ICARE Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: continuing resolutionA stopgap law funding the government at existing levels when the annual appropriations bills are not done by October 1.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) S15648-15651)
Intercountry Adoption Reform Act of 2003 or ICARE Act - Establishes an Office of Intercountry Adoptions within the Department of State (DOS). Requires the President to appoint an Ambassador at Large to head the Office.
Transfers to the Office all immigration functions with respect to intercountry adoptions currently performed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to grant automatic U.S. citizenship to internationally adopted children upon entry of a full and final adoption decree (thus dispensing with the need for such children to obtain visas).
Creates a new W nonimmigrant visa category for children traveling to the United States to be adopted by U.S. citizens.
Allows adopted children age 18 or under to claim an exception to immunization requirements for purposes of admissibility (currently limited to those age 10 or under).
Redefines the term "adoptable child."
Requires U.S. citizen adoptive parents to obtain approval of an adoption petition prior to issuance of a W visa or a full and final adoption decree. Provides that such petitions are subject to the terms applicable to orphan petitions. Directs the Ambassador to issue regulations: (1) establishing an expedited reapproval process for families whose prior approvals to adopt have expired; and (2) governing the appeal of petition denials.
Requires the Office to determine whether a child is an adoptable child, pursuant to specified procedures, as a prerequisite to the issuance of a W visa or a full and final adoption decree.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on November 23, 2003. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on November 23, 2003: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S15648-15651)
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 108th Congress (2003-04), 498 of the 8,623 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
DONALD NICKLES (R-OK) introduced it on November 23, 2003, and 12 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 6 Democrats, 6 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on November 23, 2003, 8374 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8374 days ago, on November 23, 2003.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 108th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2005 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIntroduced, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers