The Adoptee Citizenship Act is a series of federal bills beginning in 2015 that sought to close a loophole in United States immigration law, specifically an age-based provision of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. That loophole denied automatic acquisition of US citizenship to intercountry adoptees to the United States if they had been born prior to February 27, 1983, and thus were 18 years of age or older on the effective date of the Child Citizenship Act (February 27, 2001).
The most recent version of the bill, the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021, was introduced during the 117th Congress. Representatives Adam Smith (D-WA) and John Curtis (R-UT) are the House sponsors and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) is the Senate sponsor.
America COMPETES Act Amendment
Prior Versions of the Adoptee Citizenship Act
Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2015 (S.2275/H.R.5454). Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) sponsored the bill in the 114th Congress. The bill did not receive a hearing in its assigned committees.
Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2017 (S.
Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019