II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1934

To establish an Office of Intercountry Adoptions within the Department 

of State, and to reform United States laws governing intercountry adoptions. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 23, 2003

Mr. NICKLES (for himself, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. 

INHOFE, and Mr. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To establish an Office of Intercountry Adoptions within the 

Department of State, and to reform United States laws 

governing intercountry adoptions.

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 ‘‘Intercountry Adoption 

5 Reform Act of 2003’’ or the ‘‘ICARE Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) That a child, for the full and harmonious 

9 development of his or her personality, should grow 
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1 up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of 

2 happiness, love, and understanding. 

3 (2) That intercountry adoption may offer the 

4 advantage of a permanent family to a child for 

5 whom a suitable family cannot be found in his or her 

6 country of origin. 

7 (3) There has been a significant growth in 

8 intercountry adoptions. In 1990, Americans adopted 

9 7,093 children from abroad. In 2001, they adopted 

10 19,237 children from abroad. 

11 (4) Americans increasingly seek to create or en12 large their families through intercountry adoptions. 

13 (5) There are many children worldwide that are 

14 without permanent homes. 

15 (6) In the interest of United States citizens and 

16 homeless children, reforms are needed in the inter17 country adoption process used by United States citi18 zens. 

19 (7) In addition, Congress recognizes that for20 eign born adopted children do not make the decision 

21 whether to immigrate to the United States. They are 

22 being chosen by Americans to become part of their 

23 immediate families. 

24 (8) As such these children should not be classi25 fied as immigrants in the traditional sense. Once 
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1 fully and finally adopted, they should be treated as 

2 children of United States citizens. 

3 (9) Since a child who is fully and finally adopt4 ed is entitled to the same rights, duties, and respon5 sibilities as a biological child, the law should reflect 

6 such equality. 

7 (10) Therefore, foreign born adopted children 

8 of United States citizens should be accorded the 

9 same procedural treatment as biological children 

10 born abroad to a United States citizen. 

11 (11) If a United States citizen can confer citi12 zenship to a biological child born abroad, then the 

13 same citizen is entitled to confer such citizenship to 

14 their legally and fully adopted foreign born children 

15 immediately upon final adoption. 

16 (12) If a United States citizen cannot confer 

17 citizenship to a biological child born abroad, then 

18 such citizen cannot confer citizenship to their legally 

19 and fully adopted foreign born child, except through 

20 the naturalization process. 

21 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

22 (1) to ensure that foreign born children adopted 

23 by United States citizens will be treated identically 

24 to a biological child born abroad to the same citizen 

25 parent; 
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1 (2) to improve the intercountry adoption proc2 ess to make it more citizen friendly and child ori3 ented; and 

4 (3) to foster best practices. 

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) ADOPTABLE CHILD.—The term ‘‘adoptable 

8 child’’ has the same meaning given such term in sec9 tion 101(c)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 

10 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(c)(3)), as added by section 

11 204(a) of this Act. 

12 (2) AMBASSADOR AT LARGE.—The term ‘‘Am13 bassador at Large’’ means the Ambassador at Large 

14 for Intercountry Adoptions appointed to head the 

15 Office pursuant to section 101(b). 

16 (3) FULL AND FINAL ADOPTION.—The term 

17 ‘‘full and final adoption’’ means an adoption—

18 (A) that is completed according to the laws 

19 of the child’s country of origin or the State law 

20 of the parent’s residence; 

21 (B) under which a person is granted full 

22 and legal custody of the adopted child; 

23 (C) that has the force and effect of sev24 ering the child’s legal ties to the child’s biologi25 cal parents; 
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1 (D) under which the adoptive parents meet 

2 the requirements of section 205; and 

3 (E) under which the child has been adju4 dicated to be an adoptable child in accordance 

5 with section 206. 

6 (4) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of7 fice of Intercountry Adoptions established under sec8 tion 101(a). 

9 (5) READILY APPROVABLE.—A petition or cer10 tification is considered ‘‘readily approvable’’ if the 

11 documentary support provided demonstrates that the 

12 petitioner satisfies the eligibility requirements and 

13 no additional information or investigation is nec14 essary. 

15 TITLE I—ADMINISTRATION OF 

16 INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS 

17 Subtitle A—In General 

18 SEC. 101. OFFICE OF INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

20 the Department of State, an Office of Intercountry Adop21 tions which shall be headed by the Ambassador at Large 

22 for Intercountry Adoptions who shall be appointed pursu23 ant to subsection (b). 

24 (b) AMBASSADOR AT LARGE.—
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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Ambassador at Large 

2 shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 

3 advice and consent of the Senate, from among indi4 viduals who have background, experience, and train5 ing in intercountry adoptions. 

6 (2) AUTHORITY.—The Ambassador at Large 

7 shall report directly to the Secretary of State, in 

8 consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Con9 sular Affairs. 

10 (3) DUTIES OF THE AMBASSADOR AT LARGE.—

11 In carrying out the functions of the Office, the Am12 bassador at Large shall have the following respon13 sibilities: 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The primary respon15 sibilities of the Ambassador at Large shall be—

16 (i) to ensure that intercountry adop17 tions take place in the best interests of the 

18 child; and 

19 (ii) to assist the Secretary of State in 

20 fulfilling the responsibilities designated to 

21 the central authority under title I of the 

22 Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (42 

23 U.S.C. 14911 et seq.). 

24 (B) ADVISORY ROLE.—The Ambassador at 

25 Large shall be a principal advisor to the Presi-
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1 dent and the Secretary of State regarding mat2 ters affecting intercountry adoption and the 

3 general welfare of children abroad and shall 

4 make recommendations regarding—

5 (i) the policies of the United States 

6 with respect to the establishment of a sys7 tem of cooperation among the parties to 

8 The Hague Convention; 

9 (ii) the policies to prevent abandon10 ment, strengthen families, and to advance 

11 the placement of children in permanent 

12 families; and 

13 (iii) policies that promote the well14 being of children. 

15 (C) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION.—Sub16 ject to the direction of the President and the 

17 Secretary of State, the Ambassador at Large 

18 may represent the United States in matters and 

19 cases relevant to international adoption in—

20 (i) fulfillment of the responsibilities 

21 designated to the central authority under 

22 title I of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 

23 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14911 et seq.); 

24 (ii) contacts with foreign governments, 

25 intergovernmental organizations, and spe-
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1 cialized agencies of the United Nations and 

2 other international organizations of which 

3 the United States is a member; and 

4 (iii) multilateral conferences and 

5 meetings relevant to international adop6 tion. 

7 (D) INTERNATIONAL POLICY DEVELOP8 MENT.—To advise and support the Secretary of 

9 State and other relevant Bureaus in the devel10 opment of sound policy regarding child protec11 tion and intercountry adoption. 

12 (E) REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

13 Ambassador at Large shall have the following 

14 reporting responsibilities: 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Ambassador at 

16 Large shall assist the Secretary of State 

17 and other relevant Bureaus in preparing 

18 those portions of the Human Rights Re19 ports that relate to the abduction, sale, 

20 and trafficking of children. 

21 (ii) ANNUAL REPORT ON INTER22 COUNTRY ADOPTION.—On September 1 of 

23 each year, the Secretary of State, with the 

24 assistance of the Ambassador at Large, 

25 shall prepare and transmit to Congress an 
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1 annual report on intercountry adoption. 

2 Each annual report shall include—

3 (I) a description of the status of 

4 child protection and adoption in each 

5 foreign country, including—

6 (aa) trends toward improve7 ment in the welfare and protec8 tion of children and families; 

9 (bb) trends in family reunifi10 cation, domestic adoption, and 

11 intercountry adoption; 

12 (cc) movement toward ratifi13 cation and implementation of 

14 The Hague Convention; and 

15 (dd) census information on 

16 the number of children in or17 phanages, foster homes, and 

18 other types of nonpermanent res19 idential care; 

20 (II) the number of intercountry 

21 adoptions by United States citizens, 

22 regardless of whether the adoption oc23 curred under The Hague Convention, 

24 including the country from which each 

25 child emigrated, the State in which 
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1 each child resides, and the country in 

2 which the adoption was finalized; 

3 (III) the number of intercountry 

4 adoptions involving emigration from 

5 the United States, regardless of 

6 whether the adoption occurred under 

7 The Hague Convention, including the 

8 country where each child now resides 

9 and the State from which each child 

10 emigrated; 

11 (IV) the number of Hague Con12 vention placements for adoption in the 

13 United States that were disrupted, in14 cluding the country from which the 

15 child emigrated, the age of the child, 

16 the date of the placement for adop17 tion, the reasons for the disruption, 

18 the resolution of the disruption, the 

19 agencies that handled the placement 

20 for adoption, and the plans for the 

21 child, and in addition, any informa22 tion regarding disruption or dissolu23 tion of adoptions of children from 

24 other countries received pursuant to 
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1 section 422(b)(4) of the Social Secu2 rity Act; 

3 (V) the average time required for 

4 completion of an adoption, set forth 

5 by the country from which the child 

6 emigrated; 

7 (VI) the current list of agencies 

8 accredited and persons approved 

9 under the Intercountry Adoption Act 

10 of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14901 et seq.) to 

11 provide adoption services; 

12 (VII) the names of the agencies 

13 and persons temporarily or perma14 nently debarred under the Inter15 country Adoption Act of 2000 (42 

16 U.S.C. 14901 et seq.), and the rea17 sons for the debarment; 

18 (VIII) the range of adoption fees 

19 charged in connection with Hague 

20 Convention adoptions involving adop21 tions by United States citizens and 

22 the median of such fees set forth by 

23 the country of origin; 

24 (IX) the range of fees charged 

25 for accreditation of agencies and the
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1 approval of persons in the United 

2 States engaged in providing adoption 

3 services under The Hague Convention; 

4 and 

5 (X) recommendations of ways the 

6 United States might act to improve 

7 the welfare and protection of children 

8 and families in each foreign country. 

9 (c) FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE.—The Office shall have 

10 the following 6 functions: 

11 (1) APPROVAL OF A FAMILY TO ADOPT.—To 

12 approve or disapprove the eligibility of United States 

13 citizens to adopt foreign born children. 

14 (2) CHILD ADJUDICATION.—To adjudicate the 

15 status of a child born abroad as an adoptable child. 

16 (3) FAMILY SERVICES.—To provide assistance 

17 to United States citizens engaged in the intercountry 

18 adoption process in resolving problems with respect 

19 to that process and to track intercountry adoption 

20 cases so as to ensure that all such adoptions are 

21 processed in a timely manner. 

22 (4) INTERNATIONAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT.—

23 To advise and support the Ambassador at Large and 

24 other relevant Bureaus in the development of sound 
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1 policy regarding child protection and intercountry 

2 adoption. 

3 (5) CENTRAL AUTHORITY.—To assist the Sec4 retary of State in carrying out duties of the central 

5 authority as defined in section 3 of the Intercountry 

6 Adoption Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14902). 

7 (6) ADMINISTRATION.—To perform administra8 tive functions related to the functions performed 

9 under paragraphs (1) through (5), including legal 

10 functions and congressional liaison and public affairs 

11 functions. 

12 (d) ORGANIZATION.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—All functions of the Office 

14 shall be performed by officers housed in a central15 ized office located in Washington, DC. Within the 

16 Washington, DC, office, there shall be 6 divisions 

17 corresponding to the 6 functions of the Office. All 6 

18 divisions and their respective directors shall report 

19 directly to the Ambassador at Large. 

20 (2) APPROVAL TO ADOPT.—The division re21 sponsible for approving parents to adopt shall be di22 vided into regions of the United States as follows: 

23 (A) Northwest. 

24 (B) Northeast. 

25 (C) Southwest. 
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1 (D) Southeast. 

2 (E) Midwest. 

3 (F) West. 

4 (3) CHILD ADJUDICATION.—To the extent prac5 ticable, the division responsible for the adjudication 

6 of foreign born children as adoptable shall be divided 

7 by world regions which correspond to those currently 

8 used by other divisions within the Department of 

9 State. 

10 (4) USE OF INTERNATIONAL FIELD OFFI11 CERS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

12 prohibit the use of international field officers posted 

13 abroad, as necessary, to fulfill the requirements of 

14 this Act. 

15 (e) QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING.—In addition to 

16 meeting the employment requirements of the Department 

17 of State, officers employed in any of the 6 divisions of 

18 the Office shall undergo extensive and specialized training 

19 in the laws and processes of intercountry adoption as well 

20 as understanding the cultural, medical, emotional, and so21 cial issues surrounding intercountry adoption and adoptive 

22 families. The Ambassador at Large shall, whenever pos23 sible, recruit and hire individuals with background and ex24 perience in intercountry adoptions. 
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1 (f) USE OF ELECTRONIC DATABASES AND FILING.—

2 To the extent possible, the Office shall make use of cen3 tralized, electronic databases and electronic form filing. 

4 SEC. 102. RECOGNITION OF CONVENTION ADOPTIONS IN 

5 THE UNITED STATES. 

6 Section 505(a)(1) of the Intercountry Adoption Act 

7 of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14901 note) is amended by inserting 

8 ‘‘301, 302,’’ after ‘‘205,’’. 

9 SEC. 103. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 

10 Section 104 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 

11 (42 U.S.C. 14914) is repealed. 

12 Subtitle B—Transition Provisions 

13 SEC. 111. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—All functions under the immigra15 tion laws of the United States with respect to the adoption 

16 of foreign born children by United States citizens and 

17 their admission to the United States that have been vested 

18 by statute in, or exercised by, the Commissioner of Immi19 gration and Naturalization, the Immigration and Natu20 ralization Service (or any officer, employee, or component 

21 thereof), of the Department of Homeland Security (or any 

22 officer, employee, or component thereof) immediately prior 

23 to the effective date of this title, are transferred to the 

24 Office on such effective date for exercise by the Ambas-
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1 sador at Large in accordance with applicable laws and title 

2 II of this Act. 

3 (b) EXERCISE OF AUTHORITIES.—Except as other4 wise provided by law, the Ambassador at Large may, for 

5 purposes of performing any function transferred to the 

6 Ambassador at Large under subsection (a), exercise all 

7 authorities under any other provision of law that were 

8 available with respect to the performance of that function 

9 to the official responsible for the performance of the func10 tion immediately before the effective date of the transfer 

11 of the function pursuant to this title. 

12 SEC. 112. TRANSFER OF RESOURCES. 

13 Subject to section 1531 of title 31, United States 

14 Code, upon the effective date of this title, there are trans15 ferred to the Ambassador at Large for appropriate alloca16 tion in accordance with section 115, the assets, liabilities, 

17 contracts, property, records, and unexpended balance of 

18 appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and other 

19 funds employed, held, used, arising from, available to, or 

20 to be made available to the Immigration and Naturaliza21 tion Service or the Department of Homeland Security in 

22 connection with the functions transferred pursuant to this 

23 title.
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1 SEC. 113. INCIDENTAL TRANSFERS. 

2 The Ambassador at Large may make such additional 

3 incidental dispositions of personnel, assets, liabilities, 

4 grants, contracts, property, records, and unexpended bal5 ances of appropriations, authorizations, allocations, and 

6 other funds held, used, arising from, available to, or to 

7 be made available in connection with such functions, as 

8 may be necessary to carry out this title. The Ambassador 

9 at Large shall provide for such further measures and dis10 positions as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes 

11 of this title. 

