Summary#
This bill, the Protect Adoptees and American Families (PAAF) Act, changes the rules so some people adopted abroad can automatically become U.S. citizens. It changes section 320(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The bill has two main parts:
- It makes subsection (a) apply to a child adopted by a U.S. citizen if the child meets the adopted-child definitions in section 101(b)(1) subparagraphs (E), (F), or (G), no matter when the adoption was finalized.
- It creates rules for adopted people who were born outside the U.S.:
- For those living in the United States: a person automatically becomes a U.S. citizen when all four conditions are met: (A) they were adopted by a U.S. citizen before turning 18; (B) they were physically present in the U.S. in the legal custody of the citizen parent with a lawful admission before turning 18; (C) they had never acquired U.S. citizenship before the bill’s enactment; and (D) they were residing in the U.S. on the bill’s enactment date with lawful admission.
- For those not residing in the United States: if they meet conditions (A)–(C) but not (D), they automatically become a U.S. citizen when they are physically present in the U.S. with a lawful admission. The bill says the usual grounds of inadmissibility in section 212(a) do not apply to these people when they seek admission. However, they must pass a criminal background check before a visa is issued. If the check shows an unresolved crime, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State must coordinate with law enforcement to resolve it.
The text does not include detailed implementation steps, costs, or timelines beyond these rules.