S. 2886 — Protecting Children of Long-Term Visa Holders Act of 2025

This section amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a new category of immediate relatives (i.e., not subject to numerical limits on family-sponsored immigrant visas) for aliens who (1) are not inadmissible under INA §212(a) or deportable under INA §237(a), (2) were lawfully present in the United States as dependent children of certain nonimmigrant employment-based visa holders (excluding diplomats, international organization staff, certain family of special immigrants, and informant visa holders) for an aggregate of at least eight years, (3) have been lawfully present for an aggregate of at least 10 years on the application date, and (4) have graduated from an institution of higher education (as defined in section 102(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965). It further authorizes such aliens to self-petition the Department of Homeland Security for immediate relative classification.

This section establishes age-out protections by amending INA §101(b) (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)) to add a new paragraph (6) specifying that an alien's age as a "child" (i.e., under 21 years old) for family-sponsored or employment-based petitions under INA §204 (8 U.S.C. 1153) and subsequent visa or adjustment applications is determined using the alien's age on the earlier of the petition filing date or labor certification filing date under INA §212(a)(5)(A)(i) (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)(A)(i)); (2) providing that certain long-term dependent children of nonimmigrants (i.e., in valid employment-eligible status, excluding A, G, N, or S visas, for an aggregate of 8 years before age 21) use their parent's initial filing date; and (3) requiring biological age if the alien does not seek permanent resident status within 2 years of visa availability unless due to extraordinary circumstances. It further revises INA §201(f) (8 U.S.C. 1151(f)) by replacing the subsection heading and paragraph (3) with a new "Rule for Determining Whether Certain Aliens are Immediate Relatives," striking paragraph (4), and making these changes effective as if included in the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA; P.L. 107-208); it also authorizes motions to reopen or reconsider certain prior denials within 2 years of enactment if they would have been approved under the new rule, exempting approvals from worldwide numerical limits under INA §§201-203 (8 U.S.C. 1151-1153). This section adds new INA §214(s) (8 U.S.C. 1184(s)) permitting derivative beneficiaries of approved or pending INA §204 petitions to qualify as dependent nonimmigrant children based on INA §101(b)(6), allowing long-term dependents under that provision to change or extend status notwithstanding marriage, and authorizing employment incident to such status. This section revises INA §203(h) (8 U.S.C. 1153(h)) on priority date retention by (1) defining an individual's priority date as the filing date of the earliest petition under INA §204 (8 U.S.C. 1153) or preceding labor certification; and (2) requiring the principal beneficiary and derivatives to retain that date for any subsequent approved petition (striking prior paragraphs (1)-(4) and redesignating paragraph (5) as (3)). (Thus, these changes prevent loss of place in visa queues due to category switches or processing delays.)