12 SEC. 114. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

13 (a) LEGAL DOCUMENTS.—All orders, determinations, 

14 rules, regulations, permits, grants, loans, contracts, agree15 ments, including collective bargaining agreements, certifi16 cates, licenses, and privileges—

17 (1) that have been issued, made, granted, or al18 lowed to become effective by the President, the Am19 bassador at Large, the former Commissioner of the 

20 Immigration and Naturalization Service, their dele21 gates, or any other Government official, or by a 

22 court of competent jurisdiction, in the performance 

23 of any function that is transferred pursuant to this 

24 title; and 

25 (2) that are in effect on the effective date of 

26 such transfer (or become effective after such date 
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1 pursuant to their terms as in effect on such effective 

2 date); 

3 shall continue in effect according to their terms until 

4 modified, terminated, superseded, set aside, or revoked in 

5 accordance with law by the President, any other author6 ized official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or operation 

7 of law, except that any collective bargaining agreement 

8 shall remain in effect until the date of termination speci9 fied in the agreement. 

10 (b) PROCEEDINGS.—

11 (1) PENDING.—The transfer of functions under 

12 section 111 shall not affect any proceeding or any 

13 application for any benefit, service, license, permit, 

14 certificate, or financial assistance pending on the ef15 fective date of this title before an office whose func16 tions are transferred pursuant to this title, but such 

17 proceedings and applications shall be continued. 

18 (2) ORDERS.—Orders shall be issued in such 

19 proceedings, appeals shall be taken therefrom, and 

20 payments shall be made pursuant to such orders, as 

21 if this Act had not been enacted, and orders issued 

22 in any such proceeding shall continue in effect until 

23 modified, terminated, superseded, or revoked by a 

24 duly authorized official, by a court of competent ju25 risdiction, or by operation of law. 
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1 (3) DISCONTINUANCE OR MODIFICATION.—

2 Nothing in this section shall be considered to pro3 hibit the discontinuance or modification of any such 

4 proceeding under the same terms and conditions and 

5 to the same extent that such proceeding could have 

6 been discontinued or modified if this section had not 

7 been enacted. 

8 (c) SUITS.—This title shall not affect suits com9 menced before the effective date of this title, and in all 

10 such suits, proceeding shall be had, appeals taken, and 

11 judgments rendered in the same manner and with the 

12 same effect as if this title had not been enacted. 

13 (d) NONABATEMENT OF ACTIONS.—No suit, action, 

14 or other proceeding commenced by or against the Depart15 ment of State, the Immigration and Naturalization Serv16 ice, or the Department of Homeland Security, or by or 

17 against any individual in the official capacity of such indi18 vidual as an officer or employee in connection with a func19 tion transferred pursuant to this section, shall abate by 

20 reason of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (e) CONTINUANCE OF SUIT WITH SUBSTITUTION OF

22 PARTIES.—If any Government officer in the official capac23 ity of such officer is party to a suit with respect to a func24 tion of the officer, and pursuant to this title such function 

25 is transferred to any other officer or office, then such suit 
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1 shall be continued with the other officer or the head of 

2 such other office, as applicable, substituted or added as 

3 a party. 

4 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE AND JUDICIAL RE5 VIEW.—Except as otherwise provided by this title, any 

6 statutory requirements relating to notice, hearings, action 

7 upon the record, or administrative or judicial review that 

8 apply to any function transferred pursuant to any provi9 sion of this title shall apply to the exercise of such function 

10 by the head of the office, and other officers of the office, 

11 to which such function is transferred pursuant to such 

12 provision. 

13 Subtitle C—Effective Date 

14 SEC. 121. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

15 This title shall take effect 180 days after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act. 

17 TITLE II—REFORM OF UNITED 

18 STATES LAWS GOVERNING 

19 INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS 

20 SEC. 201. AUTOMATIC ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP FOR 

21 ADOPTED CHILDREN BORN OUTSIDE THE 

22 UNITED STATES. 

23 (a) AMENDMENTS OF AUTOMATIC CITIZENSHIP PRO24 VISIONS.—Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality 

25 Act (8 U.S.C. 1431) is amended—
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1 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

2 follows: ‘‘CHILDREN BORN OUTSIDE THE UNITED

3 STATES; CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH CITIZENSHIP

4 AUTOMATICALLY ACQUIRED’’; and 

5 (2) in subsection (a), by striking paragraphs 

6 (1) through (3) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) Upon the date the adoption becomes full 

8 and final, at least 1 parent of the child is a citizen 

9 of the United States, whether by birth or naturaliza10 tion, who has been physically present in the United 

11 States or its outlying possessions for a period or pe12 riods totaling not less than 5 years, at least 2 of 

13 which were after attaining the age of 14 years. Any 

14 periods of honorable service in the Armed Forces of 

15 the United States, or periods of employment with 

16 the United States Government or with an inter17 national organization as that term is defined in sec18 tion 1 of the International Organizations Immunities 

19 Act (22 U.S.C. 288) by such citizen parent, or any 

20 periods during which such citizen parent is phys21 ically present abroad as the dependent unmarried 

22 son or daughter and a member of the household of 

23 a person—

24 ‘‘(A) honorably serving with the Armed 

25 Forces of the United States; or
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1 ‘‘(B) employed by the United States Gov2 ernment or an international organization as de3 fined in section 1 of the International Organiza4 tions Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288); 

5 may be included in order to satisfy the physical pres6 ence requirement of this paragraph. 

7 ‘‘(2) The child is an adoptable child described 

8 in section 101(c)(3). 

9 ‘‘(3) The child is the beneficiary of a full and 

10 final adoption decree entered by a foreign govern11 ment or a court in the United States. 

12 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term 

13 ‘‘full and final adoption’’ means an adoption—

14 ‘‘(A) that is completed under the laws of 

15 the child’s country of origin or the State law of 

16 the parent’s residence; 

17 ‘‘(B) under which a person is granted full 

18 and legal custody of the adopted child; 

19 ‘‘(C) that has the force and effect of sev20 ering the child’s legal ties to the child’s biologi21 cal parents; 

22 ‘‘(D) under which the adoptive parents 

23 meet the requirements of section 205 of the 

24 Intercountry Adoption Reform Act; and 
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1 ‘‘(E) under which the child has been adju2 dicated to be an adoptable child in accordance 

3 with section 206 of the Intercountry Adoption 

4 Reform Act.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

6 as if enacted on January 1, 1950. 

7 SEC. 202. REVISED PROCEDURES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law, the following requirements shall apply with 

10 respect to the adoption of foreign born children by United 

11 States citizens: 

12 (1) Upon completion of a full and final adop13 tion, the Secretary of State shall issue a United 

14 States passport and a Consular Report of Birth for 

15 a child who satisfies the requirements of section 320 

16 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1431), as amended by section 201 of this Act, upon 

18 application by a United States citizen parent. 

19 (2) An adopted child described in paragraph (1) 

20 shall not require the issuance of a visa for travel and 

21 admission to the United States but shall be admitted 

22 to the United States upon presentation of a valid, 

23 unexpired United States passport. 

24 (3) No affidavit of support under section 213A 

25 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
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1 1183a) shall be required in the case of any adopt2 able child. 

3 (4) The Secretary of State shall not require an 

4 adopted child described in paragraph (1) to undergo 

5 a medical exam. 

6 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

8 prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

9 out this section. 

