The immigration adoption path to becoming a permanent resident green card holder.
The requirements and process for immigration adoption from another country vary based on the type of adoption you wish to perform. There are two types of immigration adoption process, The Hague Process and the Orphan Process. If the country that you are adopting from is a member of the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention you should use the Hague Process. If the country you are adopting from is not part of the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention you should use the Orphan Process.
The Hague Process of Immigration Adoption
To perform an international immigration adoption under the Hague Process you must first hire a Hague accredited Adoption Service Provider to provide adoption services and assist the prospective adoptive parents with the Hague adoption. Once this is done you must have a home visit conducted by a party that is authorized to conduct a Hague Adoption Home Study.
The next step in getting your immigration adoption is to file a Form I-800a to determine eligibility to adopt. To be eligible to adopt under the Hague process you must be a U.S. citizen and habitually reside in the United States. If you are married your spouse must also intend to adopt any child you adopt. If you are not married, you must be at least 24 years old when filing I-800a. An important caution at this stage is not to accept any adoption placement until the USCIS has approved your tour I-800a and to refrain from contact with the child’s legal custodians until contact is approved under Article 29 of the convention. The USCIS process can be very complex. There are immigration attorneys in Springfield Va, that can provide comprehensive advice on both the Hague Adoption process and the Orphan Process, located in close proximity to Alexandria, Arlington and Washington D.C.. Hiring an immigration lawyer to help file your Form I-800 and I- 800a and work with accredited Adoption Service Providers is a good way to streamline an international adoption.
Next you must file with the central immigration adoption authority of the country you are adopting from. This process varies depending on the country. If the child has been determined eligible for intercountry adoption by the Central Authority and obtained all necessary consents for adoption you can move forward.
Form I-800 Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country
Next you must file a form I-800 immigration adoption. This form classifies the adoptee as an immediate relative. If you are married you must be at least 25 to file this form. In order for the child to be eligible they must be under the age of 16 at the time of filing Form I-800 and habitually reside in a Convention Country. If you are married, your spouse must also sign the Form I-800 and adopt the child. There is an exception for children up to age 18 to be adopted if they are the sibling of another child under 16 who is also being adopted. For more information on this see the International Adoption Simplification Act of 2010, Public Law 111-287, amended section 101(b)(1)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Link to I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative
Link to I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country
Completing the Immigration Adoption
Once USCIS approves the application, work with the adoption service provider to obtain a proposed adoption placement. Once this is done file a “petition” with USCIS, before adopting the child, to have the child to be found eligible to immigrate to the United States based on the proposed adoption (I-130). Then adopt the child, or obtain custody of the child in order to adopt the child in the United States. Next obtain an immigrant visa for the child (I-485). Then you can bring the child to the United States with the visa. For help filing Form I-800 hiring an Immigration Attorney located in Springfield Va, just minutes from Woodbridge, Lorton and Annandale can be helpful.
The Orphan Process of Immigration Adoption
The other international immigration adoption process is the Orphan Process for adopting from non-Hague Convention countries. The Orphan process is very similar to The Hague Process in many ways. The Primary distinction is that you must file an I-600 instead of the I-800a and the I-800 and you must establish that the adoptive child is an orphan.
To adopt under the orphan process you must be a U.S. citizen. If you are unmarried you must be at least 25 and if you are married your spouse must also be willing to adopt and sign your I-600 with you.
The next step is to establish that you can take proper care of the child. This can be established by conducting a home study. To establish your ability to provide proper parental care, you must submit a home study completed by someone authorized to complete an adoption home study in your home State (or anywhere in the United States, if you adopt the child while residing abroad).The home study preparer must complete the home study according to the standards established in DHS regulations.
Next you need to establish that the child whom you have adopted or plan to adopt is an “orphan” as defined in U.S. immigration law. Under U.S. Immigration law an orphan is classified as a child that does not have any parents because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, separation from, or loss from, both parents, or a child that has a sole or surviving parent who is unable to care for the child, consistent with the local standards of the foreign sending country, and who has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption.
Then you need to establish that you (and your spouse, if married) have adopted the child abroad, and that at least 1 of you personally saw and observed the child before or during the adoption proceedings or that you will adopt the child in the United States after the child arrives in the United States (you must have permission to bring the child out of his or her own country and to the United States for adoption). Verifying that the child has been adopted varies from country to country.
Form I-600 Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative
If you meet all of these qualifications you would then file an I-600 petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative. USCIS will review both your suitability as an adoptive parent and the child’s status as an orphan. If the UCIS approves your I-600 you can then apply for a visa for your adopted child and bring them to the United States. In order for the child to be eligible for adoption the child must be under 16 years old by the time you file your I-600. There is an exception for prospective adoptive children up to 18 years of age if they are the sibling of another adoptive child who is under 16. Hiring an immigration attorney is a good idea to help filing your I-600 and avoiding denials and delays. There are immigration lawyers located in Springfield that can help with international adoption matters located in Springfield that can help with your Orphan adoption.
An important note concerning both Hague and Orphan adoptions is that the adoption and visa application can often be denied based on a medical illness in the child or lack of vaccinations.
Link to
I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative https://www.uscis.gov/i-600
The following is a list of Hague Convention countries
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Cape Verde
- Chile
- China (and Hong Kong)
- Colombia
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Haiti
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Latvia
- Lesotho
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macedonia
- Madagascar
- Mali
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Rwanda
- San Marino
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Togo
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- Uruguay
- Zambia
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
Link to I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative
Link to I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country
Link to I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative
