II 

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. 

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 ‘‘America’s Children 

5 Act’’ or the ‘‘Protecting Children of Long-term Visa Hold6 ers Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR CERTAIN COL2 LEGE GRADUATES WHO ENTERED THE 

3 UNITED STATES AS CHILDREN. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 201(b)(1) of the Im5 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1)) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(F) Alien who— 

8 ‘‘(i) is not inadmissible under section 

9 212(a) or deportable under section 237(a); 

10 ‘‘(ii) was admitted to the United 

11 States as a dependent child of a non12 immigrant admitted pursuant to an ap13 proved employer petition under section 214 

14 or as a dependent child of a nonimmigrant 

15 with status under section 101(a)(15)(E), 

16 and was lawfully present in the United 

17 States pursuant to such status for an ag18 gregate period of not less than 4 years; 

19 ‘‘(iii) had at the time of the applica20 tion been lawfully present in the United 

21 States for an aggregate period of not less 

22 than 10 years; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) has graduated from an institu24 tion of higher education (as defined in sec25 tion 102(a) of the Higher Education Act of 


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1 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a))) in the United 

2 States.’’. 

3 (b) PETITION.—Section 204(a)(1) of the Immigra4 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)) is amend5 ed by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(M) Any alien entitled to classification 

7 under section 201(b)(1)(F) may file a petition 

8 with the Secretary of Homeland Security for 

9 such classification.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. AGE-OUT PROTECTIONS. 

11 (a) AGE-OUT PROTECTIONS FOR IMMIGRANTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(b) of the Immi13 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)) is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following— 

15 ‘‘(6) A determination of whether an alien is a 

16 child shall be made as follows: 

17 ‘‘(A) For purposes of a petition under sec18 tion 204 and a subsequent application for an 

19 immigrant visa or adjustment of status, such 

20 determination shall be made using the age of 

21 the alien on the date on which the petition is 

22 filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security 

23 or the date on which an application for a labor 

24 certification under section 212(a)(5)(A)(i) is 


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1 filed with the Secretary of Labor, whichever is 

2 earlier. 

3 ‘‘(B) For purposes of a petition under sec4 tion 214(d) and a subsequent application for 

5 adjustment of status under section 245(d), such 

6 determination shall be made using the age of 

7 the alien on the date on which the petition is 

8 filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

9 ‘‘(C) In the case of a petition under section 

10 204 filed for an alien’s classification as a mar11 ried son or daughter of a United States citizen 

12 under section 203(a)(2), if the petition is later 

13 converted, due to the legal termination of the 

14 alien’s marriage, to a petition to classify the 

15 alien as an immediate relative under paragraph 

16 (2)(A)(i) or as an unmarried son or daughter of 

17 a United States citizen under section 203(a)(1), 

18 the determination of the alien’s age shall be 

19 made using the age of the alien on the date of 

20 the termination of the marriage.’’. 

21 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND22 MENT.—Section 201 of the Immigration and Nation23 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151) is amended by striking 

24 subsection (f). 

25 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made 

2 by this section shall be effective as if included 

3 in the Child Status Protection Act (Public Law 

4 107–208; 116 Stat. 927). 

5 (B) MOTION TO REOPEN OR RECON6 SIDER.—A motion to reopen or reconsider the 

7 denial of a petition or application described in 

8 the amendments made by paragraph (1) that 

9 would have been approved if the amendments 

10 described in such paragraph had been in effect 

11 at the time of adjudication of the petition or 

12 application may be granted if such motion is 

13 filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security 

14 or the Attorney General not later than the date 

15 that is 2 years after the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 (b) AGE-OUT PROTECTIONS FOR NONIMMIGRANTS.— 

18 Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

19 U.S.C. 1184) is further amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(s) An alien who entered the United States as a de22 pendent child of a nonimmigrant admitted pursuant to an 

23 approved employer petition under this section or as a non24 immigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(E), and who is 

25 the principal or derivative beneficiary of a properly filed 


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1 pending or approved petition under section 204, shall be 

2 entitled to retain derivative nonimmigrant status notwith3 standing any time or age limitations until the petition is 

4 denied or the alien receives the status of alien lawfully ad5 mitted to permanent residence.’’. 

6 (c) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—Section 214 of 

7 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184), as 

8 amended by subsection (b), is further amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(t) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall au11 thorize an alien who entered the United States as a de12 pendent child of a nonimmigrant admitted pursuant to an 

13 approved employer petition under this section or as a non14 immigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(E), and who is 

15 the derivative beneficiary of a properly filed pending or 

16 approved petition under section 204, to engage in employ17 ment in the United States, and shall provide such alien 

18 with an ‘employment authorized’ endorsement or other ap19 propriate work permit.’’. 

20 SEC. 4. PRIORITY DATE RETENTION. 

21 Section 203(h) of the Immigration and Nationality 

22 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(h)) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(h) RETENTION OF PRIORITY DATES.—The priority 

24 date for an individual shall be the date that a petition 

25 under section 204 is filed with the Secretary of Homeland 


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1 Security (or the Secretary of State, if applicable), unless 

2 such petition was preceded by the filing of a labor certifi3 cation with the Secretary of Labor, in which case that date 

4 shall constitute the priority date. The principal beneficiary 

5 and all derivative beneficiaries shall retain the priority 

6 date associated with the earliest of any approved petition 

7 or labor certification and such priority date shall be appli8 cable to any subsequently approved petition.’’. 

Æ 


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