Reuniting Families Act

Sponsor: Mazie K. Hirono (Democratic-HI)December 10, 2025

AI-generated ?

Report an error

Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Lets more immigrant families reunite, speeds up visa processing, and recognizes permanent partners.

This bill would make it easier for families to reunite in the U.S. by changing immigration rules. It would speed up visa processing, allow more people to apply, and recognize permanent partners in the same way as spouses for immigration benefits. This means more families could live together in the United States.

What Would Change

Today, many family members of lawful permanent residents face long waits for visas due to annual limits and backlogs, and permanent partners are not recognized for most immigration benefits. After this bill, spouses, permanent partners, and minor children of lawful permanent residents would be considered "immediate relatives," allowing them to apply for visas without annual limits. Permanent partners would gain similar immigration rights to spouses, and overall visa processing would aim to be faster.

Key Provisions

Recaptures over 30 years of unused family and employment-based visas to reduce backlogs.
Reclassifies spouses, permanent partners, and minor children of lawful permanent residents as "immediate relatives," removing them from annual visa limits.
Defines "permanent partner" and "permanent partnership" and extends immigration benefits to these relationships, similar to spouses.
Increases the annual number of diversity visas from 55,000 to 80,000 and helps those affected by past travel bans.
Raises country-specific visa limits from 7% to 20% for single countries and 2% to 5% for dependent areas.
Lets certain non-immigrant visa holders (like H-4 spouses and children) get work permits and protects children from "aging out" of status.

View on Congress.gov

S 3419 · 119th Congress · December 10, 2025 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 9/10

Reuniting Families Act

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity