Adoption
The Department of State and its embassies and consulates abroad do not become directly involved in the adoption process, except as it relates to the issuance of visas or the possible defrauding of American citizens by agencies or intermediaries abroad. Visit the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs website for further adoption information. Also visit the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption web pages.
If the adopting parents follow established procedures for foreign adoption they may be temporarily frustrated by the vagaries of transnational bureaucracies, but in the long run they will find that avoiding so-called short cuts will ultimately save time, effort and heartache.
Anticipating Difficulties
American citizens who desire to adopt foreign children should be aware of the numerous problems and pitfalls which may beset them in the natural course of the tedious process of foreign adoptions. The child is a national of a foreign country, even after the adoption is concluded. Consequently, adopting parents should be certain that the procedures they follow in arranging for such an adoption comply with the laws of the foreign country. This is usually accomplished by dealing with a reputable international adoption agency. While consultation with a foreign attorney is sometimes useful, the adopting parents should be wary of anyone who claims to be able to streamline established procedures. Procedural irregularities which sometimes result from an intermediary's desire to speed up the process can result in the foreign government's determination that the adoption is illegal and the refusal of that government to permit the adopting parent to keep the child.
Gray Market Channels
The practice of arranging for adoptions through informal intermediaries has come to be known as the gray market. While such channels do not necessarily involve the buying and selling of babies or kidnapping, instances of such practices have caused many foreign authorities to institute a policy of investigating adoption of their nationals by foreigners. Recent developments in many Inter-American countries illustrate the consequences of adoption through intermediaries.
General Procedures
Generally, American citizens adopting foreign children must obtain a release for the children in accordance with the law of the place where the children reside. This may involve a full-scale adoption or it may be as simple as obtaining a signed consent from the natural parent. Once the Foreign procedures are completed, the child should be able to accompany the adopting parents to the United States, provided they have successfully petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a visa for the child. If no formal adoption was concluded in the foreign country, it will be necessary to adopt the child under the law of the state in which the adopting parents reside. Even if the child was adopted abroad, it may be desirable to re-adopt the child in the U.S. in order to avoid possible future difficulties. Information regarding the laws of a particular state regarding adoption can be obtained from the attorney general of that state or from private counsel. The Revised Uniform Adoption Act of 1972 is currently in effect only in Montana and Oklahoma.
Problems? Who To Contact in the U.S. Government:
Orphan Petition
If your problem concerns approval of a petition for an immigrant visa for a child to come to the United States, contact your regional office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services where you filed your petition.
Visa Issuance
If your problem concerns the issuance of the visa after the petition has been approved, contact the Office of Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520.
Fraud
Any problems experienced by American citizens in dealing with foreign attorneys or adoption agencies regarding competence, gray market activities or illegal practices should be reported to the American embassy or consulate or to the Office of Citizens Consular Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs of the Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520.
Any problems experienced with agencies or intermediaries in the United States should be reported to the investigations Section of your local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; District Attorney or Attorney General's Office; Postal Inspector; Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What Can You Do to Avoid Adoption Problems?
Contact the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services early in the proceedings. Ask for a copy of the INS Form M-249, "The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children".
Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate in the country from which you desire to adopt a child to ascertain if there are any particular problems of which you should be aware.
Demand an accounting of the services for which you are paying an agency or intermediary.
Find out if adoption agencies/intermediaries must be licensed in your state, and if so, whether the one you are working with is licensed. You might also check the Better Business Bureau or the Consumer Affairs or similar office of your District Attorney or Attorney General's office.
Does an Adopted Child Acquire U.S. Citizenship?
U.S. citizenship can be acquired either by birth or by naturalization. In order to acquire U.S. citizenship a child born abroad must be related by blood to the U.S. citizen parent(s) upon whose citizenship the child's claim to citizenship is based. The Department of State has consistently held that an alien child adopted by U.S. citizen parents does not acquire United States citizenship merely by adoption. Application may be made to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for expeditious naturalization of an adopted child.
Are There Any International Agreements on Adoption?
The only existing international agreement on adoption is the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law and Recognition of Decrees to Adoption of 11/15/65 which entered into force on 10/24/78 in the United Kingdom, Austria and Switzerland. The United States, however, is not as yet a party to the Convention. The Organization of American States Tercera Conferencia Especializada Interamericana Sobre Derecho Internacional privado (CIDIP III) has prepared the Inter-American Convention on the Adoption of Minors. The draft Convention provides in part that the courts of a nation in which the adopting parents are habitually resident may grant an adoption decree and that the adopted child's country should not prevent the child from leaving the country after an adoption is granted unthe absence of public order or police reasons. The Convention is not yet in force in any country.
Irish Adoption Authority: The government office responsible for adoptions in Ireland is the Adoption Board, (An Bord Uchtala), Shelbourne House, Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, tel: 353-1-667-1392, fax: 353-1-667-1438.