… More on Intercountry Adoptions
When adopting a person from a country other than the USA, Intercountry adoption regulations apply, and these must comply with US immigration authorities, governmental adoption agencies in the country in which the child resides and state adoption laws in the adoptive parents home state.
Most adoptions into the U.S. are from China, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine and Vietnam. An important step in Intercountry Adoption is deciding where to adopt. There are key differences between adoptions from the more than 75 countries that are parties to the Hague Adoption Convention and those that are not.
In all cases, the USCIS determines the prospective adoptive parents’ eligibility to adopt by conducting home studies that include fingerprinting, photos, personal references, verification of employment and verification of health insurance by an adoption service (must be an accredited adoption service provider if adopting from a Hague Convention county).
The adoptive parents’ completed home study is submitted to the USCIS with a Form I-600-A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition or Form I-800-A Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country. A child from a non-Hague convention must be classified as an orphan where as this is not necessary for adoptions from Hague Convention Countries.
The USCIS must determine if the person to be adopted qualifies for entry into the US and this is done by filing Form I-600 for non-Hague countries, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, or Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative for Hague convention countries. Hiring a lawyer in the foreign country may be required in order to carry out legal proceedings concerning the adoption and the legal process varies from county to country. In some counties the adoptive parents will be classified as guardians and the final adoption is completed in the state of residence once the adoptee is brought to the US.
Once the foreign adoption process is complete and the applicants are made guardians or adoptive parents, an application to the US Consulate or Embassy abroad for an IR-3 or IH-3 visa for children adopted abroad or an IR-4 or I-H4 visa for children who will complete their adoptions in the US must be submitted. A visa medical exam must accompany the visa application.
An interview will be granted with a Consular or embassy official and the adoptive parents must attend and bring documentation including proof of US Citizenship, proof of marital status, a favorable home study report, USCIS Notification of I-600A or I-800A approval, final adoption decree or proof of custody from the child’s country of origin, the child’s birth certificate (the child must be under age 16 or the sibling of another child being adopted who is under age 16), the child’s passport, the medical exam report, police, and prison records, visa photographs, Form DS-230 visa application and completed I-600 or I-800 petition.
After the visa is approved and the child enters the US, the adoptive parents may complete the adoption process in their home state if they have been granted guardian status, and the adoptive parents may apply for US citizenship for their child. The US Child Citizenship Act has expedited this process for children adopted form foreign countries.
List of Hague Convention Countries*
| Albania | Estonia | New Zealand |
| Andorra | Finland | Norway |
| Armenia | France | Panama |
| Australia | Georgia | Paraguay |
| Austria | Germany | Peru |
| Azerbaijan | Greece | Philippines |
| Belarus | Guatemala | Poland |
| Belgium | Guinea | Portugal |
| Belize | Hungary | Romania |
| Bolivia | Iceland | San Marino |
| Brazil | India | Seychelles |
| Bulgaria | Israel | Slovakia |
| Burkina Faso | Italy | Slovenia |
| Burundi | Kenya | South Africa |
| Cambodia | Latvia | Spain |
| Canada | Liechtenstein | Sri Lanka |
| Cape Verde | Lithuania | Sweden |
| Chile | Luxembourg | Switzerland |
| China (and Hong Kong) | Macedonia | Thailand |
| Colombia | Madagascar | Togo |
| Costa Rica | Malta | Turkey |
| Cuba | Mali | United Kingdom |
| Cyprus | Mauritius | Uruguay |
| Czech Republic | Mexico | Venezuela |
| Denmark | Moldova | |
| Dominican Republic | Monaco | |
| Ecuador | Mongolia | |
| El Salvador | Netherlands |
* From US Department of State website located at http://www.adoption.state.gov
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