Adopting nephew(s) from Philippines to USA

[dimaalak 0]

Hi. I've been a citizen of the USA for over 20 years now. My sister's husband was murdered about 8 years ago and she was left with 8 children. She already had to give the youngest one away, and the youngest two in her care are tiny and sickly due to lack of nutrients in early childhood. I was wondering what would be the process and how long would it take to adopt these two or even just one of them. I know it is difficult to adopt when the parents are alive, however one was killed. My goal is to give them an education and help them here in the US.

How would I go about trying to adopt them?

How long would it take?

How costly would it be?

Would it even be possible?

Thank you.

[Gosia & Tito 199]

Hi. I've been a citizen of the USA for over 20 years now. My sister's husband was murdered about 8 years ago and she was left with 8 children. She already had to give the youngest one away, and the youngest two in her care are tiny and sickly due to lack of nutrients in early childhood. I was wondering what would be the process and how long would it take to adopt these two or even just one of them. I know it is difficult to adopt when the parents are alive, however one was killed. My goal is to give them an education and help them here in the US.

How would I go about trying to adopt them?

How long would it take?

How costly would it be?

Would it even be possible?

Thank you.

There is no quick answer. A lot of variables are in play. For example, first thing you need to find out if the government of Phillipines has a ban against citizens of other countries. Next, some countries have special and expediting processes if one of the adopting parents is also a citizen of the country; Phillipines might.

As I recall, it used to be that prospective parents could do the process on their own; I believe at some point in the past 10 years it changed and you might need to use an agency, at least for home study and such. It is imperative, as I recall that applications are filed with USCIS prior to certain steps. It is not inexpensive, in fact I'd say that you would need to be ready of a few thousand in the low end of the spectrum.

Obvisously, with at least one of the parents alive, even if a relative, would require attention to the laws of the country of origin, USCIS has no role there.

Some years back I was looking into it, as it was related to work I do, and it seemed it was getting harder to do on a DIY basis and it was partially to close loopholes that certain organizations and people were taking advantage of for te bad reasons.

To familirize yourself with the process:

http://adoption.state.gov/adoption_process/what.php

[HollyGolightly 72]

In practice intercountry adoptions are difficult and tedious in the Philippines because the laws discourage adopting kids to foreign families fearing the possibility of trafficking children to countries where the Philippines does not have jurisdiction and therefore cannot protect them. An aunt that lived abroad in Australia tried to adopt a family member when he was still a baby and the process took years until the child was already in his 2nd year of high school. It is an expensive and long process, with that said, here is a quote of how to begin the process taken from the manila.usembassy.gov site.

Intercountry Adoption of a Child from the Philippines

The United States is now a full member of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption. The Convention governs all adoptions between the United States and the nearly 75 countries party to the Convention, including The Philippines.

The Hague Convention seeks to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children. It establishes international norms and procedures for processing inter-country adoption cases involving other Convention members, and protects the rights of children, birth parents, and adoptive parents while promoting transparency, accountability, and ethical practices among adoption service providers. For more information about the Convention,please click here.

The Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(b)(1)(G), in part, defines "child”as:

1. The child is under the age of 16 on the filing date of the petition.
2. The child habitually resides in a Convention country.
3. The U.S. citizen habitually resides in the U.S. and either adopts child in a Convention country or brings the child to a Convention country for adoption.
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.

The following procedures for inter-country adoptions now apply to any citizen or couples residing in the United States who wish to adopt a child in the Philippines:

• Adoption cases must be handled by federally accredited adoption service providers (ASP). For a list of accredited service providers, click here.

• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rules require prospective adoptive parents to identify in their initial application the country from which they plan to adopt a child.
• Form I-800A must be filed prior to Form I-800.
• The matching of the child to the parents must be made by the Central Authority of the country where the child resides.
• A consular officer must determine whether the child meets the criteria of visa eligibility before the adoption is finalized or custody is granted in the country of origin. In cases where the adoption or grant of custody has met the requirements of the Convention and the Inter-country Adoption Act, consular officers in Convention countries will issue a Hague Adoption Certificate or Hague Custody Certificate and grant a visa. New visa categories, IH-3 and IH-4, will be used in Convention adoption cases.

If you have general questions on inter-country adoption or how current adoption procedures have changed under the Convention, call the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the United States at 202-736-9130. Or you may fax questions to 202-736-9080.

Steps Required to Adopt a Child Under the Hague Convention

Step 1

The prospective adoptive parents must file an Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country (I-800A) with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) office having jurisdiction over their usual place of residence (see www.uscis.gov). Adoptive parents must also submit the completed I-800A form, Supplement 1 (listing all adult members of the household), and related supplements and forms.


The filing fee is $670. An additional biometrics fingerprint fee of $80 must be paid for each person residing in the household who is 18 or older.


All Hague Convention adoption cases are processed by the USCIS National Benefits Center at the following address:


U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

P.O. Box 805695

Chicago, IL 60680-4118


If the adoptive parents consent for USCIS to disclose information about their case to their Adoption Service Provider (ASP), they should complete Form I-800A, Supplement 2, Consent to Disclose Information. The adoptive parents may also arrange for the ASP to submit the approval notice, the accompanying home study, and other supporting evidence to the Central Authority in the Convention country in which the parents plan to adopt.

Note: Some states require a review of the home study by state authorities prior to submission to USCIS (e.g., Alabama, Colorado, Guam, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). In such cases, the adoptive parents may file the Form I-800A without the home study, which can be forwarded to USCIS later.


Step 2

The Convention country’s Central Authority matches the prospective adoptive parents with a child. The Central Authority prepares a report that determines that: the child is adoptable, the envisaged placement is in the best interest of the child, the birth parent or legal custodian has freely consented in writing to the adoption, and no payment has been made to obtain the consent necessary for the adoption to be completed.


Step 3

The adoptive parents file the Form I-800 petition with USCIS, including the Central Authority’s report on the child. Form I-800 is used to determine whether the child qualifies as a Convention adoptee. The petition is provisionally approved in accordance with USCIS regulations and forwarded to the respective U.S. Embassy/Consulate via the National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing.


The adoptive parents must comply with the above procedures and file the Form I-800 before they adopt or obtain legal custody of the child. Also, Form I-800 must be filed before the expiration of the notice of the approval (or extension of) Form I-800A, and before the child's 16th birthday.


Step 4

Following the provisional approval by USCIS, the petition is forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). NVC notifies the respective Embassy/Consulate and forwards the Form I-800. The biographic data form (DS-230) and information regarding required photographs, medical report, birth certificate and visa fees are mailed to the adoptive parents. The parents, or the ASP acting on their behalf, should bring these documents to the Embassy/Consulate, where the Biographic Data Form DS-230 Part II is signed in the presence of a Consular Officer. The personal appearance of the child is required.

Step 5

After the Consular Officer reviews the application and determines no ineligibility exists, the Consular Officer issues a letter under Article 5 of the Hague Convention to the parents and the ASP, which must be forwarded to the Convention country's Central Authority. The letter states that the adoptive parents appear to be eligible for the adoption, and the child will most likely be authorized to enter and reside in the United States. The adoptive parents may now adopt or obtain legal custody of the child.

Step 6

The Intercountry Adoption Board of the PhilippinesICAB) certifies that the adoption or grant of legal custody has occurred in accordance with the Convention.

Step 7

The adoptive parents return to the Embassy/Consulate for the final interview. The child does not need to be present (unless not present at the first interview). The adoptive parents submit the ICAB certification to the Consular Officer as evidence that the adoption/legal custody has been completed. After verifying compliance with the Convention and Inter-country Adoption Act (IAA), the Consular Officer grants final approval of Form I-800 and issues a certificate stating that the adoption or the grant of legal custody meets the requirements of the Convention and the IAA.

Finally, an immigrant visa is issued to the child. At this point, the adoption process is complete and the adoptive parents may return to the U.S. with their adopted child.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Also even if you adopt the child the adoption may not be viable for immigration purposes, So many people think they will bring close relatives by adopting them that the loophole has been closed making it nearly impossible to adopt a relative child from a relative and be able to get immigration benefits for that child. The money might be better spent in country improving the childs life there