This legislation, known as the Child Marriage Prevention Act of 2026, aims to comprehensively combat child marriage across the United States. It is based on findings that over 314,000 minors were married between 2000 and 2021, leading to significant negative impacts on education, health, economic well-being, and increasing vulnerability to violence and poverty. The bill highlights how child marriage can facilitate abuse, limit legal options for minors, and is sometimes enabled through the immigration system, despite a growing movement among states to set the minimum marriage age at 18 without exceptions. A central provision establishes the National Commission to Combat Child Marriage in the United States within the Department of Health and Human Services. This 10-member commission, including child marriage survivors and experts, is tasked with conducting a comprehensive study on child marriage laws, prevalence, and effective strategies for elimination. The Commission will submit interim and final reports to Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, outlining findings and recommending policy, regulatory, and legislative changes. The bill also mandates the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to produce two types of reports. One report will detail federal and state laws, the extent of child marriages over the past five years, and research on the circumstances and impacts of such marriages, including risks like forced marriage, abuse, and human trafficking. The second, recurring report will assess the extent to which noncitizens under 18 at the time of marriage are admitted to the U.S. via spousal or fiancé visas, examining the ages of petitioners and beneficiaries and the basis for approvals. To encourage state-level action, the bill creates a grant program for eligible states that still permit individuals under 18 to marry. These grants will fund state task forces to collect statistics, examine risk factors and negative impacts of child marriage, and develop policy recommendations. Additionally, states that enact laws prohibiting marriage for individuals under 18 (or the state's age of majority) will receive increased funding , up to 10 percent, under certain federal formula grants like the STOP Violence Against Women and Sexual Assault Services Programs. Further federal limitations include a prohibition on using federal property to facilitate marriages where either party is under 18. The Department of Justice is directed to establish a working group to promulgate a model state statute that prohibits child marriage, allows minors married as children to void their marriages, and restricts adult spouses from voiding such marriages. These measures aim to create a consistent legal framework across the nation. Significant modifications are made to immigration provisions , generally requiring both the U.S. citizen/lawful permanent resident petitioner and the noncitizen spouse/fiancé to be at least 18 years old at the time of marriage and visa application. Limited exceptions exist for noncitizens aged 16 or 17 with compelling humanitarian reasons, excluding factors like parental consent or shared children. The bill also mandates separate, private interviews for all parties in spousal or fiancé visa petitions where at least one party was under 18 at the time of marriage, and requires extensive public education campaigns by the Departments of Homeland Security and State on these changes and the harms of child marriage, including updates to advisory pamphlets and immigration forms.