10 SEC. 203. NONIMMIGRANT VISAS FOR CHILDREN TRAV11 ELING TO THE UNITED STATES TO BE ADOPT12 ED BY A UNITED STATES CITIZEN. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(15) of the Immi14 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)) is 

15 amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 

17 (U); 

18 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub19 paragraph (V) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(W) an adoptable child who is coming into the 

22 United States for adoption by a United States cit23 izen and a spouse jointly or by an unmarried United 

24 States citizen at least 25 years of age, who has been 

25 approved to adopt by the Ambassador at Large, act-
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1 ing through the Office of Intercountry Adoptions es2 tablished under section 101(a) of the Intercountry 

3 Adoption Reform Act.’’. 

4 (b) TERMINATION OF PERIOD OF AUTHORIZED AD5 MISSION.—Section 214 of the Immigration and Nation6 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following: 

8 ‘‘(q) In the case of a nonimmigrant described in sec9 tion 101(a)(15)(W), the period of authorized admission 

10 shall terminate on the earlier of—

11 ‘‘(1) the date on which the adoption of the non12 immigrant is completed by the courts of the State 

13 where the parents reside; or 

14 ‘‘(2) the date that is 2 years after the date of 

15 admission of the nonimmigrant into the United 

16 States.’’. 

17 (c) TEMPORARY TREATMENT AS LEGAL PERMANENT

18 RESIDENT.—Notwithstanding any other law, all benefits 

19 and protections that apply to a legal permanent resident 

20 shall apply to a nonimmigrant described in section 

21 101(a)(15)(W) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

22 as added by subsection (a), pending a full and final adop23 tion. 

24 (d) EXCEPTION FROM IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENT

25 FOR CERTAIN ADOPTED CHILDREN.—Section 
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1 212(a)(1)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

2 U.S.C. 1182(a)(1)(C)) is amended—

3 (1) in the heading by striking ‘‘10 YEARS’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘18 YEARS’’; and 

5 (2) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘10 years’’ and in6 serting ‘‘18 years’’. 

7 (e) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

9 prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry 

10 out this section. 

11 SEC. 204. DEFINITION OF ‘‘ADOPTABLE CHILD’’. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(c) of the Immigration 

13 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(c)) is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(3) The term ‘‘adoptable child’’ means an unmarried 

16 person under the age of 18—

17 ‘‘(A) whose biological parents (or parent, in the 

18 case of a child who has one sole or surviving parent) 

19 or other persons or institutions that retain legal cus20 tody of the child—

21 ‘‘(i) have freely given their written irrev22 ocable consent to the termination of their legal 

23 relationship with the child, and to the child’s 

24 emigration and adoption;
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1 ‘‘(ii) are unable to provide proper care for 

2 the child, as determined by the appropriate gov3 ernmental authority of the child’s residence; or 

4 ‘‘(iii) have voluntarily relinquished the 

5 child to governmental authorities pursuant to 

6 the law of the child’s residence; 

7 ‘‘(B) with respect to whom the Secretary of 

8 State is satisfied that the proper care will be fur9 nished the child if admitted to the United States; 

10 ‘‘(C) with respect to whom the Secretary of 

11 State is satisfied that the purpose of the adoption is 

12 to form a bona fide parent-child relationship and 

13 that the parent-child relationship of the child and 

14 the biological parents has been terminated (and in 

15 carrying out both obligations under this subpara16 graph the Secretary of State, in consultation with 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security, may consider 

18 whether there is a petition pending to confer immi19 grant status on one or both of the biological par20 ents); 

21 ‘‘(D) with respect to whom the Secretary of 

22 State, in consultation with the Secretary of Home23 land Security, is satisfied that the person is not a 

24 security risk; and 
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1 ‘‘(E) whose adoption and emigration to the 

2 United States has been approved by the competent 

3 authority of the country of the child’s place of birth 

4 or residence.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 204(d) of 

6 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(d)) 

7 is amended by inserting ‘‘and an adoptable child as de8 fined in section 101(c)(3)’’ before ‘‘unless a valid home9 study’’. 

