Step daughter adoption

[DaveE 178]

Heck nobody argues on VJ, (except in P&R). If she is not eligible for citizenship, so be it, although it would have been nice. I wasn't going to get the citizenship paper in any case, only the passport. When complete I am still sending off for the passport just to see what happens.

The bolded part of your comments about the instructions for the form N-600, (2e/f) don't talk about adopted prior to 16, they talk about "legitimated" by a biological parent prior to 16, a completely different issue.

Thanks for caring\\

Dave

[bowgirl 8]

After all the DIY success I have had in the immigration process, I wanted to jump to the next level. My step daughter asked me to adopt her as she is the only one with a different last name. She just turned 16, and I was so honored that she asked me to go forward with it.

Every attorney in the local area wanted around $4000 for their expertise. I said why not try to do it ourselves, how much harder than immigration paperwork can it be. Well we studied the laws on step child adoption, researched the necessary forms and procedures, and went to work. We thought we were pretty thorough so we took our package to the county court house and filed. The filing fee was $205, and the clerk said she had never seen anyone try an adoption without an attorney. She also said that if the Judge rejected our forms that our filing fee would not be refunded.

We waited almost a month and nothing from the court, (I thought we had messed up big time). While in California on business two weeks ago, I got an email from my step daughter saying that we had gotten a letter from the court, and attached a scanned copy.

The letter basically had two provisions. First, on August 20th, my step daughter and wife have to meet the judge to discuss the adoption, (and to make sure it is what they want). Secondly, my step daughter must affirm (sign), in the presence of the court, a document that states that she wants to be adopted. This is a requirement in Georgia for any child over 14. My step daughter just turned 16.

Second paragraph of the letter says that all of us must be in court on September 6th to finalize the adoption. What is neat is that he waived the publication order, and the home study order, thus saving a bunch of time.

As soon as the adoption is final, she becomes a US citizen and can apply for her passport under the Child Citizenship Act.

Poor mom, she will have to remove conditions alone, and her daughter will beat her to Citizenship by over a year.

I am stoked.

Congratulations! I really hope we can do the same process here in Maryland. My husband wants to adopt my 4 year old daughter also but we're in a tight budget so we cannot afford the fees right now. But I'm gonna start researching about the process and see if we can do it on our own like what you did. Thank you for posting.

beth

[MayLiana72 2]

Dave, you know what? Your daughter is already has the main benefit - you! You are a good father.

I hope the adoption will go smooth. Good luck!

[PSM 8]

Dave, you know what? Your daughter is already has the main benefit - you! You are a good father.

I hope the adoption will go smooth. Good luck!

Exactly!

[NickD 202]

So the other biological parent is not an issue in the Philippines? Assume there is another biological parent, my understanding that virgin births are not that common. Did adopt a one and two year old, new birth certificate showed us as the biological parents. Were born in the USA, but not in our town, used the town they were born in.

So wonder if your new birth certificate would reflect that as well. Never asked a friend that just adopted a baby girl from Ethiopia as to what her birth certificate says, will ask him later today. Seems ironic to me the really big deal the USCIS and the DOS makes of your place of birth. None of us had a choice in that. As a natural born US citizen, never had to make an oath to serve this country, well did when I was drafted into the military. Ha, was either that or going to jail, so wonder how valid that oath is. Immigrants make that oath freely, but still have to live with their place of birth. Especially if your home country demands you maintain your citizenship and requires you to have a passport of that country to visit your family.

So very curious what your new adopted daughter's birth certificate will look like.

When I met my wife, her ex abandoned his daughter, my stepdaughter now seven years before we met. But Venezuelan courts were only interested in his rights regardless of the conditions. Only counter we had to get his permission to bring her here was to forgive seven years of unpaid child support payments with another five to go.

