198 
SEC. 812. SELF-PETITIONING FOR CHILDREN. 
(a) SELF-PETITIONING BY CHILDREN OF PARENT- 
ABUSERS UPON DEATH OR OTHER TERMINATION OF 
PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP.— 
(1) 
CITIZEN
PARENTS.—Section 
204(a)(1)(A)(iv) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(A)(iv)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or who’’ and inserting 
‘‘who’’; and 
(B) by inserting after ‘‘domestic violence,’’ 
the following: ‘‘or who was a child of a United 
States citizen parent who within the past 2 
years (or, if later, two years after the date the 
child attains 18 years of age) died or otherwise 
terminated the parent-child relationship,’’. 
(2) LAWFUL
PERMANENT
RESIDENT
PAR-
ENTS.— 
(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—Section 
204(a)(1)(B)(iii) 
of 
such 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1154(a)(1)(B)(iii)) is amended— 
(i) by striking ‘‘or who’’ and inserting 
‘‘who’’; and 
(ii) by inserting after ‘‘domestic vio-
lence,’’ the following: ‘‘or who was a child 
of a lawful permanent resident resident 
who within the past 2 years (or, if later,
199 
two years after the date the child attains 
18 years of age) died or otherwise termi-
nated the parent-child relationship,’’. 
(B) CONFORMING
TREATMENT
OF
DE-
CEASED
SPOUSES.—Section 
204(a)(1)(B)(ii)(II)(aa)(CC) of such Act (8 
U.S.C. 
1154(a)(1)(B)(ii)(II)(aa)(CC)) 
is 
amended— 
(i) by redesignating subitems (aaa) 
and (bbb) as subitems (bbb) and (ccc), re-
spectively; and 
(ii) by inserting before subitem (bbb), 
as so redesignated, the following: 
‘‘(aaa) whose spouse died within the past 
2 years;’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), the amendment made by paragraphs 
(1) and (2) shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
(B) TRANSITION IN CASE OF CITIZEN PAR-
ENTS WHO DIED BEFORE ENACTMENT.—In ap-
plying the amendments made by paragraphs (1) 
and (2)(A) in the case of an alien whose citizen 
parent or lawful permanent resident parent died
200 
or whose parent-child relationship with such 
parent terminated during the period beginning 
on October 28, 1998, and ending on the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the following rules 
apply: 
(i) The reference to ‘‘within the past 
2 years’’ in section 204(a)(1)(A)(iv) or 
204(a)(1)(B)(iii), respectively, of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act in the mat-
ter inserted by such paragraph is deemed 
to be a reference to such period. 
(ii) The petition must be filed under 
such section within 2 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act (or, if later, 
2 years after the alien’s 18th birthday). 
(iii) The determination of eligibility 
for benefits as a child under such section 
(including under section 204(a)(1)(D) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act by 
reason of a petition authorized under such 
section) shall be determined as of the date 
of the death of the citizen parent or lawful 
permanent resident parent or the termi-
nation of the parent-child relationship.
201 
(b) PROTECTING VICTIMS OF CHILD ABUSE FROM 
AGING OUT.— 
(1) CLARIFICATION REGARDING CONTINUATION 
OF IMMEDIATE RELATIVE STATUS FOR CHILDREN OF 
CITIZENS.—Section 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(I) of the Immi-
gration 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1154(a)(1)(D)(i)(I)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘clause (iv) of section 
204(a)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 
(A)(iv)’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘a petitioner for preference 
status under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of sec-
tion 203(a), whichever paragraph is applicable’’ 
and inserting ‘‘to continue to be treated as an 
immediate 
relative 
under 
section 
101(b)(2)(A)(i), or a petitioner for preference 
status under section 203(a)(3) if subsequently 
married,’’. 
(2) CLARIFICATION
REGARDING
APPLICATION 
TO
CHILDREN
OF
LAWFUL
PERMANENT
RESI-
DENTS.—Section 204(a)(1)(D)(i)(I) of such Act (8 
U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(D)(i)(I)) is amended — 
(A) by inserting after the first sentence the 
following new sentence: ‘‘Any child who attains 
21 years of age who has filed a petition under