270
(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 (as de-
fined under section 101(b)),’’. 
(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, 
two years after the date the child attains 
18 years of age) died or otherwise termi-
nated the parent-child relationship (as de-
fined under section 101(b)),’’. 
(B) CONFORMING
TREATMENT
OF
DE-
CEASED
SPOUSES.—Section 
204(a)(1)(B)(ii)(II)(aa)(CC) of such Act (8
271
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 
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:
272
(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. 
(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-
273
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)’’ each place it appears; 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 
201(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) of such Act (8 
U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(D)) is amended—
(A) in clause (i)(I)—
(i) by inserting after the first sentence 
the following new sentence: ‘‘Any child who 
attains 21 years of age who has filed a pe-
tition under subparagraph (B)(iii) that was 
filed or approved before the date on which 
the child attained 21 year of age shall be 
considered (if the child has not been ad-
274
mitted or approved for lawful permanent 
residence by the date the child attained 21 
years of age) a petitioner for preference 
status under section 203(a)(2)(A), with the 
same priority date assigned to the self-peti-
tion filed under such subparagraph.’’; and 
(ii) in the last sentence, by inserting 
‘‘in either such case’’ after ‘‘shall be re-
quired to be filed’’; 
(B) in clause (i)(III), by striking ‘‘para-
graph (1), (2), or (3) of section 203(a)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 203(a)(2)(A)’’; and 
(C) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘(A)(iii), 
(A)(iv),’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply to applications filed 
before, on, or after the date of the enactment of 
VAWA–2000. 
(c) CLARIFICATION OF NO SEPARATE ADJUSTMENT 
APPLICATION FOR DERIVATIVE CHILDREN.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 245(a) of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In the 
case of a petition under clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of 
section 204(a)(1)(A) that includes an individual as
275
a derivative child of a principal alien, no adjustment 
application other than the adjustment application of 
the principal alien shall be required for adjustment 
of status of the individual under this subsection or 
subsection (c).’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act and shall apply to applications 
filed before, on, or after such date. 
(d) LATE
PETITION
PERMITTED
FOR
ADULTS 
ABUSED AS CHILDREN.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(a)(1)(D) of the 
Immigration 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1154(a)(1)(D)), is amended by adding at the end 
the following new clause: 
‘‘(iv) In the case of an alien who qualified to petition 
under subparagraph (A)(iv) or (B)(iii) as of the date the 
individual attained 21 years of age, the alien may file a 
petition under such respective subparagraph notwith-
standing that the alien has attained such age or been mar-
ried so long as the petition is filed before the date the 
individual attains 25 years of age. In the case of such a 
petition, the alien shall remain eligible for adjustment of 
status as a child notwithstanding that the alien has at-
tained 21 years of age or has married, or both.’’.
276
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act and shall apply to individuals 
who attain 21 years of age on or after the date of 
the enactment of VAWA–2000. 
SEC. 913. SELF-PETITIONING PARENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(a)(1)(A) of the Im-
migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(A)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new clause: 
‘‘(vii) An alien who—
‘‘(I) is the parent of a citizen of the United 
States or was a parent of a citizen of the United 
States who within the past 2 years lost or renounced 
citizenship status related to battering or extreme 
cruelty by the United States citizen son or daughter 
or who within the past two years died; 
‘‘(II) is a person of good moral character; 
‘‘(III) is eligible to be classified as an imme-
diate relative under section 201(b)(2)(A)(i) by virtue 
of the alien’s relationship to the son or daughter re-
ferred to in subclause (I); and 
‘‘(IV) resides, or has resided in the past, with 
the citizen daughter or son; 
may file a petition with the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity under this subparagraph for classification of the alien
277
under such section if the alien demonstrates that the alien 
has been battered by or has been the subject of extreme 
cruelty perpetrated by the alien’s citizen son or daugh-
ter.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
SEC. 914. PROMOTING CONSISTENCY IN VAWA ADJUDICA-
TIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 204(a)(1) of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)) is 
amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A)(iii)(II)(aa)(CC)(bbb), 
by striking ‘‘an incident of domestic violence’’ and 
inserting ‘‘battering or extreme cruelty by the 
United States citizen spouse’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A)(iv), by striking ‘‘an in-
cident of domestic violence’’ and inserting ‘‘battering 
or extreme cruelty by such parent’’; 
(3) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(II)(aa)(CC)(bbb), 
as redesignated by section 912(a)(2)(B)(i), by strik-
ing ‘‘due to an incident of domestic violence’’ and in-
serting ‘‘related to battering or extreme cruelty by 
the lawful permanent resident spouse’’; and
278
(4) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking ‘‘due 
to an incident of domestic violence’’ and inserting 
‘‘related to battering or extreme cruelty by such par-
ent’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect as if included in the enact-
ment of VAWA–2000. 