See on other sections of this board, marriages with kids involved don't work out, but can develop a strong relationship with the kids even with problems with the parent of those kids. But if that parent goes, so do the kids. No consideration for the emotional stress those kids must go through. Really a crazy fouled up system in my opinion. Came to the conclusion when dealing with these self-proclaimed government agencies, the word family is not even a small part of their vocabulary.

[DaveE 178]

So the other biological parent is not an issue in the Philippines? Assume there is another biological parent, my understanding that virgin births are not that common. Did adopt a one and two year old, new birth certificate showed us as the biological parents. Were born in the USA, but not in our town, used the town they were born in.

So wonder if your new birth certificate would reflect that as well. Never asked a friend that just adopted a baby girl from Ethiopia as to what her birth certificate says, will ask him later today. Seems ironic to me the really big deal the USCIS and the DOS makes of your place of birth. None of us had a choice in that. As a natural born US citizen, never had to make an oath to serve this country, well did when I was drafted into the military. Ha, was either that or going to jail, so wonder how valid that oath is. Immigrants make that oath freely, but still have to live with their place of birth. Especially if your home country demands you maintain your citizenship and requires you to have a passport of that country to visit your family.

So very curious what your new adopted daughter's birth certificate will look like.

When I met my wife, her ex abandoned his daughter, my stepdaughter now seven years before we met. But Venezuelan courts were only interested in his rights regardless of the conditions. Only counter we had to get his permission to bring her here was to forgive seven years of unpaid child support payments with another five to go.

See on other sections of this board, marriages with kids involved don't work out, but can develop a strong relationship with the kids even with problems with the parent of those kids. But if that parent goes, so do the kids. No consideration for the emotional stress those kids must go through. Really a crazy fouled up system in my opinion. Came to the conclusion when dealing with these self-proclaimed government agencies, the word family is not even a small part of their vocabulary.

Will let you know when I get the birth cert. We had no immigration issues or adoption issues so far. We were lucky it seems, in that the birth father is not even listed on the birth certificate from the Philippines, (it is just blank).

Edited July 11, 2012 by DaveE

[D N Medellin COL 75]

So the other biological parent is not an issue in the Philippines? Assume there is another biological parent, my understanding that virgin births are not that common. Did adopt a one and two year old, new birth certificate showed us as the biological parents. Were born in the USA, but not in our town, used the town they were born in.

So wonder if your new birth certificate would reflect that as well. Never asked a friend that just adopted a baby girl from Ethiopia as to what her birth certificate says, will ask him later today. Seems ironic to me the really big deal the USCIS and the DOS makes of your place of birth. None of us had a choice in that. As a natural born US citizen, never had to make an oath to serve this country, well did when I was drafted into the military. Ha, was either that or going to jail, so wonder how valid that oath is. Immigrants make that oath freely, but still have to live with their place of birth. Especially if your home country demands you maintain your citizenship and requires you to have a passport of that country to visit your family.

So very curious what your new adopted daughter's birth certificate will look like.

When I met my wife, her ex abandoned his daughter, my stepdaughter now seven years before we met. But Venezuelan courts were only interested in his rights regardless of the conditions. Only counter we had to get his permission to bring her here was to forgive seven years of unpaid child support payments with another five to go.

See on other sections of this board, marriages with kids involved don't work out, but can develop a strong relationship with the kids even with problems with the parent of those kids. But if that parent goes, so do the kids. No consideration for the emotional stress those kids must go through. Really a crazy fouled up system in my opinion. Came to the conclusion when dealing with these self-proclaimed government agencies, the word family is not even a small part of their vocabulary.

Nick, assuming things work for us (she arrives here in LA on July 27th) on a K-1 I too feel a need to look into adoption of my fiancee young son, nothing immediate but future. We have similar circumstances withe the bio dad abandoned the mother and child for no other reason than to go and impregnate others. A vicious cycle that is prevalent in Latin America, especially Colombia.

Good luck!

[Alex and Sofya 7]

DaveE,

What about biological father? Did you supply any documents to terminate his rights?

