 formula grant’’ means a grant under— 

12 (1) part T of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con13 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10441 

14 et seq.) (commonly referred to as the ‘‘STOP Vio15 lence Against Women Formula Grant Program’’); or 

16 (2) section 41601 of the Violence Against 

17 Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12511) (commonly 

18 referred to as the ‘‘Sexual Assault Services Pro19 gram’’). 

20 (b) INCREASED FUNDING FOR FORMULA GRANTS

21 AUTHORIZED.—The Attorney General shall increase the 

22 amount provided to a State under the covered formula 

23 grants in accordance with this section if the State has in 

24 place a law that prohibits marriage for individuals who 


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•S 4990 IS

1 have not attained 18 years of age or, if more than 18 years 

2 of age, the age of majority for the State. 

3 (c) APPLICATION.—A State seeking an increase in 

4 the amount provided to the State under the covered for5 mula grants shall include in the application of the State 

6 for each covered formula grant such information as the 

7 Attorney General may reasonably require, including infor8 mation about the law described in subsection (b). 

9 (d) GRANT INCREASE.—The amount of the increase 

10 provided to a State under the covered formula grants 

11 under this section shall be equal to not more than 10 per12 cent of the average of the total amount of funding pro13 vided to the State under the covered formula grants under 

14 the 3 most recent awards to the State. 

15 (e) PERIOD OF INCREASE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

17 provide an increase in the amount provided to a 

18 State under the covered formula grants under this 

19 section for a 2-year period. 

20 (2) LIMIT.—The Attorney General may not 

21 provide an increase in the amount provided to a 

22 State under the covered formula grants under this 

23 section more than 4 times. 

24 (f) ALLOCATION OF INCREASED FORMULA GRANT

25 FUNDS.—The Attorney General shall allocate an increase 


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•S 4990 IS

1 in the amount provided to a State under the covered for2 mula grants under this section such that— 

3 (1) 25 percent the amount of the increase is 

4 provided under the program described in subsection 

5 (a)(1); and 

6 (2) 75 percent the amount of the increase is 

7 provided under the program described in subsection 

8 (a)(2). 

9 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—If the 

10 National Commission to Combat Child Marriage in the 

11 United States submits the interim report required under 

12 section 4(g)(1), there is authorized to be appropriated to 

13 carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

14 2027 through 2032. 

15 SEC. 8. FEDERAL LIMITATIONS ON CHILD MARRIAGE. 

16 No property that is on any land or in any building 

17 owned by, leased to, or otherwise used by or under the 

18 control of the Federal Government may be used to facili19 tate a marriage unless both of the individuals marrying 

20 are at least 18 years of age at the time of the marriage. 

21 SEC. 9. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE EFFORTS TO ADDRESS 

22 CHILD MARRIAGE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall estab24 lish a working group which shall, not later than 180 days 

25 after the date on which the National Commission to ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Sep 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4990.IS S4990

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1 bat Child Marriage in the United States issues the final 

2 report required under section 4(g)(3), promulgate a model 

3 State statute that prohibits child marriage by requiring 

4 a person to be at least 18 years of age or, for a State 

5 with an age of majority that is older than 18 years of 

6 age, the age of majority in the State, at the time of mar7 riage. 

8 (b) COMPOSITION OF THE WORKING GROUP.—The 

9 working group established under subsection (a) shall be 

10 composed of 8 members, of whom at least 1 member shall 

11 be from the following components of the Department of 

12 Justice: 

13 (1) The Office of Legal Policy. 

14 (2) The Office of Legislative Affairs. 

15 (3) The Child Exploitation and Obscenity Sec16 tion of the Criminal Division. 

17 (4) The Human Rights and Special Prosecu18 tions Section of the Criminal Division. 

19 (5) The Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit 

20 of the Civil Rights Division. 

21 (6) The Office of Violence Against Women. 

22 SEC. 10. MODIFICATIONS TO IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS 

23 RELATING TO MARRIAGE. 

24 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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•S 4990 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifi2 cally provided, any term used in this section that is 

3 used in the immigration laws shall have the meaning 

4 given the term in the immigration laws. 

5 (2) IMMIGRATION LAWS.—The term ‘‘immigra6 tion laws’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

7 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

8 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17)). 

9 (b) MODIFICATIONS TO IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS

10 RELATING TO MARRIAGE.— 

11 (1) DEFINITION OF NONCITIZEN.—Section 

12 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

13 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(53) The term ‘noncitizen’ means any person who 

16 is not a citizen or national of the United States.’’. 

