The Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoptions

The United States is now a full member of the Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoptions, which will enter into force for the United States on April 1, 2008, and will govern inter-country adoptions between the United States and the 70 other Convention member countries in accordance with the provisions of the Inter-country Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA). The Philippines is a signatory to the Convention.

The Hague Adoption Convention serves to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children. It establishes international norms and procedures for processing inter-country adoption cases involving other Hague Convention members, and protects the rights of children, birth parents, and adoptive parents while promoting transparency, accountability, and ethical practices among adoption service providers. Among the changes to the way inter-country adoptions (incoming and outgoing) are processed under the Hague Convention are:

• Adoption cases involving Hague Adoption Convention member countries must be handled by federally accredited adoption service providers. The U.S. Department of State has published a list of accredited, temporarily accredited, and approved Hague Adoption Service Providers. You can access this list by visiting the following website.
  
  
• New forms and procedures will be introduced by the Departments of State and Homeland Security for processing adoption cases to and from Hague Adoption Convention member countries. The current I-600 (Petition to Classify an Orphan as an Immediate Relative) and I-600A (Application for the Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition) will continue to be used only in non-Convention cases after April 1, 2008 (and in accordance with IAA transition provisions in Convention countries).
  
  
• If you have general questions on inter-country adoption or how current adoption procedures will change under the Hague Convention, you may contact the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the United States.  They may be reached by telephone at 202-736-9130.  You may also fax your questions to them at 202-736-9080.

Adoption in the Philippines

Adopting a child overseas can be very fulfilling, but the adoption and immigration processes can be frustrating if adoptive parents are not prepared to comply with Philippine adoption and U.S. immigration laws.

Immigrant visa petitions can only be approved and visas can only be issued for the child when the adoption is in full compliance with both countries’ statutory requirements.

The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is very explicit about adopted children eligible for an immigrant visa. For immigration purposes, the law differentiates between non-orphan and orphan adoptions.

The non-orphan child

Immigration benefits for a non-orphan adopted child are provided under Section 101 (b) (1) (E) of the INA. The following condition must be met for a non-orphan child to be eligible for an immigrant visa.

• The child must have been adopted under the age of 16 (or is the natural sibling of such a child who was adopted by the same parents while under the age of 18). The adoption must both be legal and final. Merely raising the child since birth or taking in a child for humanitarian purposes does not constitute an adoption. For immigration purposes, the adoption must create a legally-binding parent-child relationship or confer upon the child the same rights to a child born to the adoptive parents (i.e. inheritance).

• The child must have been in legal custody of the adopting parent(s) for two years. “Legal custody” means the assumption of responsibility by an adult over a minor under the law of the state and under the order or approval of a court of law or an appropriate government entity. This means that a legal process involving the courts or a recognized government entity must take place to award custody of the child to the parents. The date an adopting parent is granted legal custody of the child may be counted toward fulfilling the two-year legal custody requirement. Otherwise, the date the adoption is finalized shall be considered the start of legal custody. An informal custodial or guardianship document, such as a sworn affidavit signed before a notary public, is insufficient for this purpose.

• The child must have resided with the adoptive parent(s) for at least two years. Evidence must be presented to establish that the adopted child and the adoptive parent(s) resided together in a parent-child relationship. Documentation must be submitted to establish that the adoptive parent(s) exercised primary parental control over the child, particularly after legal custody has granted and even during periods while residing apart from each other.

• The child will be processed in much the same way as any other immigrant visa applicant and must therefore satisfy all the basic requirements to be eligible for an immigrant visa.

  In addition to the primary documentary requirements, the child’s immigrant I-130 (Petition for an Alien Relative) petition and visa application must be supported by the following:

  • A certified copy of the adoption decree
  • A certified copy of the Certificate of Finality of the adoption
  • A certified copy of the child’s original birth certificate before the adoption, issued by the National Statistics Office
  • A certified copy of the child’s birth certificate amended after the adoption issued by the National Statistics Office
  • The legal custody degree (if custody was awarded before the adoption)
  • Evidence that the child resided with the adoptive parents for at least two years, during which they exercised primary parental control
  • If the child was adopted at aged 16 or 17 years, evidence that the child was adopted together with, or subsequent to the adoption of a natural sibling under age 16 by the same adoptive parent(s)

The orphan child

Under Section 101 (b) (1) (F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act an “orphan” 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. “Abandonment” means the child was legally placed in the custody of a child welfare agency, made a ward of a court, or left in the care and custody of another competent authority in the child’s home country. A child left to the care of a relative or temporarily placed in a orphanage where the natural parent(s) still contribute to the child’s support or otherwise demonstrate that they have not ended their parental obligation to the child, may not be considered an abandoned child.

An orphan can also be a child with a sole or a surviving parent who is incapable of providing for the child’s basic needs (consistent with Philippine standards), and has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption.

If the prospective adopting parents have not identified a child to be adopted, they may file an I-600A (Application for the Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition) at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office having jurisdiction over the petitioner’s place of U.S. residence. The I-600A determines whether the prospective adoptive parents are eligible to file an immediate relative petition on behalf of an adoptive or prospective adoptive child who is a foreign national. Once a child is identified, the prospective adopting parents must file an I-600 (Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative) on behalf of the child.

Visit the USCIS website for more information about petitioning an orphan child.

Inter-country adoption in the Philippines

U.S. citizens who wish to adopt a child from the Philippines should contact the Inter-Country Adoption Board of the Philippines to obtain a list of the legal requirements and foreign accredited agencies (i.e., adoption agencies)

The Philippine Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB)
P.O. Box 1622
#2 Chicago Corner, Ermin Garcia Streets
Barangay Pinagkaisahan, Cubao, Quezon City
The Philippines
Telephone number (632) 726-4568, fax number (632) 727-2026
www.icab.gov.ph

For more information on inter-country adoption in the Philippines click here.

U.S. citizens residing in the Philippines and interested in adopting a Filipino child through the Philippine courts need not go through ICAB and the inter-country adoption process. However, they must meet the following conditions under Philippine adoption law:

• Be resident in the Philippines for at least three years prior to the filing of the adoption petition and maintain such residence until the adoption decree is entered by a Philippine court;
• Possess a certification of legal capacity to adopt issued by the appropriate government agency from your state of residence.

The Philippine government may waive these requirements in the following cases:

• A former Filipino citizen who seeks to adopt a relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity, as defined under Philippine law; or
• A person who seeks to adopt the legitimate son/daughter of his/her Filipino spouse; or
• A person who is married to a Filipino and who seeks to adopt jointly with his/her spouse a relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity, as defined under Philippine law.

Automatic citizenship for adopted children

Certain foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizens acquire citizenship upon entering the United States as lawful permanent residents. In general, children immigrating to the United States in the IR2 (immediate relative-adopted child), IR3 (orphan adopted abroad), and IR4 (orphan coming to the U.S. for adoption) immigrant visa categories are automatically eligible for U.S. citizenship status upon entering the United States. Prospective adoptive parents may document their child’s claim to U.S. citizenship by filing either an application for a U.S. passport for the child at the nearest passport agency or acceptance facility or an application for a certificate of Citizenship with the USCIS. Read more about the Child Citizenship Act.