This legislation establishes a new category for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status under the Immigration and Nationality Act, specifically for certain individuals who grew up in the United States as dependent children of nonimmigrants. To qualify, an applicant must have been lawfully present as a dependent child of an employment-based nonimmigrant for at least eight years and have maintained lawful presence in the U.S. for a total of ten years at the time of application. Additionally, applicants must have graduated from a U.S. institution of higher education and not be inadmissible or deportable.

The bill introduces significant age-out protections for dependent children of nonimmigrants, retroactively applying these changes as if they were part of the Child Status Protection Act. For long-term dependents who spent at least eight years in the U.S. as a child of an employment-based nonimmigrant before turning 21, their age for immigration purposes will be determined by the filing date of their parent's initial nonimmigrant employment-based petition. This crucial provision prevents these individuals from losing their eligibility for immigration benefits simply by turning 21 while their parents' applications are pending. The legislation also allows for motions to reopen or reconsider previously denied petitions or applications if they would have been approved under these new rules, exempting such cases from numerical immigration limitations.

Furthermore, the bill permits these long-term dependent children to maintain or extend their nonimmigrant dependent status, even if they marry, and grants them employment authorization incident to their status. It also reforms priority date retention rules, ensuring that both principal and derivative beneficiaries can retain the earliest priority date from any approved petition or labor certification. This means that children who age out or transition to different immigration categories can still benefit from their parents' original priority date, significantly shortening their wait times for permanent residency.