adopting niece from Philippines

[♥ Teena♥ Joe♥ 0]

Hi there,

Did anyone here experience adopting niece from Philippines? I am US citizen now and would like to bring my niece here but dont know where to start. Thanks in advance.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Unless the child is an orphan it is nearly impossible to adopt and have the child immigrate. USCIS has rules to prevent adoptions meant to shortcut long family waits. The path is to petition the sibling wait 23 years and then the niece will have a path. If the child is an orphan you have to live with child for 2 years.

[furkidz 0]

I hope it will work out good for you. My husband and I tried to adopt my Niece but it didn't end well and I had to returned the baby. Many demands from my sister and not wanting to do the legal process.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Hi there,

Did anyone here experience adopting niece from Philippines? I am US citizen now and would like to bring my niece here but dont know where to start. Thanks in advance.

Adopting a niece or nephew is the easiest of all the adoption processes in the Philippines. I know of a few other couples that have done this. Age is the key factor

Some Laws About Adoption In The Philippines

The laws about adoption int he Philippines are articulated in the Family Code of the Philippines from Article 183 to Article 193. The Code states that any person may adopt a child as long as he or she is at least sixteen years older than the child to be adopted. That means that if you are twenty-five years old, the maximum age of a child that you may adopt is nine years old. There exceptions to this first rule. One, if the adopter is the biological parent. And two, if the adopter is the spouse of the biological parent.

The Code also stated that some people are not allowed to adopt children in the Philippines. One is the guardian (who is sometimes appointed by government) of the child. Another is a person who has been convicted of a crime. And third, an alien is not allowed to adopt a Filipino. To this last rule, there are three exemptions. First, if the alien is a former Filipino who wants to adopt a relative. Second, if the alien wants to adopt the legitimate child of his or her Filipino spouse. And third, if the alien who is married to a Filipino, seeks to jointly adopt a child who is a relative by consanguinity of the Filipino spouse.

The Code also describes persons who should or should not be adopted. The first rule is that only minors may be adopted. For persons who have already reached the age of 18, adoption is allowed only if the adopters are his or her natural parents. A child who is foreigner cannot be adopted by Filipinos, unless his or her country has diplomatic ties with the Philippine government. A person who has already been adopted, cannot be adopted again, unless the first adoption in the Philippines was rescinded. That is, the first adoption is no longer legally recognized.

An adoption may be rescinded due to several reasons. The adopted, when he or she is already 18 years old, may petition a court to rescind the adoption. The reasons should be valid since the rescission is equivalent to disinheriting the parents. The adopters may also file for a rescission when the adopted has committed acts that will lead to his or her disinheritance. Another valid reason for rendering the adoption invalid is when the adopted runs away from the home of the adopters for at least one year.

Written consents are also required from some people. If the person to be adopted is already ten years old or older, he or she must give a letter consenting to the adoption. The biological parents of the person to be adopted in the Philippines must also provide their written consent. In their absence, the legal guardian, or a person authorized by the government may give the written consent.

Unless the child is an orphan it is nearly impossible to adopt and have the child immigrate. USCIS has rules to prevent adoptions meant to shortcut long family waits. The path is to petition the sibling wait 23 years and then the niece will have a path. If the child is an orphan you have to live with child for 2 years.

Adopting a niece or nephew is one of the easiest way to adopt in the Philippines, other have done it without issue. Age is the main factor.

Edited January 16, 2015 by Hank_

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

Adopting a niece or nephew is the easiest of all the adoption processes in the Philippines. I know of a few other couples that have done this. Age is the key factor

You are right for the adoption bit, but immigration int he USA can still be difficult, especially if the newly adoptive parents never had physical custody and the bio parents are still alive.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

Adopting a niece or nephew is the easiest of all the adoption processes in the Philippines. I know of a few other couples that have done this. Age is the key factor

You are right for the adoption bit, but immigration int he USA can still be difficult, especially if the newly adoptive parents never had physical custody and the bio parents are still alive.

[Hank_ 9,174]

You are right for the adoption bit, but immigration int he USA can still be difficult, especially if the newly adoptive parents never had physical custody and the bio parents are still alive.

Well that isn't all that true, my sister adopted, never had physical custody until they flew to get the child, and the mother was alive, just gave the child up for adoption. I have friends here that adopted from the Philippines, in their case they adopted a niece... no issues.

[♥ Teena♥ Joe♥ 0]

My niece will be 12 years old. I was like her mom back when she was little. My husband and me took care of her when we lived in Phils 6 years ago. She was 5 y.o when we left. Her mom was single parent and the dad of my niece is out of the picture. We don't habe any children and I would really love my niece to have a better duture here with us.

[Boiler 45,651]

Long shot but you could look at a student visa.

[southcoast 27]

There are all kinds of regs designed to prevent exactly what you are contemplating. Generally adoptions must be "arms length" affairs, with the child coming through an orphanage. Someone mentioned circumvention of long waiting times, but it is also because of baby brokering schemes. None of that means that it is impossible. Id contact Catholic charities. I believe that their immigration section still does some work with foreighn adoptions, and maybe they can point you to an immigration lawyer who has some xpertise in this area.

[Hank_ 9,174]

There are all kinds of regs designed to prevent exactly what you are contemplating. Generally adoptions must be "arms length" affairs, with the child coming through an orphanage. Someone mentioned circumvention of long waiting times, but it is also because of baby brokering schemes. None of that means that it is impossible. Id contact Catholic charities. I believe that their immigration section still does some work with foreighn adoptions, and maybe they can point you to an immigration lawyer who has some xpertise in this area.

Not for the Philippines.

[southcoast 27]

Not for the Philippines.

Not what for the Philippines. If you are saying that adoptions are easy to accomplish in the Philippines, then I don't doubt that is accurate. But the question is whether that adoption will be acceptable to the USCIS to support a visa petition.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Not what for the Philippines. If you are saying that adoptions are easy to accomplish in the Philippines, then I don't doubt that is accurate. But the question is whether that adoption will be acceptable to the USCIS to support a visa petition.

Nope that is not what I am saying, I am saying what you posted about using adoption agencies will NOT work for the Philippines from the USA. Adoption between family IS allowed.

[southcoast 27]

Nope that is not what I am saying, I am saying what you posted about using adoption agencies will NOT work for the Philippines from the USA. Adoption between family IS allowed.

You may be right. I was unaware of special exemptions regarding the Philippines but who knows. In any case I don't think the place for them to carry this out is this site. They need someone competent with lots of experience. Many people who go down the foreign adoption path end up disappointed because they didn't do it right.

[manilaraf 28]

Southcoast,

Hank has posted the pertinent PHL Law about adoptions. Scroll up to his post on 1/16-2324, If you read the portion of the Family Code he quoted, which is law here in the PHL, it specifically states that foreigners CANNOT, adopt Filipinos. Unless: 1) They are former Filipinos themselves, adopting a blood relative, 2) A non-Filipino adopting the child of a Filipino spouse, or 3) A non-Filipino jointly adopting with a Filipino spouse a blood relative.

So while your advice would work in any country except the Philippines, Hank is right that your advice wouldn't work in the Philippines since adoption by a foreigner is ONLY allowed if it is between family.

And yes it has been allowed by USCIS, my uncle adopted my cousin, who was the niece of his wife (daughter of his sister in law/jointly adopted with his wife). The sister-in-law knows that even if her former-daughter becomes a US citizen, that there is no way for her to be petitioned, since any ties are cut with the adoption.

Just saw your new post. I agree, the family should hire a family lawyer here in the PHL and an Immigration lawyer in the US. But the OP was asking about how to start. First step is finding out if it's possible. It is.