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Rep. Steel Cosponsors Bipartisan Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021

March 16, 2021

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Michelle Steel (CA-48) has cosponsored the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021 (H.R. 1593), which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Adam Smith (WA-09) and John Curtis (UT-03). The legislation currently has 19 bipartisan cosponsors, and Rep. Steel is working to encourage more Members of Congress to support this important bill.

H.R. 1593 would provide U.S. citizenship to international adoptees who were brought to the U.S. as children but were never granted citizenship. This bipartisan bill would close a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA), which has prevented internationally adopted children, who are now adults, from receiving U.S. citizenship despite being raised and legally adopted by American parents.

“For so many of these adoptees, the U.S. is the only country they have called home. But the current law has separated families and caused heartbreak for so many. It’s important that we close this loophole and help reunite these families with their children,” said Rep. Steel.

When the CCA took effect in 2001, it eliminated the need for many adoptive families to gain citizenship for their adopted children. But the law only applied to those who were under the age of 18 and did not retroactively apply to adoptees. H.R. 1593 would fix this gap in the law and confirm adoptees’ U.S. citizenship, regardless of when they were adopted or their age at the time the original law passed.

You can learn more about this critical legislation here.

This legislation is endorsed by: Adoptee Rights Campaign, Korean American Grassroots Conference, National Council For Adoption (NCFA), National Immigration Forum, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, NAKASEC, The Niskanen Center, Adoptees for Justice, Adoptee Advocates, Family Coalition for Adoptee Citizenship, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Center for Adoption Policy, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

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