Congress Introduces the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024

A bipartisan group in Congress has introduced the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024, continuing the fight to secure US citizenship for all adopted people brought to the United States for adoption.

The Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024, introduced today, attempts to do one thing: secure US citizenship for intercountry adoptees who have been denied that citizenship in the past, largely because of their age. While most people presume that children adopted by U.S. citizen parents receive automatic U.S. citizenship when they are adopted, this is not true for many older intercountry adoptees. Tens of thousands of adoptees, now adults, are not able to acquire U.S. citizenship through their adoptive parents.

ACA2024 will amend U.S. immigration law to repeal a current age-based restriction, which has denied acquired U.S. citizenship to adoptees born on or before February 27, 1983 (or to put it another way, current law denies acquired US citizenship to adopted people who were 18 or older on February 27, 2001). Rep. Adam Smith (D-Washington) and Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebrakas) are the House sponsors of the bill; Sen. Mazie Horono (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) are the Senate sponsors.

ACA2024, as introduced, would provide automatic citizenship to intercountry adoptees no matter their date of birth, provided they meet the core requirements of the law. Before having reached the age of 18, the adoptee must have been:

• adopted by a United States citizen;
• lawfully admitted to the United States;
• physically present in the United States in the legal custody of the US citizen parent.

In addition, the adopted person must have never previously obtained US citizenship, and must also be residing in the United States at the time ACA2024 is enacted. Additional provisions address intercountrry adopted people who have previously been deported, though there are additional requirements for deportees to obtain a visa to return to the United States.

Adoptees United is tracking the bill and its summary and analysis of the ACA2024 is here, including a PDF copy of the bill, which has not yet been assigned legislative bill numbers.

Quick FAQs about the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024

From FAQ: U.S. Citizenship and Intercountry Adoptees, published by Adoptee Rights Law Center

What is the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024?

The Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024—ACA or ACA2024 for short—are bills in the U.S. 118th Congress, introduced on June 4, 2024. The current bill, like identical bills before it, will amend U.S. immigration law to repeal a loophole that has operated to deny U.S. citizenship to thousands of intercountry adoptees who were adopted by U.S. citizen parents decades ago. While many people presume that children adopted by U.S. citizen parents receive automatic U.S. citizenship when they are adopted, this is not true for all intercountry adoptees. Many are now adults and still do not have U.S. citizenship through their adoptive parents.

How does ACA2024 address current citizenship issues?

ACA2024, as introduced, would provide automatic citizenship to intercountry adoptees no matter their current age, provided that they also meet the core requirements of the bill. The provisions in the ACA2024 that effectively eliminate the current age requirement states that automatic citizenship would apply to intercountry adoptees “regardless of the date on which the adoption was finalized.” Other issues, however, may still prevent acquisition of US citizenship for some adoptees.

What are the bill’s core requirements for obtaining US citizenship?

The ACA2024 sets out a few core requirements for intercountry adoptees to acquire US citizenship, no matter their current age. Prior to the age of 18, however, the adoptee must have been:

• adopted by a United States citizen;
• lawfully admitted to the United States;
• physically present in the United States in the legal custody of the US citizen parent.

In addition, the adopted person must have never previously obtained US citizenship, and must also be residing in the United States at the time the ACA2024 is enacted.

Will the bill resolve all of the issues intercountry adoptees have with securing U.S. citizenship?

No. Even if Congress enacts the current version of the bill, some adoptees may not benefit from the bill. This includes:

• Individuals who were not fully and finally adopted, either in their country of origin or in the United States. In other words, the individual’s adoptive parents never legally finalized the adoption. This could happen to adoptees who entered the United States on IR-4 visas but were not subsequently adopted in the United States.
• Individuals who have been deported. The path to US citizenship for deported adoptees have additional requirements, discussed below.

How does the bill address adoptees who have already been deported?

Under the current language of the bill, intercountry adoptees who had previously been removed from the United States (i.e., deported) have a path to return to the United States to secure citizenship. Returning to the U.S. under the bill will require applying for and being issued an immigrant visa. While prior criminal convictions often prevent a previously deported person from immigrating again to the United States, the ACA2024 will exclude intercountry adoptees from such restrictions. Nevertheless, to obtain a visa to return to the United States, a previously deported adoptee must:

• undergo a criminal background check;
• “resolve” any prior criminal activity that may be disclosed in the criminal background check. What the bill means by “resolve” is not clear but it would likely involve discretion on the part of US officials to determine the appropriateness of issuing a visa for a previously deported adoptee.

If the deported intercountry adoptee obtains an immigrant visa and enters the United States on that visa, he or she would become a U.S. citizen upon admission to the country, at least under the current version of ACA2024.

I’m an intercountry adoptee in the US without citizenship, and I also have a criminal record. Will my criminal record prevent me from becoming a citizen under the ACA?

No, it will not prevent you from acquiring automatic citizenship under the current version of ACA2024. So long as you meet the core requirements prior to age 18 you will acquire citizenship automatically. Assuming ACA2024 is enacted, you would only need to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship or a US passport to prove that citizenship. Application for a Certificate of Citizenship does not take into account a person’s prior criminal history.

I’m an intercountry adoptee and I came to the country on a visitor/humanitarian visa when I was a child. Will this bill help me?

Generally, and without knowing more specific information about the entry into the US and other circumstances of the adoption, the answer will depend on the final text in the bill. Basically, it’s what lawyers often say when they don’t know: it depends. I interpret the bill to apply to any intercountry adoptee who was lawfully admitted to the United States, even through non-immigrant visas, such as humanitarian or visitor visas.

If this bill is enacted, what happens next?

Good question. While the ACA2024 would confer “automatic” citizenship to intercountry adoptees, it does not mean you automatically receive proof of that citizenship in the mail. You need to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship or a U.S. passport.

Obtaining a Certificate of Citizenship requires submitting form N-600 and supporting documentation. Luckily, the USCIS recently eliminated the $1,170.00 filing fee for adult intercountry adoptees to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship. So long as the individual is a US citizen under the Child Citizenship Act (or the ACA2024 if enacted), ; there is no charge for an adult intercountry adoptee to file an N-600 (Application for a Certificate of Citizenship). Whether a person applies for a Certificate of Citizenship or a US Passport (or both), the documents necessary to prove that citizenship usually include:

• Final decree or judgment of adoption;
• Birth record;
• Adoptive parents birth and, if applicable, marriage or divorce records;
• Evidence of presence in the United States in the legal custody of the adoptive parents (e.g., school enrollment records);
• Proof of lawful admission for permanent residence in the United States (e.g., a green card or a copy of the immigrant visa)