Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?

Series: Factsheets for Families

Author(s): Child Welfare Information Gateway

Year Published: 2009

Meeting Immigration and Citizenship Requirements

What You Should Know

There may be additional actions required by U.S. immigration law, State law, your child's country of origin, or your adoption provider before or after you bring your child home. Requirements will vary depending on the type of immigrant visa your child received (see box). Your adoption provider can tell you more about what must be done in your specific case.

You may need to:

Submit postplacement reports and pictures. Not all countries require follow-up reports; some require annual reports for 5 years or longer. Ensuring these reports get filed in a timely manner helps foster positive relationships between the United States and your child's country of origin, paving the way for future intercountry adoptions.
Readopt your child in a U.S. court and obtain a U.S. birth certificate. It is generally a good idea to readopt if your child is not from a Convention country. If your child is from a Convention country, readoption is not required. See the Readoption section of the Information Gateway website for more information on State laws and why readopting in the United States may be beneficial in some cases: www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/types/intercountry/readoption.cfm.
Obtain proof of your child's U.S. citizenship. A Certificate of Citizenship issued by USCIS, or a U.S. passport, provides proof of U.S. citizenship for children who become citizens through adoption (see box).
Obtain a Social Security Number for your child. The Social Security Administration will assign your child a social security number before you obtain proof of U.S. citizenship; however, you will need to provide proof that a full and final adoption has been completed. Records will not show your child is a U.S. citizen until you provide this proof.

Proof of Citizenship
A Certificate of Citizenship issued by USCIS or a U.S. passport issued by the U.S. Department of State provides proof of U.S. citizenship for children who become citizens through adoption. This is different from the certificate provided with Convention adoptions, issued at the time of adoption and affixed to the foreign adoption decree by the U.S. Department of State, stating that the adoption is in compliance with the Convention. For more information about Convention adoptions, see the Information Gateway factsheet Intercountry Adoption From Hague Convention and Non-Hague Convention Countries at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/hague.cfm. The process for obtaining the Certificate of Citizenship depends on the type of visa your child was issued. Ask your agency which type of visa your child was issued, or check the stamp in his or her passport. IR-3 Visa: A child with a full and final adoption in his or her country of origin, entering the United States on an IR-3 visa, generally automatically becomes a citizen upon entering the country. In these cases, the child will receive a Certificate of Citizenship from USCIS within 45 days of entering the United States. (There are exceptions to this process for U.S. military employees and those who work for the U.S. Department of State.) IR-4 Visa: If your child entered the United States on an IR-4 visa, you must finalize your child's adoption in a U.S. court to satisfy Child Citizenship Act requirements (unless the child was officially adopted in the child's country and the child's State of residence in the United States recognizes the foreign adoption without a requirement to readopt). Your child automatically will become a U.S. citizen on the day the adoption is finalized in the United States provided the child is under the age of 18 on the date of adoption. You may then apply for a Certificate of Citizenship by submitting Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship and the filing fee to the local USCIS district office or suboffice (www.uscis.gov/n-600). It is possible to obtain a passport from the State Department (http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html) for a child before receiving the Certificate of Citizenship, but the adoption must be full and final according to Federal law. The "full effect" of a foreign adoption decree means that adoptive parents and adopted children have the same rights and obligations as they would have if a State court had issued the adoption decree.

Proof of Citizenship

A Certificate of Citizenship issued by USCIS or a U.S. passport issued by the U.S. Department of State provides proof of U.S. citizenship for children who become citizens through adoption. This is different from the certificate provided with Convention adoptions, issued at the time of adoption and affixed to the foreign adoption decree by the U.S. Department of State, stating that the adoption is in compliance with the Convention. For more information about Convention adoptions, see the Information Gateway factsheet Intercountry Adoption From Hague Convention and Non-Hague Convention Countries at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/hague.cfm.

The process for obtaining the Certificate of Citizenship depends on the type of visa your child was issued. Ask your agency which type of visa your child was issued, or check the stamp in his or her passport.

IR-3 Visa: A child with a full and final adoption in his or her country of origin, entering the United States on an IR-3 visa, generally automatically becomes a citizen upon entering the country. In these cases, the child will receive a Certificate of Citizenship from USCIS within 45 days of entering the United States. (There are exceptions to this process for U.S. military employees and those who work for the U.S. Department of State.)
IR-4 Visa: If your child entered the United States on an IR-4 visa, you must finalize your child's adoption in a U.S. court to satisfy Child Citizenship Act requirements (unless the child was officially adopted in the child's country and the child's State of residence in the United States recognizes the foreign adoption without a requirement to readopt). Your child automatically will become a U.S. citizen on the day the adoption is finalized in the United States provided the child is under the age of 18 on the date of adoption. You may then apply for a Certificate of Citizenship by submitting Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship and the filing fee to the local USCIS district office or suboffice (www.uscis.gov/n-600).

It is possible to obtain a passport from the State Department (http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html) for a child before receiving the Certificate of Citizenship, but the adoption must be full and final according to Federal law. The "full effect" of a foreign adoption decree means that adoptive parents and adopted children have the same rights and obligations as they would have if a State court had issued the adoption decree.

Some Places to Go

The Social Security Administration provides information on how to prove citizenship for an adopted child: www.ssa.gov/immigration/children.htm.

The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 provides that foreign-born children who have been admitted for permanent resident status in the United States and adopted by a U.S. citizen parent living in the United States automatically become U.S. citizens as soon as the requirements of the Act are met. Find more about the requirements of the Act on the Citizenship section of the USCIS website: http://www.uscis.gov/citizenship.

Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship, can be found on the USCIS website:
www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/? vgnextoid=a936cac09aa5d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

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Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?

Meeting Immigration and Citizenship Requirements

What You Should Know

Some Places to Go

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