# 119-s-2886: America’s CHILDREN Act of 2025

119-s-2886, America’s CHILDREN Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA); status introduced (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2886
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-2886
- Congress: 119
- Title: America’s CHILDREN Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-09-18
- Sponsor: Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 11
- Policy area: Immigration
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

**Creates a pathway to lawful permanent resident status for certain college graduates who arrived in the United States as children.** It would let qualifying people who were lawfully present as dependent children of employed nonimmigrants and who meet lawful-presence and graduation rules apply for permanent residence, while also protecting child status and priority dates for their families. - College graduates who entered as dependents: People who were dependents of nonimmigrants admitted to work for an aggregate of at least 8 years, who have at least 10 years of lawful presence, and who graduated from a U.S. institution could seek classification under a new 201(b)(1)(F) and file a petition under a new 204(a)(1)(M). - Dependents and families: The bill creates age-out protections and detailed rules for when someone counts as a child based on petition or labor certification filing dates. It also modifies derivative beneficiary rules and provides employment authorization for derivative dependents. - Process and priority rules: It lets applicants retain the earliest priority date tied to an initial petition or labor certification for the principal and all derivatives, and it adds a motion-to-reopen option with a two-year window for cases that would have turned out differently under the amendments. Motions to reopen are exempt from numerical visa limits.

## Cosponsors (11)

- Sen. Paul, Rand [R-KY] (R-KY), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME] (R-ME), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND] (R-ND), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Curtis, John R. [R-UT] (R-UT), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] (R-IA), 2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2026-02-03T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Child age and priority date rules: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would change how 'child' age is set for employment-based petitions and later visa or adjustment applications. Age would be the earlier of the date the petition is filed with DHS or the date a labor certification is filed with DOL. If you do not seek a green card within 2 years…
- Dependent child status and work rules: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would change rules for derivative dependent children. Eligibility for derivative child status would follow the special child rule in INA 101(b)(6). Some people who are children under that rule could change or extend dependent nonimmigrant status even if married, if they otherwi…
- Green card path for long-term dependents: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would create a new green-card path for some people who entered the U.S. as children. You would qualify if you were lawfully present as a dependent of an employment-authorized nonimmigrant for at least 8 aggregate years, have at least 10 years aggregate lawful presence when you…
- Reopen denied petitions and exempt visas: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would let people ask DHS or the Attorney General to reopen denied petitions or applications if the decision would have been different under the child-status changes. You must have been in the United States when the original petition was filed. Motions must be filed no later tha…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.
- 119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham, a Senator from the State of South Carolina.
- 119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former Senator for the State of Michigan.
- 119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for the State of California.

## Sources
- [119-s-2886 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2886)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [119-sres-801: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable Lindsey Olin Graham,…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-801)
- [119-sres-755: A resolution honoring the life of the Honorable Donald W. Riegle, Jr., former S…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-755)
- [119-sres-739: A resolution honoring the life and legacy of John Seymour, the late Senator for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-739)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2886 (as of 2026-08-11).