I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3214 

To protect children through eliminating visa loopholes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2021 

Mr. PERRY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To protect children through eliminating visa loopholes. 

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 ‘‘Protecting Children 

5 Through Eliminating Visa Loopholes Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) the laws of the United States and the poli9 cies of the Department of State aim to prevent and 


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1 reduce the risks of child marriages, sex trafficking, 

2 and sexual abuse occurring throughout the world; 

3 (2) major loopholes in Federal law have allowed 

4 up to thousands of minors to be subjected to child 

5 marriages; 

6 (3) under the Immigration and Nationality Act 

7 (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.)— 

8 (A) a United States citizen child may peti9 tion for an immigrant visa for a spouse or 

10 fiance ́ living in another country; and 

11 (B) a United States citizen adult may peti12 tion for an immigrant visa for a minor spouse 

13 or fiance ́ living abroad; 

14 (4) the United States Government has advo15 cated for preventing and reducing the occurrence of 

16 child marriages throughout the world; 

17 (5) Congress passed the Violence Against 

18 Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Public Law 

19 113–4), which requires the Secretary of State to es20 tablish and implement a multiyear strategy— 

21 (A) to ‘‘prevent child marriages’’; and 

22 (B) to ‘‘promote the empowerment of girls 

23 at risk of child marriage in developing coun24 tries’’; 


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1 (6) acknowledges that although the Federal 

2 Government is limited in its ability to address child 

3 marriage within individual States, establishing a 

4 minimum age of 18 years for marriage-based and 

5 fiance ́-based immigrant visa petitions is an imme6 diate and viable solution for preventing child mar7 riage through exploitation of the United States im8 migration system; 

9 (7) affirms that child well being is a foremost 

10 priority and consideration when imposing strict age 

11 requirements for visa spousal and fiance ́ petitions 

12 within the United States immigration system; and 

13 (8) recognizes that under the current immigra14 tion legal framework, individuals may exploit visa 

15 marriage and fiance ́ petitions for nefarious purposes, 

16 including— 

17 (A) coercing forced marriages; and 

18 (B) the trafficking and abuse of children. 

19 SEC. 3. PROTECTING CHILDREN THROUGH ELIMINATING 

20 VISA LOOPHOLES. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 101(a) of the Immigra22 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (15)(K)— 

24 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

25 striking ‘‘(p) of section 214, an alien’’ and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:46 Jun 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3214.IH H3214

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1 serting ‘‘(r) of section 214, an alien who is at 

2 least 18 years of age’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘who is at least 18 years 

4 of age’’ after ‘‘a citizen of the United States’’ 

5 each time such term appears; and 

6 (2) in paragraph (35), by adding at the end the 

7 following: ‘‘Such terms do not include any individual 

8 who is younger than 18 years of age or who is mar9 ried to an individual who is younger than 18 years 

10 of age.’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

12 (1) K NONIMMIGRANTS.—The amendments 

13 made by subsection (a)(1)— 

14 (A) shall take effect on the date of the en15 actment of this Act; and 

16 (B) shall apply to any petition or applica17 tion seeking nonimmigrant status for any alien 

18 under section 101(a)(15)(K) of the Immigration 

19 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(K)) 

20 that is pending before any agency, officer, or 

21 employee of the United States on or after such 

22 date of enactment. 

23 (2) SPOUSE; WIFE; HUSBAND.—The amend24 ment made by subsection (a)(2)— 


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1 (A) subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), 

2 shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act; 

4 (B) subject to subparagraph (C), shall 

5 apply to marriages entered into before, on, or 

6 after such date of enactment; and 

7 (C) shall apply to any petition or applica8 tion for any status or benefit under the immi9 gration laws (as defined in section 101(a)(17) 

10 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

11 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17)) that is filed or otherwise 

12 submitted on or after such date of enactment, 

13 except for a petition under section 216 of such 

14 Act (8 U.S.C. 1186a) to remove the conditional 

15 basis of lawful permanent residence based upon 

16 a grant of conditional lawful permanent resi17 dent status before such date of enactment. 

18 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The amendment 

19 made by subsection (a)(2)— 

20 (1) shall apply to the immigration laws (as de21 fined in section 101(a)(17) of the Immigration and 

22 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17)); 

23 (2) may not be construed to affect or modify 

24 any reference to, or legal effect of, any marriage 

25 under any provision of the immigration laws using 


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1 a term not defined by such amendment, including 

2 whether any person is married or has been born in 

3 wedlock or legitimated for purposes of determining 

4 whether such person is a child or is a married or un5 married son or daughter; and 

6 (3) may not be construed to limit or modify the 

7 eligibility of any VAWA self-petitioner (as defined in 

8 section 101(a)(51) of the Immigration and Nation9 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(51)) for any available 

10 relief under the immigration laws. 

Æ 


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