(e) PERMANENT PROTECTION FOR CERTAIN AT-RISK 
CHILDREN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a)(27)(J) of the 
Immigration 
and 
Nationality 
Act 
(8 
U.S.C. 
1101(a)(27)(J)) is amended— 
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘State and 
who has been deemed eligible by that court for 
long-term foster care due to abuse, neglect, or 
abandonment;’’ and inserting ‘‘State, or an in-
dividual or entity appointed by a State or juve-
nile court located in the United States, and 
whose reunification with one or both of the im-
migrant’s parents is not viable due to abuse, 
neglect, abandonment, or a similar basis found 
under State law;’’; 
(B) in clause (iii), in the matter preceding 
subclause (I), by striking ‘‘the Attorney General 
expressly consents to the dependency order 
serving as a precondition to the grant of special 
immigrant juvenile status;’’ and inserting ‘‘the 
Secretary of Homeland Security consents to the 
grant of special immigrant juvenile status,’’; 
and 
(C) in clause (iii)(I), by striking ‘‘in the 
actual or constructive custody of the Attorney 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
22:01 Oct 19, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00098
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3887.IH
H3887
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
General unless the Attorney General specifically 
consents to such jurisdiction;’’ and inserting ‘‘in 
the custody of the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services unless the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services specifically consents to 
such jurisdiction;’’. 
(2) EXPEDITIOUS ADJUDICATION.—All applica-
tions for special immigrant status under section 
101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)) shall be adjudicated 
by the Secretary of Homeland Security not later 
than 180 days after the date of filing the applica-
tion. 
(3) 
ADJUSTMENT
OF
STATUS.—Section 
245(h)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(h)(2)(A)) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) 
paragraphs 
(4), 
(5)(A), 
(6)(A), 
(6)(C), (6)(D), (7)(A), 9(B), and 9(C)(i)(I) of 
section 212(a) shall not apply; and’’. 
(4) ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A child who has been 
granted special immigrant status under section 
101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)) and who 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
22:01 Oct 19, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00099
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3887.IH
H3887
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
100 
was either in the custody of the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services at the time a de-
pendency order was granted for such child or 
who was receiving services pursuant to section 
501(a) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act 
of 1980 (8 U.S.C. 1522 note) at the time such 
dependency order was granted, shall be eligible 
for placement and services under section 412(d) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1522(d)) until the earlier of— 
(i) the date on which the child reaches 
the age designated in section 412(d)(2)(B) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1522(d)(2)(B)); or 
(ii) the date on which the child is 
placed in a permanent adoptive home. 
(B) STATE
REIMBURSEMENT.—If State 
foster care funds are expended on behalf of a 
child who is not described in subparagraph (A) 
and has been granted special immigrant status 
under section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)), 
the Federal Government shall reimburse the 
State in which the child resides for such ex-
penditures by the State. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
22:01 Oct 19, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00100
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3887.IH
H3887
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
101 
(5) 
STATE
COURTS
ACTING
IN
LOCO 
PARENTIS.—A department or agency of a State, or 
an individual or entity appointed by a State court or 
juvenile court located in the United States, acting in 
loco parentis, shall not be considered a legal guard-
ian for purposes of this section or section 462 of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279). 
(6) TRANSITION
RULE.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, an alien described in section 
101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)), as amended by para-
graph (1), may not be denied special immigrant sta-
tus under such section after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act based on age if the alien was a 
child on the date on which the alien applied for such 
status. 
(7) ACCESS
TO
ASYLUM
PROTECTIONS.—Sec-
tion 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1158) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a)(2), by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(E) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) shall not apply to an unaccompanied 
alien child (as defined in section 462(g) of the 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
22:01 Oct 19, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00101
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3887.IH
H3887
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
102 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
279(g))).’’; and 
(B) in subsection (b)(3), by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(C) INITIAL JURISDICTION.—An asylum 
officer (as defined in section 235(b)(1)(E)) 
shall have initial jurisdiction over any asylum 
application filed by an unaccompanied alien 
child (as defined in section 462(g) of the Home-
land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g))), 
regardless of whether filed in accordance with 
this section or section 235(b).’’. 
(8) SPECIALIZED NEEDS OF CHILDREN.—Appli-
cations for asylum and other forms of relief from re-
moval in which a child is the principal applicant 
shall be governed by regulations which take into ac-
count the specialized needs of children and which ad-
dress both procedural and substantive aspects of 
handling children’s cases. 
(f) TRAINING.—The Secretary of State, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services and the Attorney General shall provide 
specialized training to all Federal personnel who come into 
contact with unaccompanied alien children. Such per-
sonnel shall be trained to work with unaccompanied alien 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
22:01 Oct 19, 2007
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00102
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3887.IH
H3887
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS