Sponsoring adopted children as immediate relatives

[amethio 0]

Hello,

 

I would appreciate it if you could share your thoughts on the following immigration questions related to petitioning for adopted children for permanent residency as immediate relatives.  Please not this is not the intercountry adoption route (no adoption agency involved)

 

I am a US citizen and my boyfriend is Ethiopian currently residing in Ethiopia.  My boyfriend and I are planning to get married and I will sponsor him for a green card.  I have two nieces whose father recently passed away and both are younger than 16 years old now.  We want to raise the children with us in the US since the mother is not financially able to raise the two kids in addition to her two other children. Currently, we are looking at two options and would like to know if they are acceptable by US immigration rules/law.

 

1.  We get married first and legally adopt the children domestically in Ethiopia before they turn 16 years old.  Since I can't reside in Ethiopia for two years, my husband will establish the 2 year legal custody and residency with them.  Then, I will petition for him and the children as immediate relatives for permanent residency.  In this situation, can I petition for them as my adopted children even though I, the petitioner, was not the one who established the 2 year legal custody with our adopted children?  Or do we have to wait until my husband becomes LPR and he later petitions for them since he is the one who fulfills the 2 year residency  requirement?

 

2.  My boyfriend adopts the children legally in Ethiopia before they turn 16 years old.  He establishes the 2 year legal and and physical custody.  Afterwards, my boyfriend and I will get married before the children turn 18 years old and in the process, the children become my step children.  I will petition for my spouse and his adopted children as my step children.  In this scenario, can I petition for my step children who are actually adopted by my spouse (not his biological children)?

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts in this manner.

[Roel 7,191]

I don't think the adoption is possible when mother is alive.  But I'm curious what others will say. 

[f f 725]

you can adopt according to local laws but if a biological parent is alive you will not be able to get an immigration benfit for them. the law is designed specifically to prevent what you are doing, adopt relative's children so they can move to the us.

[Roel 7,191]

4 minutes ago, f f said:

you can adopt according to local laws but if a biological parent is alive you will not be able to get an immigration benfit for them. the law is designed specifically to prevent what you are doing, adopt relative's children so they can move to the us.

Well, I was close-ish So can adopt but cannot sponsor for the US family visa when mother is alive.

 

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

  The money you plan on spending getting them here and raising them here could afford the very best of life there .  Being in the US isn't the optimal solution all the time. 

[geowrian 22,336]

Exactly as stated above...you can adopt via local laws, but they won't be eligible for immigration benefits through that adoption.

[azezohome 1]

Per USCIS you can as long as you meet the requirements like the two year legal custody and physical custody and have a final adoption decree before they turn 16. Also since you are the us citizen petitioner you have to physically meet the children in person at least once. This is the info i was given when i called USCIS. 

[amethio 0]

Thank you, azezohome.  Are you familiar with anyone who has gone through process similar to mine?  I do not want to go through the non-hague (orphan) process since Ethiopia has currently suspended all intercountry adoptions.  That process requires that you go through an adoption agency.  Besides, I do not know if they qualify as orphans since their mother is alive.  Hence why I chose this route.  

[geowrian 22,336]

4 hours ago, azezohome said:

Per USCIS you can as long as you meet the requirements like the two year legal custody and physical custody and have a final adoption decree before they turn 16. Also since you are the us citizen petitioner you have to physically meet the children in person at least once. This is the info i was given when i called USCIS. 

There's also the requirement that the parent(s) are incapable of providing basic needs for the child (if they are alive and can be located). They take this requirement very seriously.

 

A quick guide: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/A3en.pdf

Edited October 15, 2017 by geowrian

[amethio 0]

Thanks, geowrian, for the quick guide.  I have actually read that guide before.  I believe you are referring to the following statement on page 1: 

I. ORPHAN PROGRAM Who is an orphan? To be considered an orphan under U.S. immigration law, a child must meet very specific conditions: • Be a foreign national child without any parents because each parent has died or disappeared or has abandoned or deserted the child, or because of separation from or loss of each parent; or • Be a foreign national child with a sole or surviving parent who is unable to provide for the child’s basic needs, consistent with local standards of the foreign sending country, and who has irrevocably released the child (in writing) for emigration and adoption.

 

However, I am not attempting to go through the Orphan program route.  There are three ways of adoption and immigration.  1. Non-Hague (orphan)/I-600.  2. Hague /I-800 and 3. Immediate Relative Petition/I-130.  If you read page 3 (Immediate Relative Processing), it does not say that child should have no biological parent or be abandoned or deserted.  Nor does it say the sole parent who is unable to provide for the child's basic needs.  However, it talks about adoption before age 16 and 2 years of legal and physical custody.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

[Boiler 43,595]

I have seen somebody do something similar, they married and lived in the beneficiary's country for the required period, have you considered that.

 

I can think of a number of complicating factors but even with the full story not sure I or anybody likely to be on here could give a good answer, best to seek competent legal advice.

[azezohome 1]

On 10/14/2017 at 5:00 PM, amethio said:

Thank you, azezohome.  Are you familiar with anyone who has gone through process similar to mine?  I do not want to go through the non-hague (orphan) process since Ethiopia has currently suspended all intercountry adoptions.  That process requires that you go through an adoption agency.  Besides, I do not know if they qualify as orphans since their mother is alive.  Hence why I chose this route.  

well my wife and i are going through one right now. We submitted our case to uscis at the beginning of this month and got NOA 1 and now we are waiting for a decision.