H.R. 5528

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5528 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5528

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize lawful 
permanent resident status for certain college graduates who entered the 
United States as children, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 19, 2025

Ms. Ross (for herself, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. 
Salazar, Mr. Bera, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Bacon, 
Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Obernolte, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Rutherford, Mr. Peters, 
Mr. Ciscomani, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, Ms. DelBene, Mr. 
Thanedar, Mr. Stanton, and Mr. Min) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize lawful 
permanent resident status for certain college graduates who entered the 
United States as children, 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 ``America's CHILDREN Act of 2025'' or 
the ``Protecting Children of Long-Term Visa Holders Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR CERTAIN COLLEGE GRADUATES WHO 
ENTERED THE UNITED STATES AS CHILDREN.

(a) Requirements.--Section 201(b)(1) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
``(F) Any alien who--
``(i) is not inadmissible under section 212(a) or 
deportable under section 237(a);
``(ii) was lawfully present in the United States as 
a dependent child of a nonimmigrant admitted to engage 
in employment in the United States (other than a 
nonimmigrant described in subparagraph (A), (G), (N), 
or (S) of section 101(a)(15)) for an aggregate period 
of not less than 8 years;
``(iii) on the date on which an application under 
section 204(a)(1)(M) is submitted, has been lawfully 
present in the United States for an aggregate period of 
not less than 10 years; and
``(iv) has graduated from an institution of higher 
education (as defined in section 102(a) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a))) in the 
United States.''.
(b) Petition.--Section 204(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
``(M) Any alien entitled to classification under 
section 201(b)(1)(F) may file a petition with the 
Secretary of Homeland Security for such 
classification.''.

SEC. 3. AGE-OUT PROTECTIONS AND PRIORITY DATE RETENTION.

(a) Age-Out Protections.--
(1) In general.--The Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended--
(A) in section 101(b) (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)), by adding 
at the end the following:
``(6) Determination of child status.--A determination as to 
whether an alien is a child shall be made as follows:
``(A) In general.--For purposes of a petition under 
section 204 and any subsequent application for an 
immigrant visa or adjustment of status, such 
determination shall be made using the age of the alien 
on the earlier of--
``(i) the date on which the petition is 
filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security; 
or
``(ii) the date on which an application for 
a labor certification under section 
212(a)(5)(A)(i) is filed with the Secretary of 
Labor.
``(B) Certain dependents of nonimmigrants.--With 
respect to an alien who, for an aggregate period of 8 
years before attaining the age of 21, was in the status 
of a dependent child of a nonimmigrant pursuant to a 
lawful admission as an alien eligible to be employed in 
the United States (other than a nonimmigrant described 
in subparagraph (A), (G), (N), or (S) of section 
101(a)(15)), notwithstanding clause (i), the 
determination of the alien's age shall be based on the 
date on which such initial nonimmigrant employment-
based petition or application was filed by the alien's 
nonimmigrant parent.
``(C) Failure to acquire status as alien lawfully 
admitted for permanent residence.--With respect to an 
alien who has not sought to acquire status as an alien 
lawfully admitted for permanent residence during the 2 
years beginning on the date on which an immigrant visa 
becomes available to such alien, the alien's age shall 
be determined based on the alien's biological age, 
unless the failure to seek to acquire such status was 
due to extraordinary circumstances.''; and
(B) in section 201(f) (8 U.S.C. 1151)--
(i) by striking the subsection heading and 
all that follows through ``Termination Date.--
'' in paragraph (3) and inserting ``Rule for 
Determining Whether Certain Aliens Are 
Immediate Relatives.--''; and
(ii) by striking paragraph (4).
(2) Effective date.--
(A) In general.--The amendments made by this 
subsection shall be effective as if included in the 
Child Status Protection Act (Public Law 107-208; 116 
Stat. 927).
(B) Motion to reopen or reconsider.--
(i) In general.--A motion to reopen or 
reconsider the denial of a petition or 
application described in the amendment made by 
paragraph (1)(A) may be granted if--
(I) such petition or application 
would have been approved if the 
amendment described in such paragraph 
had been in effect at the time of 
adjudication of the petition or 
application;
(II) the individual seeking relief 
pursuant to such motion was in the 
United States at the time the 
underlying petition or application was 
filed; and
(III) such motion is filed with the 
Secretary of Homeland Security or the 
Attorney General not later than the 
date that is 2 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
(ii) Exemption from numerical 
limitations.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, an individual granted relief 
pursuant to a motion to reopen or reconsider 
under clause (i) shall be exempt from the 
numerical limitations in sections 201, 202, and 
203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1151, 1152, and 1153).
(b) Nonimmigrant Dependent Children.--Section 214 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
``(s) Derivative Beneficiaries.--
``(1) In general.--Except as described in paragraph (2), 
the determination as to whether an alien who is the derivative 
beneficiary of a properly filed pending or approved immigrant 
petition under section 204 is eligible to be a dependent child 
shall be based on whether the alien is determined to be a child 
under section 101(b)(6).
``(2) Long-term dependents.--If otherwise eligible, an 
alien who is determined to be a child pursuant to section 
101(b)(6)(B) may change status to, or extend status as, a 
dependent child of a nonimmigrant with an approved employment-
based petition under this section or an approved application 
under section 101(a)(15)(E), notwithstanding such alien's 
marital status.
``(3) Employment authorization.--An alien admitted to the 
United States as a dependent child of a nonimmigrant who is 
described in this section is authorized to engage in employment 
in the United States incident to status.''.
(c) Priority Date Retention.--Section 203(h) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(h)) is amended--
(1) by striking the subsection heading and inserting 
``Retention of Priority Dates'';
(2) by striking paragraphs (1) through (4);
(3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (3); and
(4) by inserting before paragraph (3) the following:
``(1) In general.--The priority date for an individual 
shall be the date on which a petition under section 204 is 
filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security or the Secretary 
of State, as applicable, unless such petition was preceded by 
the filing of a labor certification with the Secretary of 
Labor, in which case the date on which the labor certification 
is filed shall be the priority date.
``(2) Applicability.--The principal beneficiary and all 
derivative beneficiaries shall retain the priority date 
associated with the earliest of any approved petition or labor 
certification, and such priority date shall be applicable to 
any subsequently approved petition.''.
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