Lawyers.com > Understand Your Legal Issue > Family Law > Adoptions > Foreign Adoptions

Foreign adoptions have the potential to be tremendously confusing. You're dealing with multiple countries, several government agencies (including a foreign government and U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services) and often working with an unfamiliar language and culture. Add to this the tremendous cost and potential for heartbreak if something goes awry and it's clearly makes sense to work with an experienced international adoption agency or adoption lawyers who can guide you through the legal and emotional process of adopting a new family member.

Two Types of Intercountry Adoptions

There are two types of international--also known as intercountry--adoptions.

Prospective parents can work with through a U.S. licensed, international adoption agency. The agency will help you find a child and legally adopt a child, and work with you on immigration issues. The agency will usually also offer pre- and post-adoption services, such as your home study and post-adoption visits. Because agencies will only have certain countries in which they work, one-size does not fit all.

In a parent-initiated or direct adoption, the prospective parents work directly with a foreign agency or intermediary to complete the adoption. Because foreign adoption is a legally intricate process, prospective parents who go the direct adoption route are advised to consult with experienced adoption lawyers in the U.S. and the country in which they're adopting.

Requirements for International Adoption

Although foreign adoptions require a lot of legal steps and potentially confusing paperwork, there are several basic U.S. requirements that must be fulfilled to complete an international adoption:

• The prospective parents must successfully complete a home study
• The child must be legally eligible for adoption
• The child must be legally adopted under the laws of the foreign country
• The prospective parents must meet adoption requirements set forth in U.S. immigration law
• The prospective parents must petition U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to allow the child to emigrate to the United States
• The prospective parents must meet all of the legal requirements of their home state

Re-adoption

Once the foreign adoption is complete, and parents have arrived back in the United States with the newest member of their family, there's still an additional factor to consider. Should the parents legally "re-adopt" the child in the U.S.?

If your child was issued an IR-3 visa, federal law does not require you to re-adopt your child in the U.S., though your state's laws may require you to go through re-adoption. If your child was issued an IR-4 visa, you must re-adopt in your home state.

Regardless of whether you're required to re-adopt your child, there are a couple advantages to doing so. First, after re-adoption your state will issue a new, American birth certificate for your child. This may reduce problems in the future, when you or your child is required to produce a birth certificate or obtain certified copies of their birth certificate. Also, you'll have a U.S. judgment order for adoption, and won't have to rely on a foreign adoption judgment and translation. Lastly, you can easily change a child's name when re-adopting your child in your home state.

The Hague Convention

The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption is an international treaty signed by about 70 countries, including the United States. The Convention is designed to strengthen protections for prospective adoptive children, birth parents and prospective adoptive parents. Its goal is prevent the international trafficking of children, and to ensure that each adoption is in the best interest of the child.

As of February 2008, the Convention had not yet been ratified by the United States, but in anticipation of its ratification, federal rules regarding international adoptions between Convention countries are starting to change. If you are contemplating international adoption, ask the adoption agency or your adoption attorney to explain whether the Hague Convention applies to your adoption and how it might affect your adoption.

Related Resources on lawyers.com

- Adoptions articles and information
- State Vital Records
- Find an Adoption attorney
- Things to Discuss with Your Adoption Lawyer
- Adoption Message Board for more help

Web Resources

- State Adoption Statutes from the Child Welfare Information Gateway
- Internation Adoptions from the U.S. Department of State
- Hague Convention Guide for Prospective Adoptive Parents (PDF) from the U.S. State Department
- Inter-Country Adoptions from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services