(3) the child is granted withholding of removal 
under section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1231(b)(3)); 
(4) the child is granted protection under the 
Convention Against Torture; 
(5) the child is granted asylum in the United 
States under section 208 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158); 
(6) the child is granted permanent resident sta-
tus in the United States; or 
(7) the child attains 18 years of age; 
whichever occurs first.
(e) NOTICE
TO COUNSEL DURING IMMIGRATION 
PROCEEDINGS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except when otherwise re-
quired in an emergency situation involving the phys-
ical safety of the child, counsel shall be given prompt 
and adequate notice of all immigration matters af-
fecting or involving an unaccompanied alien child, 
including adjudications, proceedings, and processing, 
before such actions are taken. 
(2) OPPORTUNITY
TO
CONSULT
WITH
COUN-
SEL.—An unaccompanied alien child in the custody 
of the Office may not give consent to any immigra-
tion action, including consenting to voluntary depar-
ture, unless first afforded an opportunity to consult 
with counsel. 
(f) ACCESS TO RECOMMENDATIONS OF GUARDIAN 
AD LITEM.—Counsel shall be afforded an opportunity to 
review the recommendation by the guardian ad litem af-
fecting or involving a client who is an unaccompanied alien 
child. 
SEC. 203. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 
(a) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This title shall take effect 
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The provisions of this title shall 
apply to all unaccompanied alien children in Federal cus-
tody on, before, or after the effective date of this title.
TITLE 
III—STRENGTHENING 
POLICIES FOR PERMANENT 
PROTECTION OF ALIEN CHIL-
DREN 
SEC. 301. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE VISA. 
(a) J VISA.—Section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(J) an immigrant under the age of 21 on the 
date of application who is present in the United 
States—
‘‘(i) who by a court order, which shall be 
binding on the Secretary of Homeland Security 
for purposes of adjudications under this sub-
paragraph, was declared dependent on a juve-
nile court located in the United States or whom 
such a court has legally committed to, or placed 
under the custody of, a department or agency 
of a State, or an individual or entity appointed 
by a State or juvenile court located in the 
United States, due to abuse, neglect, or aban-
donment, or a similar basis found under State 
law; 
‘‘(ii) for whom it has been determined in 
administrative or judicial proceedings that it 
would not be in the alien’s best interest to be 
returned to the alien’s or parent’s previous 
country of nationality or country of last habit-
ual residence; and 
‘‘(iii) with respect to a child in Federal 
custody, for whom the Office of Refugee Reset-
tlement of the Department of Health and 
Human Services has certified to the Director of 
the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration 
Services that the classification of an alien as a 
special immigrant under this subparagraph has
not been made solely to provide an immigration 
benefit to that alien; 
except that no natural parent or prior adoptive par-
ent of any alien provided special immigrant status 
under this subparagraph shall thereafter, by virtue 
of such parentage, be accorded any right, privilege, 
or status under this Act;’’. 
(b) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—Section 245(h)(2) of 
the 
Immigration 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1255(h)(2)) is amended—
(1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) paragraphs (1), (4), (5), (6), and 
(7)(A) of section 212(a) shall not apply;’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 
and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) the Secretary of Homeland Security 
may waive subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para-
graph (2) of section 212(a) in the case of an of-
fense which arose as a consequence of the child 
being unaccompanied.’’. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—A child who has 
been granted relief under section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)),
as amended by subsection (a), shall be eligible for all funds 
made available under section 412(d) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 
1522(d)) until such time as the child attains the age des-
ignated in section 412(d)(2)(B) of that Act (8 U.S.C. 
1522(d)(2)(B)), or until the child is placed in a permanent 
adoptive home, whichever occurs first. 
SEC. 302. TRAINING FOR OFFICIALS AND CERTAIN PRIVATE 
PARTIES WHO COME INTO CONTACT WITH 
UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHILDREN. 
(a) TRAINING OF STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS AND 
CERTAIN PRIVATE PARTIES.—The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, acting jointly with the Secretary, 
shall provide appropriate training to be available to State 
and county officials, child welfare specialists, teachers, 
public counsel, and juvenile judges who come into contact 
with unaccompanied alien children. The training shall pro-
vide education on the processes pertaining to unaccom-
panied alien children with pending immigration status and 
on the forms of relief potentially available. The Director 
shall be responsible for establishing a core curriculum that 
can be incorporated into education, training, or orienta-
tion modules or formats that are currently used by these 
professionals. 
(b) TRAINING OF DIRECTORATE PERSONNEL.—The 
Secretary, acting jointly with the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, shall provide specialized training to all 
personnel of the Directorate who come into contact with 
unaccompanied alien children. In the case of Border Pa-
trol agents and immigration inspectors, such training shall 
include specific training on identifying children at the 
United States borders or at United States ports of entry 
who have been victimized by smugglers or traffickers, and 
children for whom asylum or special immigrant relief may 
be appropriate, including children described in section 
101(a)(2). 
SEC. 303. REPORT. 
Not later than January 31, 2004, and annually there-
after, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
submit a report for the previous fiscal year to the Commit-
tees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and 
the Senate that contains—
(1) data related to the implementation of sec-
tion 462 of the Homeland Security Act (6 U.S.C. 
279); 
(2) data regarding the care and placement of 
children in accordance with this Act; 
(3) data regarding the provision of guardian ad 
litem and counsel services in accordance with this 
Act; and
(4) any other information that the Director or 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services deter-
mines to be appropriate. 
SEC. 304. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendment made by section 301 shall apply to 
all aliens who were in the United States before, on, or 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
TITLE IV—CHILDREN REFUGEE 
AND ASYLUM SEEKERS 
SEC. 401. GUIDELINES FOR CHILDREN’S ASYLUM CLAIMS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Congress commends the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service for its issuance 
of its ‘‘Guidelines for Children’s Asylum Claims’’, dated 
December 1998, and encourages and supports the imple-
mentation of such guidelines by the Immigration and Nat-
uralization Service (and its successor entities) in an effort 
to facilitate the handling of children’s asylum claims. Con-
gress calls upon the Executive Office for Immigration Re-
view of the Department of Justice to adopt the ‘‘Guide-
lines for Children’s Asylum Claims’’ in its handling of chil-
dren’s asylum claims before immigration judges and the 
Board of Immigration Appeals. 
(b) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall provide periodic 
comprehensive training under the ‘‘Guidelines for Chil-
dren’s Asylum Claims’’ to asylum officers, immigration
judges, members of the Board of Immigration Appeals, 
and immigration officers who have contact with children 
in order to familiarize and sensitize such officers to the 
needs of children asylum seekers. Voluntary agencies shall 
be allowed to assist in such training. 
SEC. 402. UNACCOMPANIED REFUGEE CHILDREN. 
(a) IDENTIFYING UNACCOMPANIED REFUGEE CHIL-
DREN.—Section 207(e) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(e)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), (5), 
(6), and (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), (6), (7), and 
(8), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(3) An analysis of the worldwide situation 
faced by unaccompanied refugee children, by region, 
which shall include an assessment of—
‘‘(A) the number of unaccompanied refugee 
children, by region; 
‘‘(B) the capacity of the Department of 
State to identify such refugees; 
‘‘(C) the capacity of the international com-
munity to care for and protect such refugees;
‘‘(D) the capacity of the voluntary agency 
community to resettle such refugees in the 
United States; 
‘‘(E) the degree to which the United States 
plans to resettle such refugees in the United 
States in the coming fiscal year; and 
‘‘(F) the fate that will befall such unac-
companied refugee children for whom resettle-
ment in the United States is not possible.’’.
(b) TRAINING ON THE NEEDS OF UNACCOMPANIED 
REFUGEE CHILDREN.—Section 207(f)(2) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(f)(2)) is amended 
by—
(1) striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘countries,’’; and 
(2) inserting before the period at the end the 
following: ‘‘, and instruction on the needs of unac-
companied refugee children’’. 
SEC. 403. EXCEPTIONS FOR UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN CHIL-
DREN IN ASYLUM AND REFUGEE-LIKE CIR-
CUMSTANCES. 
(a) PLACEMENT IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—Any 
unaccompanied alien child apprehended by the Direc-
torate, except for an unaccompanied alien child subject to 
exceptions under paragraph (1)(A) or (2) of section 
(101)(a) of this Act, shall be placed in removal pro-
ceedings under section 240 of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a). 
(b) EXCEPTION FROM TIME LIMIT FOR FILING ASY-
LUM APPLICATION.—Section 208(a)(2) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1158(a)(2)) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) shall not apply to an unaccompanied 
child as defined in section 101(a)(51).’’. 
TITLE V—AUTHORIZATION OF 
APPROPRIATIONS 
SEC. 501. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated such sums as may be necessary to carry out—
(1) section 462 of the Homeland Security Act 
of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279); and 
(2) this Act. 
(b) AVAILABILITY
OF
FUNDS.—Amounts appro-
priated pursuant to subsection (a) are authorized to re-
main available until expended.
TITLE VI—AMENDMENTS TO THE 
HOMELAND 
SECURITY 
ACT 
OF 2002
SEC. 601. ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND POWERS OF 
THE OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT 
WITH RESPECT TO UNACCOMPANIED ALIEN 
CHILDREN. 
(a) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIREC-
TOR.—Section 462(b)(1) of the Homeland Security Act of 
2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(b)(1)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (K), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (L), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘, including regular follow-
up visits to such facilities, placements, and other en-
tities, to assess the continued suitability of such 
placements; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(M) ensuring minimum standards of care for 
all unaccompanied alien children—
‘‘(i) for whom detention is necessary; and 
‘‘(ii) who reside in settings that are alter-
native to detention.’’. 
(b) ADDITIONAL POWERS OF THE DIRECTOR.—Sec-
tion 462(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. 279(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(4) POWERS.—In carrying out the duties 
under paragraph (3), the Director shall have the 
power to—
‘‘(A) contract with service providers to per-
form the services described in sections 102, 
103, 201, and 202 of the Unaccompanied Alien 
Child Protection Act of 2003; and 
‘‘(B) compel compliance with the terms 
and conditions set forth in section 103 of the 
Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 
2003, including the power to—
‘‘(i) declare providers to be in breach 
and seek damages for noncompliance; 
‘‘(ii) terminate the contracts of pro-
viders that are not in compliance with such 
conditions; and 
‘‘(iii) reassign any unaccompanied 
alien child to a similar facility that is in 
compliance with such section.’’. 
(c) CLARIFICATION OF DIRECTOR’S AUTHORITY TO 
HIRE PERSONNEL.—Section 462(f)(3) of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(f)(3)) is amended—