10 SEC. 205. APPROVAL TO ADOPT. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the issuance of a visa 

12 under section 101(a)(15)(W) of the Immigration and Na13 tionality Act, as added by section 203(a) of this Act, or 

14 the issuance of a full and final adoption decree, the United 

15 States citizen adoptive parent shall have approved by the 

16 Office a petition to adopt. Such petition shall be subject 

17 to the same terms and conditions as are applicable to peti18 tions for classification under section 204.3 of title 8 of 

19 the Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the day 

20 before the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 (b) EXPIRATION OF APPROVAL.—Approval to adopt 

22 under this Act is valid for 24 months from the date of 

23 approval. 

24 (c) EXPEDITED REAPPROVAL PROCESS OF FAMILIES

25 PREVIOUSLY APPROVED TO ADOPT.—The Ambassador at 
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1 Large shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary 

2 to provide for an expedited and streamlined process for 

3 families who have been previously approved to adopt and 

4 whose approval has expired, so long as not more than 3 

5 years have lapsed since the original application. 

6 (d) DENIAL OF PETITION.—

7 (1) NOTICE OF INTENT.—If the officer adjudi8 cating the petition to adopt finds that it is not read9 ily approvable, the officer shall notify the petitioner, 

10 in writing, of the officer’s intent to deny the peti11 tion. Such notice shall include the specific reasons 

12 why the petition is not readily approvable. 

13 (2) PETITIONERS RIGHT TO RESPOND.—Upon 

14 receiving a notice of intent to deny, the petitioner 

15 has 30 days to respond to such notice. 

16 (3) DECISION.—Within 30 days of receipt of 

17 the petitioner’s response the Office must reach a 

18 final decision regarding the eligibility of the peti19 tioner to adopt. Notice of a formal decision must be 

20 delivered in writing. 

21 (4) RIGHT TO AN APPEAL.—Unfavorable deci22 sions may be appealed to the appropriate appellate 

23 jurisdiction of the Department of State, and if nec24 essary, Federal court. 
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1 (5) REGULATIONS REGARDING APPEALS.—Not 

2 later than 6 months after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, the Ambassador at Large shall promulgate 

4 formal regulations regarding the process for appeal5 ing the denial of a petition. 

6 SEC. 206. ADJUDICATION OF CHILD STATUS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the issuance of a full and 

8 final adoption decree or a visa under section 

9 101(a)(15)(W) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

10 as added by section 203(a) of this Act—

11 (1) the Office shall obtain from the competent 

12 authority of the country of the child’s residence a 

13 certification, together with documentary support, 

14 that the child sought to be adopted meets the de15 scription of an adoptable child; and 

16 (2) within 30 days of receipt of the certification 

17 referred to in paragraph (1), the Office shall make 

18 a final determination on whether the certification 

19 and the documentary support are sufficient to meet 

20 the requirements of this section. 

21 (b) PROCESS FOR DETERMINATION.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Ambassador at Large 

23 shall work with the competent authorities of the 

24 child’s country of residence to establish a uniform, 

25 transparent, and efficient process for the exchange 
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1 and approval of the certification and documentary 

2 support required under subsection (a). 

3 (2) NOTICE OF INTENT.—If the Office finds 

4 that the certification submitted by the competent au5 thority of the child’s country of origin is not readily 

6 approvable, the Office shall—

7 (A) notify the competent authority and the 

8 prospective adoptive parents, in writing, of the 

9 specific reasons why the certification is not suf10 ficient; and 

11 (B) provide the competent authority and 

12 the prospective adoptive parents the oppor13 tunity to address the stated insufficiencies. 

14 TITLE III—FUNDING 

15 SEC. 301. FUNDS. 

16 The Secretary of State shall provide the Ambassador 

17 at Large with such funds as may be necessary for—

18 (1) the hiring of staff for the Office; 

19 (2) investigations conducted by the Office; and 

20 (3) travel and other expenses necessary to carry 

21 out this Act.

Æ