|
 PETITIONING
AN ADOPTED CHILD
by Michael J. Gurfinkel
Many people adopt children from relatives, friends,
or strangers and want to petition those children. Some of these
people are met with disappointment, when the INS denies the petition,
or the Embassy refuses to issue a visa to the adopted child.
Some of the basic requirements for petitioning an
adopted child are:
The child must have been adopted while under
16 years of age. It must be an official adoption, with either
a final adoption decree, or other official document in the form
of a custody award by a Court or recognized governmental agency.
The final decree must be issued prior to the child's 16th
birthday.
An informal adoption will not meet this requirement.
For example, someone leaves a child at your doorstep, or you,
as an aunt or grandmother, agree to simply raise the child without
formal proceedings. Your acknowledgment of the child will not
be enough. An official adoption must take place.
The adopting parents must have at least 2 years
of legal custody, and the child must have resided with
the adopting parents for at least 2 years (or 2 years of physical
custody). This 2-year residency (or physical custody) with the
child can take place at any time, even before the adoption. But,
there must be a full two years of residency with the child. This
requirement is also satisfied when custody and residence is with
only one of the adopting parents, i.e. with the grandmother,
but not the grandfather.
When an adopted child continues to live with both
his or her natural parents and the adopting parents, the
Immigration and Naturalization Service will investigate into the
bona fides of the adoption, especially where the adoptive parents
are relatives. The adoptive parents must prove to the INS that
they exercise primary parental control over the child.
In many cases, there are "relative adoptions,"
such as where the U.S. Citizen grandparent adopts the grandchild,
but the child continues living with the natural mother. The INS
or Embassy many times view these as "adoptions of convenience",
and may not approve the petition or issue the visa.
Many cases which were denied involve situations
where the adopting parents have not met the 2-year legal custody/residence
requirement, or where the child continues living with the natural
parents. That is why it is very important that you present substantial
evidence documenting that you, as the adoptive parents, exercised
primary parental control.
In some cases, people are able to avoid the 2-year
legal custody/residence requirement, if the child is considered
an "orphan". In the case of an orphan, it only
needs to be established that the child is adopted abroad or coming
to the US for adoption. In the case of an orphan, the child has
to be under 16 years of age, and the child must have been orphaned
by reason of death, abandonment, and/or desertion, separation,
or loss of both parents. If one parent is still around, the only
requirement is that parent must be incapable of providing proper
care and irrevocably releases the child in writing.
As you can see, there are numerous steps, procedures,
and requirements for petitioning an adopted child. You will have
the best chances at success if you meet these requirements. However,
if you think you may encounter some problems, I would recommend
that you seek the advise of a reputable attorney, who can advise
you of the strengths and weaknesses of your case, or perhaps assist
you in presenting documentation, to increase the chances of your
success in petitioning your adopted child.
Back
to Main
|
