sister died already and left my niece

[luck-e and Kookie 0]

can a US citizen petition a niece? sister died already and left a daughter with grandparents.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

No, sorry.

[Anh map 2,098]

If both parents are deceased then you may be able to adopt the niece.

[Theresa0828 65]

If both parents are deceased then you may be able to adopt the niece.

[Dakine 26]

If both parents are deceased then you may be able to adopt the niece.

"with grandparents" I believe the child has to be abandoned to adopt in PI or whoever has control of the child gives up their rights for a good reason.. Adoption is a difficult process in the philippines.

It was recently made a little easier by the Hague Convention.

http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwhadop.html

Edited March 26, 2011 by Dakine

[Dakine 26]

If both parents are deceased then you may be able to adopt the niece.

4.Adoption abroad or custody abroad for U.S. adoption must be by the U.S. citizen and spouse jointly, or an unmarried U.S. citizen at least 25 years old as of the filing date of the petition.

5.The child's natural parents (or parent, in the case of a child who has one sole or surviving parent because of the death, disappearance, abandonment, or desertion by the other parent), or other persons or institutions that retain legal custody of the child, have freely given their written irrevocable consent to the termination of their legal relationship with the child and to the child's emigration and adoption.

6.If a child has two living natural parents, the natural parents are incapable of providing proper care for the child.

7.The purpose of the adoption is to form a bona fide parent-child relationship; the child’s relationship with the natural parents has been terminated.

8.In the case of a child who has not been adopted, the prospective adoptive parents must ensure that: (i) the competent authority of the foreign state has approved the child's emigration to the United States for the purpose of adoption, (ii) the prospective adoptive parents have complied with the pre-adoption requirements of the child's proposed residence, if any, and (iii) no natural parent or prior adoptive parent of the child retains, by virtue of such parentage, any right, privilege, or status in connection with the child.

9.Release must be freely given and verified by the Central Authority of the child's country.