Citizenship for International Adoptees Act of 2026

Mike Lee

Republican · UT · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

• Rick Scott (R-FL)Original· 2026-07-30

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

2026-07-30

Source: Congress.gov

The legislation would automatically grant U.S. citizenship to certain people who were adopted internationally by American parents, eliminating the need for them to go through separate naturalization procedures. This would primarily benefit adoptees who may have fallen through legal gaps and never formally became citizens despite being raised as Americans. The bill aims to simplify the citizenship process for this group of adopted individuals.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 5191 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5191 To provide for the acquisition of United States citizenship for certain individuals who were internationally adopted, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 30, 2026 Mr. Lee (for himself and Mr. Scott of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To provide for the acquisition of United States citizenship for certain individuals who were internationally adopted, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Citizenship for International Adoptees Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP FOR CERTAIN ADOPTED INDIVIDUALS BORN OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES. (a) In General.--Chapter 2 of title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 322 the following: ``SEC. 323. ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP FOR CERTAIN ADOPTED INDIVIDUALS BORN OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES. ``(a) In General.--An individual born outside the United States shall automatically acquire United States citizenship, on the date that is 120 days after the date of the enactment of this section, if all conditions under subsection (b) have been fulfilled. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall issue a certificate of citizenship to such individual if the individual submits to the Secretary an application that demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that such conditions have been fulfilled. ``(b) Conditions.--The conditions for acquiring citizenship under this section are as follows: ``(1) Before the individual attained 18 years of age, the individual was adopted by a citizen of the United States and was admitted to the United States pursuant to a lawful entry for the purpose of adoption. ``(2) The individual satisfies a requirement applicable to adopted children under subparagraph (E), (F), or (G) of section 101(b)(1). ``(3) The individual was physically present in the United States, in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent, pursuant to a final legal adoption in the United States before the individual attained 18 years of age. ``(4) The individual has not previously acquired United States citizenship. ``(5) The individual demonstrates a commitment to the United States by establishing that, on the date of the enactment of this section, the individual was physically present in the United States. ``(6) An exception under subsection (c) does not apply to the individual. ``(c) Exceptions.-- ``(1) In general.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to a person who-- ``(A) is not regarded as or found to be of good moral character because the person is described in paragraph (3), (6), (8) or (9) of section 101(f); ``(B) is considered inadmissible under paragraph (2)(D), (2)(E), (2)(H), (3)(A), (3)(B), (3)(C), (3)(D), (3)(F), (6), (8), (9), (10)(C), (10)(D), or 10(E) of section 212(a); ``(C) is deportable under section 237(a), except any person deportable under paragraph (1)(C), (1)(D), (2)(A)(i), (2)(B)(ii), or (5) of such section; or ``(D) has been convicted of-- ``(i) promoting, furthering, aiding, or supporting the illegal activity of a criminal gang; or ``(ii) a criminal offense involving-- ``(I) domestic violence; ``(II) sexual abuse or exploitation, including sexually explicit conduct involving minors (as such terms are defined in section 2256 of title 18, United States Code); or ``(III) burglary. ``(2) Burden of proof.--For purposes of establishing that an exception to inadmissibility set forth in paragraph (6)(C)(ii) or (10)(D) of section 212(a) does not apply to an individual…

who is otherwise eligible for citizenship under this section, the Government shall be required to demonstrate, by clear and convincing evidence, that the individual did not reasonably believe that the individual was a citizen of the United States. ``(d) Cap on Application Fee.--With respect to applications submitted to the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to this section, notwithstanding section 344, the Secretary shall charge a fee that is not more than half the fee charged for an Application for Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600). ``(e) Criminal Gang Defined.-- ``(1) In general.--The term `criminal gang' means any ongoing group, club, organization, or association, inside or outside the United States, of 2 or more persons that has, as one of its primary purposes, the commission of 1 or more of the criminal offenses described in paragraph (2) and the members of which engage, or have engaged within the last 5 years, in a continuing series of such offenses. ``(2) Offenses described.--The offenses described in this paragraph, whether in violation of Federal or State law or the law of a foreign country and regardless of whether the offenses occurred before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this section, are the following: ``(A) Any aggravated felony (as defined in section 101(a)(43)). ``(B) A felony drug offense (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)). ``(C) An offense involving illicit trafficking in a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), including a drug trafficking crime (as defined in section 924(c) of title 18, United States Code). ``(D) An offense under section 274 (relating to bringing in and harboring certain aliens), section 277 (relating to aiding or assisting certain aliens to enter the United States), or section 278 (relating to importation of aliens for immoral purposes). ``(E) Any offense under Federal, State, or Tribal law, that has, as an element of the offense, the use or attempted use of physical force or the threatened use of physical force or a deadly weapon. ``(F) Any offense that has, as an element of the offense, the use, attempted use, or threatened use of any physical object to inflict or cause (either directly or indirectly) serious bodily injury, including an injury that may ultimately result in the death of a person. ``(G) An offense involving obstruction of justice or tampering with or retaliating against a witness, victim, or informant. ``(H) Any conviction under section 1028 or 1029 of title 18, United States Code (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents or access devices), sections 1581 through 1594 of such title (relating to peonage, slavery, and trafficking in persons), section 1952 of such title (relating to interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises), section 1956 of such title (relating to the laundering of monetary instruments), section 1957 of such title (relating to engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity), or sections 2312 through 2315 of such title (relating to interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles or stolen property). ``(I) A conspiracy or attempt to commit an offense described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (H).''. (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the item related to section 322 the following: ``323. Acquisition of citizenship for certain adopted persons born outside the United States.''. <all>

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