S. 1376 

One Hundred Eleventh Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 

the fifth day of January, two thousand and ten 

An Act 

To restore immunization and sibling age exemptions for children adopted by United 

States citizens under the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption to allow 

their admission into the United States. 

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 ‘‘International Adoption Simplification 

Act’’. 

SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FROM VACCINATION DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENT. 

Section 212(a)(1)(C)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

(8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(1)(C)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

101(b)(1)(F),’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (F) or (G) of section 

101(b)(1);’’. 

SEC. 3. SIBLING ADOPTIONS. 

Section 101(b)(1)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

(8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(G)) is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘(G)(i) a child, younger than 16 years of age at the 

time a petition is filed on the child’s behalf to accord 

a classification as an immediate relative under section 

201(b), who has been adopted in a foreign state that is 

a party to the Convention on Protection of Children and 

Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, done at 

The Hague on May 29, 1993, or who is emigrating from 

such a foreign state to be adopted in the United States 

by a United States citizen and spouse jointly or by an 

unmarried United States citizen who is at least 25 years 

of age, Provided, That— 

‘‘(I) the Secretary of Homeland Security is satisfied 

that proper care will be furnished the child if admitted 

to the United States; 

‘‘(II) the child’s natural parents (or parent, in the 

case of a child who has one sole or surviving parent 

because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment 

or desertion by, the other parent), or other persons 

or institutions that retain legal custody of the child, 

have freely given their written irrevocable consent to 

the termination of their legal relationship with the 

child, and to the child’s emigration and adoption; 
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‘‘(III) in the case of a child having two living natural parents, the natural parents are incapable of providing proper care for the child; 

‘‘(IV) the Secretary of Homeland Security is satisfied that the purpose of the adoption is to form a 

bona fide parent-child relationship, and the parentchild relationship of the child and the natural parents 

has been terminated (and in carrying out both obligations under this subclause the Secretary of Homeland 

Security may consider whether there is a petition 

pending to confer immigrant status on one or both 

of such natural parents); and 

‘‘(V) in the case of a child who has not been 

adopted— 

‘‘(aa) the competent authority of the foreign 

state has approved the child’s emigration to the 

United States for the purpose of adoption by the 

prospective adoptive parent or parents; and 

‘‘(bb) the prospective adoptive parent or parents has or have complied with any pre-adoption 

requirements of the child’s proposed residence; and 

‘‘(ii) except that no natural parent or prior adoptive 

parent of any such child shall thereafter, by virtue of 

such parentage, be accorded any right, privilege, or status 

under this chapter; or 

‘‘(iii) subject to the same provisos as in clauses (i) 

and (ii), a child who— 

‘‘(I) is a natural sibling of a child described in 

clause (i), subparagraph (E)(i), or subparagraph (F)(i); 

‘‘(II) was adopted abroad, or is coming to the 

United States for adoption, by the adoptive parent 

(or prospective adoptive parent) or parents of the sibling described in clause (i), subparagraph (E)(i), or 

subparagraph (F)(i); and 

‘‘(III) is otherwise described in clause (i), except 

that the child is younger than 18 years of age at 

the time a petition is filed on his or her behalf for 

classification as an immediate relative under section 

201(b).’’. 

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (b), the 

amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of 

the enactment of this Act. 

(b) EXCEPTION.—An alien who is described in section 

101(b)(1)(G)(iii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added 

by section 3, and attained 18 years of age on or after April 1, 

2008, shall be deemed to meet the age requirement specified in 

subclause (III) of such section if a petition for classification of 

the alien as an immediate relative under section 201(b) of the 
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Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)) is filed not 

later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.