Blunt, Collins unveil bill to fix loophole denying citizenship for legal international adoptees

U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Susan Collins (R-ME) recently proposed a bipartisan bill that would provide automatic United States citizenship for certain internationally adopted individuals. 

Sen. Blunt on March 25 sponsored the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021, S. 967, with five original cosponsors including Sen. Collins and U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), to close a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 that has prevented internationally adopted children, who are now adults, from receiving U.S. citizenship despite being raised by American parents, according to the lawmakers’ offices.

“Adults who were adopted from abroad as children and raised in the U.S. by American parents should not be penalized because of the arbitrary age cutoff in the Child Citizenship Act,” Sen. Blunt said. “For many of these adults, the United States is the only home they have ever known. They have built their lives, contributed to their communities, and raised families of their own. It is simply unreasonable for them not to be able to obtain U.S. citizenship and the rights that come with it.”

The existing law guarantees citizenship to most international adoptees, but only applies to adoptees who were under the age of 18 when it took effect in February 2001, in turn, denying citizenship to adoptees who were age 18 or over at that time even though they were legally adopted as children by U.S. citizens and raised in America.

If enacted, S. 967 would make citizenship automatic for international adoptees who were legally adopted by U.S. citizens as children, regardless of how old they were when the Child Citizenship Act took effect.

“It is simply not right that international adoptees who were legally adopted in the United States are being denied citizenship due to a loophole in current law,” said Sen. Collins. “Our bipartisan bill would address this loophole to allow these individuals to finally become American citizens. I encourage our colleagues to support it.”

The bill is supported by the Adoptee Rights Campaign, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the National Council For Adoption, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Impacted Adoptee, the Center for Adoption Policy, the Family Coalition for Adoptee Citizenship, and Holt International.

“Without citizenship, adoptees grow into adulthood, unable to pursue their dreams and lack a sustainable way forward,” said Joy Alessi, director of the Adoptee Rights Campaign. “The Adoptee Citizenship Act is a simple solution to ensuring that all adopted Americans are treated equally.”