My first husband has no contact with his kids. My husband want to adopt my 9 years old, but we are afraid about the biological father's rights. I have full custody of both kids (9 and 17). The biological father lives outside the states (from what I know).

[DaveE 178]

DaveE,

What about biological father? Did you supply any documents to terminate his rights?

My first husband has no contact with his kids. My husband want to adopt my 9 years old, but we are afraid about the biological father's rights. I have full custody of both kids (9 and 17). The biological father lives outside the states (from what I know).

Normally in Georgia, you must publish in a local newspaper for two months your intention to adopt. This gives the biological father time to object if he so wishes.

However, since there is no biological father listed on the birth certificate (the space is blank), and it was sixteen years ago in the Philippines, there is no issue.

My impression is that because my step daughter is over 14, her desires basically trump everything else. That is why she has to go to the court on August 20, and personally sign in front of the Judge that she desires this adoption to take place.

[NickD 202]

For what its worth, got a hold of my friend that adopted that baby girl from Ethiopia, her place of birth in her birth certificate was listed as Ethiopia, and had to go through immigration that took about a year to complete so she would be a US citizen.

Certainly no expert on this subject, not even in the novice class. Appears that naturalization can only occur if one of the biological parents is a US citizen, adopted parents, by law have the same rights as natural born parents, but not apparently with the USCIS or the DOS. Still feel we have too many damned agencies to deal with.

Ironically this was an unwanted child, more than likely would die of a an early age due to malnutrition and other diseases. But it cost my friend $50,000.00 to bring her here dealing with do-gooder crooks I can only imagine.

But will get a $3,500 year tax deduction from our friendly IRS after FICA taxes, where in the 20% tax bracket, gives him an extra buck ninety per day to raise that child, so this really has to be an act of love to do so. As you are aware, adoption and immigration expenses are not tax deductible, only if you are a super rich corporation and use that money to hire somebody. Just doesn't seem fair to the average American.

Yet another problem is raising kids to be decent, was a heck of a lot easier years ago, don't believe those drug free signs pasted all over our schools. Worse place in the world to send you kids not mention sex.

[maim3 5]

After all the DIY success I have had in the immigration process, I wanted to jump to the next level. My step daughter asked me to adopt her as she is the only one with a different last name. She just turned 16, and I was so honored that she asked me to go forward with it.

Every attorney in the local area wanted around $4000 for their expertise. I said why not try to do it ourselves, how much harder than immigration paperwork can it be. Well we studied the laws on step child adoption, researched the necessary forms and procedures, and went to work. We thought we were pretty thorough so we took our package to the county court house and filed. The filing fee was $205, and the clerk said she had never seen anyone try an adoption without an attorney. She also said that if the Judge rejected our forms that our filing fee would not be refunded.

We waited almost a month and nothing from the court, (I thought we had messed up big time). While in California on business two weeks ago, I got an email from my step daughter saying that we had gotten a letter from the court, and attached a scanned copy.

The letter basically had two provisions. First, on August 20th, my step daughter and wife have to meet the judge to discuss the adoption, (and to make sure it is what they want). Secondly, my step daughter must affirm (sign), in the presence of the court, a document that states that she wants to be adopted. This is a requirement in Georgia for any child over 14. My step daughter just turned 16.

Second paragraph of the letter says that all of us must be in court on September 6th to finalize the adoption. What is neat is that he waived the publication order, and the home study order, thus saving a bunch of time.

As soon as the adoption is final, she becomes a US citizen and can apply for her passport under the Child Citizenship Act.

Poor mom, she will have to remove conditions alone, and her daughter will beat her to Citizenship by over a year.

I am stoked.

Did u do the adoption before starting the AOS process?

I will have the same issue too since i will go to US as K1 and my eldest daughter as K2. My fiance wants to adopt her so she can use his surname too.

Please guide me with the process.

1. Did u go straight to the court?

2. what documents did u bring and filled up?