17 (2) CLASSIFICATIONS RELATING TO VISAS FOR

18 NONCITIZEN FIANCE ́S AND SPOUSES.— 

19 (A) K VISAS.—Section 101(a)(15)(K) of 

20 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

21 1101(a)(15)(K)) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(K) subject to subsections (d) and (r) of sec23 tion 214, a noncitizen— 

24 ‘‘(i)(I) who is the fiance ́e or fiance ́ of a cit25 izen of the United States (other than a citizen 


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•S 4990 IS

1 described in section 204(a)(1)(A)(viii)(I)) who 

2 is at least 18 years of age; and 

3 ‘‘(II) who— 

4 ‘‘(aa) seeks to enter the United States 

5 solely to conclude a valid marriage with the 

6 petitioner within ninety days after admis7 sion; and 

8 ‘‘(bb) is at least 18 years of age; 

9 ‘‘(ii)(I) who has concluded a valid marriage 

10 with a citizen of the United States who is the 

11 petitioner who is at least 18 years of age and 

12 was at least 18 years of age on the date of the 

13 marriage (other than a citizen described in sec14 tion 204(a)(1)(A)(viii)(I)); and 

15 ‘‘(II) who— 

16 ‘‘(aa) is the beneficiary of a petition 

17 to accord a status under section 

18 201(b)(2)(A)(i) that was filed under sec19 tion 204 by the petitioner; 

20 ‘‘(bb) seeks to enter the United States 

21 to await the approval of such petition and 

22 the availability to the noncitizen of an im23 migrant visa; and 

24 ‘‘(cc) is at least 18 years of age, or is 

25 at least 16 years of age and is granted a 


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1 waiver of such age requirement based on a 

2 compelling humanitarian reason for the 

3 issuance of a visa, arising from a risk of 

4 individualized and targeted harm to such 

5 noncitizen, and which shall not include pa6 rental consent, a child in common with the 

7 petitioner, pregnancy, or any combination 

8 thereof; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) who is the minor child of a noncitizen 

10 described in clause (i) or (ii) and is accom11 panying, or following to join, the noncitizen.’’. 

12 (B) IMMEDIATE RELATIVES.—Section 

13 201(b)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nation14 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)(A)) is amended 

15 by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(iii) For purposes of this subparagraph, a non17 citizen spouse may only be considered the immediate 

18 relative of a United States citizen spouse if— 

19 ‘‘(I) the United States citizen spouse is at 

20 least 18 years of age and was at least 18 years 

21 of age at the time of marriage; and 

22 ‘‘(II) the noncitizen spouse is— 

23 ‘‘(aa) at least 18 years of age; or 

24 ‘‘(bb) at least 16 years of age and has 

25 been granted a waiver of the age requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Sep 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4990.IS S4990

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1 ment under item (aa) based on a compel2 ling humanitarian reason for the issuance 

3 of a visa, arising from a risk of individual4 ized and targeted harm to the noncitizen 

5 seeking a visa, and which shall not include 

6 parental consent, a child in common with 

7 the petitioner, pregnancy, or any combina8 tion thereof.’’. 

9 (C) SPOUSES OF LAWFUL PERMANENT

10 RESIDENTS.—Section 203(a)(2) of the Immi11 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

12 1153(a)(2)) is amended by striking subpara13 graphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) who— 

15 ‘‘(i) are the spouses of noncitizens 

16 lawfully admitted for permanent residence 

17 aged 18 years or older and who were at 

18 least 18 years of age at the time of mar19 riage; and 

20 ‘‘(ii)(I) are at least 18 years of age; or 

21 ‘‘(II) are at least 16 years of age and 

22 have been granted a waiver of the age re23 quirement under subclause (I) based on a 

24 compelling humanitarian reason for the 

25 issuance of a visa, arising from a risk of 


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•S 4990 IS

1 individualized and targeted harm to the 

2 noncitizen seeking a visa, and which shall 

3 not include parental consent, a child in 

4 common with the petitioner, pregnancy, or 

5 any combination thereof; 

6 ‘‘(B) who are the children of noncitizens 

7 lawfully admitted for permanent residence; or 

8 ‘‘(C) who are the unmarried sons or un9 married daughters (but are not the children) of 

10 noncitizens lawfully admitted for permanent 

11 residence,’’. 

12 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The amend13 ments made by this subsection may not be construed 

14 to preclude, limit, or modify eligibility of any noncit15 izen spouse subjected to battery or extreme cruelty 

16 and otherwise eligible for relief as a VAWA self-peti17 tioner (as defined in section 101(a)(51) of the Immi18 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

19 1101(a)(51))), or any battered spouse (within the 

20 meaning of section 240A(b)(2) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 

21 1229b(b)(2))), for any available relief under the im22 migrations laws without regard to either spouse’s 

23 age at time of marriage. 

24 (4) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made 

25 by this subsection shall only apply to petitions or apVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Sep 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4990.IS S4990

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1 plications for any status or benefit under the immi2 gration laws that are filed or otherwise submitted on 

3 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (c) PROXY MARRIAGE.—Section 101(a)(35) of the 

5 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(35)) 

6 is amended by striking ‘‘marriage shall have been con7 summated’’ and inserting ‘‘parties have met in person dur8 ing the 2-year period immediately preceding the date of 

9 the ceremony’’. 

10 (d) PUBLIC EDUCATION ON CHANGES TO IMMIGRA11 TION LAW.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security and the Secretary of State, in coordination 

15 with the head of any other appropriate Federal 

16 agency, shall immediately, and on an ongoing basis, 

17 provide educational materials and information to the 

18 public, in multiple languages, on the amendments 

19 made by this section and the changes to immigration 

20 law made by such amendments. 

21 (2) ELEMENTS.—At a minimum, the edu22 cational materials and information provided under 

23 paragraph (1) shall be— 


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•S 4990 IS

1 (A) made available in multiple languages 

2 on the internet website of U.S. Citizenship and 

3 Immigration Services, including— 

4 (i) on the U.S. Citizenship and Immi5 gration Services homepage; and 

6 (ii) at https://www.uscis.gov/humani7 tarian/forced-marriage; 

8 (B) on view in public areas of the offices 

9 of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in 

10 English and the 1 or more primary languages 

11 of the country in which the office is located, as 

12 applicable; 

13 (C) presented through U.S. Citizenship 

14 and Immigration Services community forums 

15 with immigrant communities in the United 

16 States; 

17 (D) provided to all registered immigration 

18 legal services providers in the United States for 

19 distribution to the community; 

20 (E) made available on all relevant pages of 

21 the internet website of the Department of 

22 State; 

23 (F) on view at United States embassies 

24 and consulates, in English and the 1 or more 


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•S 4990 IS

1 primary languages of the applicable country; 

2 and 

3 (G) incorporated into video advisories on 

4 immigration requirements shown at United 

5 States embassies, consulates, and ports of 

6 entry. 

7 (e) PROMOTION OF INFORMATION ON CHILD MAR8 RIAGE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the 

10 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

11 Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Serv12 ices, and the Attorney General, in coordination with 

13 the head of any other appropriate Federal agency, 

14 shall immediately, and on an ongoing basis, promote 

15 information on— 

16 (A) the harmful impacts of child marriage 

17 described in section 2; and 

18 (B) the governmental and nongovern19 mental resources an individual may contact to 

20 receive support services relating to such im21 pacts. 

22 (2) ELEMENTS.—At a minimum, the informa23 tion provided under paragraph (1) shall be— 


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•S 4990 IS

1 (A) made available in multiple languages 

2 on the internet website of U.S. Citizenship and 

3 Immigration Services; 

4 (B) presented through U.S. Citizenship 

5 and Immigration Services community forums 

6 with immigrant communities in the United 

7 States; 

8 (C) incorporated into video advisories on 

9 immigration requirements shown at United 

10 States embassies, consulates, and ports of 

11 entry; 

12 (D) provided to all registered immigration 

13 legal services providers and refugee resettlement 

14 agencies in the United States or distribution to 

15 the community; and 

16 (E) made available on all relevant pages of 

17 the internet website of the Department of 

18 State. 

19 (f) UPDATES TO IMMIGRATION FORMS.—The in20 structions for Form I–130 (Petition for Alien Relatives) 

21 and Form I–129F (Petition for Alien Fiance(e)) shall be 

22 updated to reflect the amendments made by this section 

23 and the modifications to the immigration laws made by 

24 such amendments. 

25 (g) PUBLIC EDUCATION.— 


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•S 4990 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the 

2 enactment of this Act, the Federal Government shall 

3 immediately, and on an ongoing basis, provide edu4 cational materials and information to the public, in 

5 multiple languages, on the amendments made by 

6 this section and the changes to immigration law 

7 made by such amendments. 

8 (2) ELEMENTS.—At a minimum, the edu9 cational materials and information provided under 

10 paragraph (1) shall be— 

11 (A) made available on the internet website 

12 of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 

13 including— 

14 (i) on the U.S. Citizenship and Immi15 gration Services homepage; and 

16 (ii) at https://www.uscis.gov/humani17 tarian/forced-marriage; 

18 (B) on view in publicly accessible areas of 

19 the offices of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

20 Services; 

21 (C) presented through U.S. Citizenship 

22 and Immigration Services community forums 

23 with immigrant communities in the United 

24 States; 


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•S 4990 IS

1 (D) provided to all registered immigration 

2 legal services providers in the United States for 

3 distribution to the community; 

