Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021
Latest action · May 18, 2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 3, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021
This bill provides for the automatic acquisition of citizenship for certain individuals adopted by a U.S. citizen.
A child born outside the United States and adopted by a U.S. citizen shall automatically acquire citizenship upon meeting certain requirements, regardless of when the adoption was finalized. Currently, adoptees who were over the age of 18 on February 27, 2001, do not automatically acquire citizenship.
An individual born outside the United States and residing in the United States shall automatically acquire citizenship if the individual (1) was adopted by a citizen before becoming 18 years old, (2) was physically present in the United States in the citizen parent's custody pursuant to lawful admission before becoming 18 years old, (3) never acquired citizenship before this bill's enactment, and (4) was lawfully residing in the United States on this bill's enactment date.
An individual born outside the United States and residing outside the United States but who otherwise meets all of the requirements shall automatically acquire citizenship upon being physically present in the United States pursuant to lawful admission. Such an individual shall be subject to a background check. If the background check reveals the individual has committed a crime that was not properly resolved, the individual may not receive a visa unless the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State have coordinated with law enforcement to ensure that action was taken to resolve the issue.
Cosponsors 63
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 3, 2021 to Jan 13, 2022; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-UT | John R. Curtis | Original | Mar 3, 2021 |
| D-VA | Abigail Davis Spanberger | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| D-NJ | Andy Kim | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| R-UT | Burgess Owens | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| R-AZ | David Schweikert | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| R-MI | Fred Upton | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| R-AL | Gary J. Palmer | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| R-OK | Markwayne Mullin | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| R-TX | Michael Cloud | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| R-CA | Michelle Steel | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| R-IL | Mike Bost | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| D-WA | Pramila Jayapal | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| R-IL | Rodney Davis | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| D-TX | Sylvia R. Garcia | Mar 11, 2021 | |
| D-IA | Cynthia Axne | Mar 17, 2021 | |
| R-NE | Don Bacon | Mar 17, 2021 | |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Jun 15, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Jun 15, 2021 | |
| R-WI | Bryan Steil | Jun 16, 2021 | |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Jun 16, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Karen Bass | Jun 25, 2021 | |
| R-FL | Scott Franklin | Jun 25, 2021 | |
| D-IL | Bradley Scott Schneider | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| D-GA | Carolyn Bourdeaux | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| R-CO | Doug Lamborn | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| D-CT | James A. Himes | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| R-FL | Maria Elvira Salazar | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| R-IA | Mariannette Miller-Meeks | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| R-ID | Michael K. Simpson | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| R-MN | Pete Stauber | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| R-IA | Ashley Hinson | Jul 30, 2021 | |
| R-AL | Barry Moore | Jul 30, 2021 | |
| D-NC | David E. Price | Jul 30, 2021 | |
| D-MN | Dean Phillips | Jul 30, 2021 | |
| R-NY | John Katko | Jul 30, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Jul 30, 2021 | |
| D-TX | Veronica Escobar | Jul 30, 2021 | |
| D-GA | Lucy McBath | Sep 24, 2021 | |
| R-NC | Madison Cawthorn | Sep 24, 2021 | |
| R-MN | Michelle Fischbach | Sep 24, 2021 | |
| R-WA | Cathy McMorris Rodgers | Sep 28, 2021 | |
| D-PA | Mary Gay Scanlon | Sep 28, 2021 | |
| R-MI | Bill Huizenga | Oct 8, 2021 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Oct 8, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Mike Levin | Oct 8, 2021 | |
| D-NY | Sean Patrick Maloney | Oct 8, 2021 | |
| R-MI | Tim Walberg | Oct 8, 2021 | |
| R-NE | Adrian Smith | Oct 22, 2021 | |
| R-OH | Bill Johnson | Oct 22, 2021 | |
| D-PA | Dwight Evans | Oct 22, 2021 | |
| D-TN | Jim Cooper | Nov 16, 2021 | |
| R-MN | Tom Emmer | Nov 16, 2021 | |
| R-NJ | Christopher H. Smith | Jan 13, 2022 | |
| R-CA | Doug LaMalfa | Jan 13, 2022 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Jan 13, 2022 | |
| D-RI | James R. Langevin | Jan 13, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Jan 13, 2022 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Mar 3, 2021 |
| Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee | Referred May 18, 2021 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 18, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship.
- Mar 3, 2021Introduced in House
- Mar 3, 2021Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 40, March 3, 2021, page H1081.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 967 | Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021 | Related bill | Mar 25, 2021 |
| HR 2731 | Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019 | Reintroduction of | Jun 26, 2019 |
| HR 8617 | Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024 | Reintroduced Bill | Jun 4, 2024 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To provide for automatic acquisition of United States citizenship for certain internationally adopted individuals, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 3, 2021Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
