This legislation, known as the Child Marriage Prevention Act of 2026, seeks to comprehensively address and eliminate 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 stability, and increasing vulnerability to abuse and poverty. The bill recognizes that a patchwork of state laws continues to put children at risk and that child marriage can be facilitated through the immigration system. A **National Commission to Combat Child Marriage in the United States** is established within the Department of Health and Human Services. This Commission will conduct a comprehensive study on child marriage, including applicable laws, prevalence, and the extent of such marriages over the past five years in each state. It will review existing evaluations and submit a report outlining effective strategies to eliminate child marriage, including policy recommendations, to Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The bill mandates **Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports** to further assess child marriage. One report will detail federal and state laws, the extent of child marriages over a five-year period, and research on common circumstances, risk factors, and impacts on minors. Another report, to be submitted biennially until 2035, will specifically assess the extent to which noncitizens under 18 years of age are admitted to the United States as beneficiaries of spousal or fiancée visa petitions. To encourage state action, the bill authorizes a **grant program for State Task Forces** to examine child marriage. Eligible states, defined as those permitting marriage for individuals under 18, can receive competitive grants to establish task forces. These task forces will collect statewide statistics, examine risk factors and negative impacts, and develop policy recommendations to protect minors from child marriage and forced or coerced marriages. Furthermore, the legislation provides **state incentives to eliminate child marriage** by offering increased funding for certain federal formula grants, such as the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant and the Sexual Assault Services Program. States that enact laws prohibiting marriage for individuals under 18 years of age (or the state's age of majority) will be eligible for up to a 10 percent increase in these grant amounts. Additionally, the bill prohibits the use of federal property to facilitate marriages where either individual is under 18 years of age. The Department of Justice is directed to establish a working group to promulgate a **model State statute** that prohibits child marriage by requiring individuals to be at least 18 years old at the time of marriage. This model statute would also allow individuals married as minors to petition for voiding the marriage and restrict adult parties from voiding such marriages. Significant **modifications to immigration provisions relating to marriage** are also included, establishing age requirements for K visas, immediate relatives, and spouses of lawful permanent residents, generally requiring both parties to be at least 18 years old at the time of marriage or petition filing, with limited humanitarian exceptions for those aged 16 or 17. The bill also requires public education campaigns by the Departments of Homeland Security and State on these changes and the harms of child marriage.