1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting Children Through Eliminating Visa Loopholes Act . 2. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the laws of the United States and the policies of the Department of State aim to prevent and reduce the risks of child marriages, sex trafficking, and sexual abuse occurring throughout the world; (2) major loopholes in Federal law have allowed thousands of minors to be subjected to child marriages; (3) under the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.)— (A) a United States citizen child may petition for an immigrant visa for a spouse or fiancé living in another country; and (B) a United States citizen adult may petition for an immigrant visa for a minor spouse or fiancé living abroad; (4) the United States Government has advocated for preventing and reducing the occurrence of child marriages throughout the world; (5) Congress passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 ( Public Law 113–4 ), which requires the Secretary of State to establish and implement a multiyear strategy— (A) to prevent child marriages ; and (B) to promote the empowerment of girls at risk of child marriage in developing countries ; (6) acknowledges that although the Federal Government is limited in its ability to address child marriage within individual States, establishing a minimum age of 18 years for marriage-based and fiancé-based immigrant visa petitions is an immediate and viable solution for preventing child marriage through exploitation of the United States immigration system; (7) affirms that child well being is a foremost priority and consideration when imposing strict age requirements for visa spousal and fiancé petitions within the United States immigration system; (8) recognizes that under the current immigration legal framework, individuals may exploit visa marriage and fiancé petitions for nefarious purposes, including— (A) coercing forced marriages; and (B) the trafficking and abuse of children