SEC. 915. RELIEF FOR CERTAIN VICTIMS PENDING AC-
TIONS ON PETITIONS AND APPLICATIONS 
FOR RELIEF. 
(a) RELIEF.—
(1) LIMITATION
ON
REMOVAL
OR
DEPORTA-
TION.—Section 237 of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d)(1) In the case of an alien in the United States 
for whom a petition as a VAWA petitioner has been filed, 
if the petition sets forth a prima facie case for approval, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, in the Secretary’s 
sole unreviewable discretion, may grant the alien deferred 
action until the petition is approved or the petition is de-
nied after exhaustion of administrative appeals. In the 
case of the approval of such petition, such deferred action 
may be extended until a final determination is made on 
an application for adjustment of status.
279
‘‘(2) In the case of an alien in the United States for 
whom an application for nonimmigrant status (whether as 
a principal or derivative child) under subparagraph (T) 
or (U) of section 101(a)(15) has been filed, if the applica-
tion sets forth a prima facie case for approval, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, in the Secretary’s sole 
unreviewable discretion, may grant the alien deferred ac-
tion until the application is approved or the application 
is denied after exhaustion of administrative appeals. 
‘‘(3) During a period in which an alien is provided 
deferred action under this subsection, the alien shall not 
be removed or deported. ’’. 
(2) LIMITATION ON DETENTION.—Section 236 
of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1226) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON DETENTION OF CERTAIN VIC-
TIMS OF VIOLENCE.—(1) An alien for whom a petition 
as a VAWA petitioner has been approved or for whom an 
application for nonimmigrant status (whether as a prin-
cipal or derivative child) under subparagraph (T) or (U) 
of section 101(a)(15) has been approved, subject to para-
graph (2), the alien shall not be detained if the only basis 
for detention is a ground for which—
280
‘‘(A) a waiver is provided under section 212(h), 
212(d)(13), 
212(d)(14), 
237(a)(7), 
or 
237(a)(2)(a)(V); or 
‘‘(B) there is an exception under section 
204(a)(1)(C). 
‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in the case of de-
tention that is required under subsection (c) or section 
236A.’’. 
(3) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—
(A) FOR
VAWA
PETITIONERS.—Section 
204(a)(1) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(K)(i) In the case of an alien for whom a petition 
as a VAWA petitioner is approved, the alien is eligible for 
work authorization and shall be provided an ‘employment 
authorized’ endorsement or other appropriate work per-
mit.’’. 
(B) FOR
ALIENS
WITH
APPROVED
T 
VISAS.—Section 214(o) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 
1184(o)), as amended by section 901(b)(2), is 
amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(8) In the case of an alien for whom an application 
for nonimmigrant status (whether as a principal or deriva-
tive) under section 101(a)(15)(T) has been approved, the
281
alien is eligible for work authorization and shall be pro-
vided an ‘employment authorized’ endorsement or other 
appropriate work permit.’’. 
(4) PROCESSING
OF
APPLICATIONS.—Section 
204(a)(1)(K) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)(K)), as added by para-
graph (3)(A), is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(ii) A petition as a VAWA petitioner shall be proc-
essed without regard to whether a proceeding to remove 
or deport such alien is brought or pending.’’. 
(5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act and shall apply to petitions 
and applications filed before, on, or after such date. 
(b) APPLICANTS FOR CANCELLATION OF REMOVAL 
OR SUSPENSION OF DEPORTATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 240A(b)(2) of the 
Immigration 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1229b(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(E) RELIEF WHILE APPLICATION PEND-
ING.—In the case of an alien who has applied 
for relief under this paragraph and whose appli-
cation sets forth a prima facie case for such re-