3. how much is the total cost of the whole process?

4.How long is the entire process until the final judgement?

thank you in advance.

[MikeAndIryna 0]

Did u do the adoption before starting the AOS process?

I will have the same issue too since i will go to US as K1 and my eldest daughter as K2. My fiance wants to adopt her so she can use his surname too.

Please guide me with the process.

1. Did u go straight to the court?

2. what documents did u bring and filled up?

3. how much is the total cost of the whole process?

4.How long is the entire process until the final judgement?

thank you in advance.

Not sure if this is of help, but I adopted our daughter as well a few years back in Illinois. One thing that made it "easier" was her biological Dad died so there was no issue getting his approval. However, my wife was/is the custodial parent and this is what my daughter wanted, which is what the Judge was concerned about. We had to run a name change in the local paper for a few weeks, file for a Name Change/Adoption hearing in Family Court, all of us went (including my son) to the hearing, Judge couldn't have been any nicer, asked her if this is what you wanted, she said "yes", and she approved - simple.

We took the signed Court document and used it to file her Citizenship as a child of a US citizen and sent in the forms and she did not have to take the test, just the swearing in ceremony. Cost was about the same as going the normal route (like my wife is going through), she was 13 at the time and not only an American citizen, but as Americanized as any of her friends.

[DaveE 178]

Just got back from the court with five certified copies of the final decree. I am so happy we did it ourselves. We filed in May 2012; had the preliminary hearing August 20th (Des had to certify that she wanted to be adopted), and the final hearing today. The certified copies were issued immediately.

Life is good.

[DaveE 178]

Go to the original source - USCIS. From HERE :

Automatic U.S. Citizenship After Birth - But Before the Age of 18

A Child Born Outside the U.S. is a Citizen after Birth IF… The child was adopted by a U.S. citizen parent

AND... The child resides legally in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent and meets the following conditions after February 27, 2001 but before his or her 18th birthday:

The adoptive parent adopted the child before his or her 16th birthday (or, in some cases, 18th birthday (my comment: in siblings case)) and had legal custody of the child and resided with the child for at least two years; OR....

I am not going to argue, I think I am right. I don't want you to be disappointed later. Go to Instruction for N-600 form. Paragraph 2, you have to apply to your child 2a and 2b and 2c and 2d and 2e or 2f, where 2f is not your case, and 2e says about 16 again. Of course, I can make a mistake. Check it again.

This my last post on this as my daughters immigration journey is over. I was very concerned about her citizenship status because of all the conflicting guidance given by the State Department. For example, here Child Citizenship Act FAQ it says the only requirements are that the child be under 18, the adoption be final, proof that she is legally in the states, and proof that I am a citizen. Here it says basically the same thing State Department .Yet Mayliana is correct the reference they cited says that the adoption must be complete before the child is 16 years old.

My daughter was 16 in July 2012, and the adoption was not final until September 2012. I just said heck with it and took her to the post office and applied for a passport. I attached printouts of all the conflicting guidance and put in the the package with the passport application, basically asking which one of these is correct? I included the final adoption decree, a copy of her green card front and back, a copy of my passport ,photographs and $150.00 later I was out the door. Then the wait began. I heard nothing for two weeks, and then an ominous letter arrived from the State Department. I fully expected a rejection letter and them thanking me for the $150.00. Actually it was a very nice letter saying that I needed to send an NSO certified copy of her birth certificate back to them, (this is the one thing they never asked for on the web page). They even provided a link to the Philippine government web site where I could order one. We had a copy so we return mailed it to them.

Bottom line - today my daughters 10 year United States passport arrived in the mail. She is the newest citizen in the family. According to the USCIS, your US passport is your best proof of US citizenship, USCIS

Poor mom, doesn't even have her 10 year green card yet.

Edited October 11, 2012 by DaveE

[MayLiana72 2]

Congratulations, Dave!