How much do you know about the process surrounding orphans who are not yet American citizens? Are you looking to adopt an orphan? Foster an orphan? Take in a niece or nephew, and want to understand how to bring them into the country in a way that will secure future citizenship? Let us share more information with you here in our blog.
As strange as it might seem, the first step to determining how to move forward is to determine if you are a United States citizen. From here, we then dive into learning more about your relationship with the orphan, including if this is a family member.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shares with us specific information as it relates to the Orphan Process. If you are a United States citizen, then the next steps are outlined by the department as follows:
- If you are married, your spouse must also sign Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative and must also adopt the child
- If you are not married, you must be at least 25 years old when you file your Form I-600 petition
Then you establish that:
- “You will provide proper parental care to the child
- The child whom you have adopted or plan to adopt is an “orphan” as defined in U.S. immigration law
- (and) either:
- You (and your spouse, if married) have adopted the child abroad, and that at least 1 of you personally saw and observed the child before or during the adoption proceedings
OR
- You will adopt the child in the United States after the child arrives in the United States (you must have permission to bring the child out of his or her own country and to the United States for adoption)”
However, who qualifies as an orphan? The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shares more information here as well. First, we must determine the citizenship of the child. To do this, we need to determine if the orphan is a United States citizen or a foreign-born child. In the latter circumstance, the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services shares with us this is a child “who:
- does not have any parents because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from, both parents
OR
- has a sole or surviving parent who is unable to care for the child, consistent with the local standards of the foreign sending country, and who has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption.”
There is a further caveat as well if the orphan you are adopting is related to another child you have adopted. There are specific steps that must be taken before the child’s 18th birthday.
In our office, we are well versed in immigration and family law issues. We can help you take these necessary steps timely. At the Law Offices of Suzanne St. Luce, P.A., our staff is qualified to offer a wide range of legal services. Our attorney has over 20 years of experience and we want to help you with your case. We take all cases… Personally. Please contact us for questions related to your specific situation.