§60.14 International Adoption

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§ 60.14 INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION

Each year, thousands of U.S. citizens adopt children from overseas. This is known as intercountry adoption. Intercountry adoption is governed by the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-279, 114 Stat. 825 § 302 (Oct. 6, 2000), codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(b)(1)(E)-(G) (§ 101(b)(1)(E)-(G) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)). Intercountry adoption is a complicated process, and typically involves working with an accredited adoption agency, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the U.S. Department of State (DOS). Finally, for a child to obtain an immigration benefit from an intercountry adoption, the adoption must be finalized prior to the child's 16th birthday, regardless of whether it is finalized abroad or in the United States. There is an exception to this rule for an accompanying sibling.

[1] Three International Adoption Processes

There are three processes available for adopting a child internationally: the orphan process, the Hague process, and the family-based immigrant petition process. Each process involves unique eligibility requirements. This section will provide a brief overview of each process. It is wise to partner with an immigration attorney prior to commencing any of the below processes to confirm that an adoption will be recognized under federal law. It is very common for adoptive parents to seek immigration counsel after finalizing an adoption, only to learn that the adoptee is not recognized as an immediate relative under immigration law and therefore the child has no avenue for obtaining lawful status in the United States.

[a] The Orphan Process

A U.S. citizen who is at least 25 years old or older may adopt an orphan child internationally if the prospective adoptive parent (or parents) establishes that he or she will provide proper parental care to the child, that the child is an "orphan" as defined by U.S. immigration law, that he or she has adopted the child abroad, and that at least one of the adoptive parents saw and observed the child before or during the adoption proceedings, or that he or she will adopt the child in the United States after the child arrives in the United States. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(b)(1)(F) (INA § 101(b)(1)(F)); see also U.S. Dep't of State, FOREIGN AFFAIRS MANUAL (FAM), 9 FAM 502.3-3 (06/22/2020), available at https://fam.state.gov/FAM/09FAM/09FAM050203.html (last visited Aug. 18, 2020).

According to U.S. immigration law, an orphan is a foreign-born child who does not have any parents because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from, both parents; or has a sole 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...