4 (E) made available on the internet website 

5 of the Department of State, including at— 

6 (i) https://travel.state.gov/content/trav7 el.html; 

8 (ii) https://travel.state.gov/content/ 

9 travel/en/us-visas.html; and 

10 (iii) https://travel.state.gov/content/ 

11 travel/en/international-travel/emergencies/ 

12 forced-marriage.html; 

13 (F) on view at United States embassies 

14 and consulates, in English and the 1 or more 

15 primary languages of the applicable country; 

16 (G) incorporated into video advisories on 

17 immigration requirements shown at United 

18 States embassies, consulates, and ports of 

19 entry; and 

20 (H) included in the advisory pamphlet re21 quired under section 833 of the International 

22 Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 (Pub23 lic Law 109–162; 119 Stat. 3068) entitled ‘‘In24 formation on the Legal Rights Available to Im25 migrant Victims of Domestic Violence in the 


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•S 4990 IS

1 United States and Facts about Immigrating on 

2 a Marriage-Based Visa’’, which is distributed 

3 directly to applicants for family-based immigra4 tion petitions at all consular and adjustment 

5 interviews for marriage-based visas. 

6 (h) DISTRIBUTION OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND

7 SECURITY GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE PAMPHLET (GBV 

8 PAMPHLET).—The gender-based violence pamphlet devel9 oped by the Department of Homeland Security as part of 

10 the Blue Campaign (referred to in this subsection as the 

11 ‘‘GBV pamphlet’’) shall be made available and distributed 

12 as follows: 

13 (1) INCLUSION IN IMMIGRATION FORMS.—The 

14 instructions for Form I–130 (Petition for Alien Rel15 atives) and Form I–129F (Petition for Alien 

16 Fiance ́(e)) shall include— 

17 (A) the GBV pamphlet in its entirety, in 

18 English, under the following section heading: 

19 ‘‘The pamphlet below describes what gender20 based violence (GBV) is, who is affected by 

21 GBV, and how and where to seek help if you 

22 or someone you know is experiencing any form 

23 of GBV. These materials are also available in 

24 Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Traditional), French, 


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•S 4990 IS

1 Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, 

2 and Urdu.’’; and 

3 (B) within the section heading preceding 

4 the GBV pamphlet described in subparagraph 

5 (A), a link to the Blue Campaign GBV pam6 phlet landing page, https://www.dhs.gov/blue7 campaign/publication/gender-based-pamphlets8 and-flyers. 

9 (2) MAILING TO PETITIONER AND BENE10 FICIARY.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of U.S. 

12 Citizenship and Immigration Services shall mail 

13 the GBV pamphlet to each petitioner and bene14 ficiary of a K nonimmigrant visa pursuant to 

15 section 101(a)(15)(K) (8 U.S.C. 

16 1101(a)(15)(K)) upon receipt of an application 

17 for such a visa. 

18 (B) LANGUAGE.—Each GBV pamphlet 

19 mailed under subparagraph (A) shall be the 

20 version in the primary language of the peti21 tioner and the primary language of the bene22 ficiary, or in English if a translation into such 

23 language is unavailable. 


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•S 4990 IS

1 (3) POSTING ON NATIONAL VISA CENTER

2 WEBSITE.—The Secretary of State shall post the 

3 GBV pamphlet on the internet website of— 

4 (A) the National Visa Center; and 

5 (B) each consular post that processes K 

6 nonimmigrant visa applications. 

7 (4) CONSULAR INTERVIEWS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State 

9 shall ensure that the GBV pamphlet is distrib10 uted directly to K nonimmigrant visa applicants 

11 at all consular interviews for such visas. 

12 (B) LANGUAGE.—If a written translation 

13 of the GBV pamphlet is unavailable in an appli14 cant’s primary language, the consular officer 

15 conducting the visa interview shall— 

16 (i) review the contents of pamphlet 

17 with the applicant orally in the applicant’s 

18 primary language; and 

19 (ii) distribute the pamphlet to the ap20 plicant in English. 

21 (5) DISPLAY AND AVAILABILITY AT EMBASSIES

22 AND CONSULATES.—The Secretary of State shall en23 sure that the GBV pamphlet— 

24 (A) is displayed at each United States em25 bassy and consulate; and 


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1 (B) made available in English and, if avail2 able, the primary language of the location of 

3 the embassy or consulate. 

4 (6) DISPLAY AND AVAILABILITY AT U.S. CITI5 ZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES OFFICES.— 

6 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure 

7 that the GBV pamphlet is displayed and made avail8 able in English at each U.S. Citizenship and Immi9 gration Services office at which applicant interviews 

10 for K nonimmigrant visas are conducted. 

Æ 


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