[sak9645]

I believe strongly that SOMETHING needs to be done for the many children who have been denied citizenship through no fault of their own, but rather because of illegal or unethical actions of adoption agencies, facilitators, and desperate families.

Back several years ago, certain U.S. adoption agencies and facilitators were using unethical tactics to place children from the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) with American families.

One tactic involved misuse of a special relationship between the U.S. and the RMI. Because of that special relationship, citizens of the RMI do not need visas to VISIT the United States; they can just hop on a plane and go, without the involvement of the USCIS. They can stay and even work in the U.S. for a number of years.

Note that I said "visit". The special exception is not supposed to apply to immigrants. People wanting to IMMIGRATE to the U.S. from the RMI are supposed to apply for an immigrant visa, just like everyone else.

Unfortunately, some adoption agencies and facilitators misused the special exception. They convinced poor women in the RMI to relinquish their babies, and then escorted the babies to the U.S., without visas, for adoption by American parents.

In some cases, the birthmothers, often illiterate, did not understand the concept of adoption. As it is not uncommon for RMI residents to come to the U.S. for a few years and then go home, using the special exception, they thought that the children were going to be educated in the U.S. and then return to them.

And in most cases, the U.S. parents for whom the children were destined did not realize that the adoption professionals were either misleading birthmothers or abusing the special relationship between the RMI and the U.S. by bringing children into the country PERMANENTLY. Again, the special exception was never designed to apply to immigrant children; it was solely for visitors.

Unfortunately, once they had their children, a number of American parents learned that, because their children came to the U.S. without immigrant visas, they could not be considered immigrants, and could not become eligible for U.S. citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.

I do not know if any of the children ever managed to obtain U.S. citizenship. My understanding is that the parents could apply for permanent resident status for a child after living with him/her for a few years. Whether they could then apply for citizenship for him/her is unclear. I am not an expert on the subject, but it is possible that at least a few children will have to live out their lives in a legal limbo.

This example is one that you might want to research with an immigration lawyer. If any of the RMI children have been granted citizenship, there might be some case law to use as a precedent in your situation, since these children, like your son, can be considered to have entered the U.S. improperly

The good news is that the U.S. and RMI have made a concerted effort to prevent people from using the special exception to bring children into the U.S. for adoption.

For a while, however, there was another problem involving the RMI and adoption, but not citizenship. Deprived of the ability to bring children to the U.S., some agencies and facilitators began bringing pregnant RMI women to the U.S. -- usually Hawaii or California -- to deliver their babies. The RMI women technically did not need visas, since they would be returning to their country.

Bringing a pregnant woman to the U.S. so that she can deliver and relinquish a child for adoption is currently considered both illegal and unethical, because it creates an opportunity for coercion.

A woman is not considered a "birthmother" until she has delivered, has had a chance to bond with her baby, and then has had a chance to make an informed decision to relinquish. Just because a woman thinks, while pregnant, that she might make an adoption plan does not mean that she will carry out the plan once the child is born, and that is her right.

Unfortunately, some of the RMI women were treated in a coercive manner. The women, in at least a few cases, were told that they would be brought to the U.S., housed in nice apartments, taken to places like Disneyland, given good medical care, and so on. They were told that American families would care for their babies afterwards, while they came back to the RMI.

At least some of the women did not fully understand that the American families were going to adopt the children permanently. And most of the women did not fully understand that they might possibly be pressured or threatened if they chose NOT to relinquish their babies, once they were born.

Unfortunately, there were a few bad facilitators and agencies that DID coerce birthmothers. There were cases in which women, quite naturally, decided not to relinquish once they gave birth to their beautiful sons and daughters. At first, the women were made to feel guilty, as in, "What? We paid all your travel expenses, gave you a wonderful vacation, provided good medical care, and so on, because you said you were going to place your baby for adoption, and now you are changing your mind? What a deceitful, mean person you are!"

In some cases, the unethical providers went much further. They threatened to, or actually did, abandon the women, sometimes taking their RMI passports. The women had no money to pay the rent on their apartments, no money for food for themselves and their babies, etc. They did not speak or read English. They did not know anyone in the U.S., and often did not know how to do things like using the telephone. They did not know that there was a RMI Embassy in the U.S. In some cases, they were told that if they went to the police, the police would put them in prison.

Is it any wonder that, under the circumstances, some of the women agreed to place their babies?

In any case, because the babies were born in the U.S., they automatically became U.S. citizens. However, there are some adoptive families who have to live with the suspicion or knowledge that the biological parents of their babies may have been coerced into relinquishment. Some families have, since, contacted the birthparents and been assured that they did, indeed, relinquish willingly, but this does not excuse the adoption professionals who used this inherently unethical approach to adoption.

Today, the U.S. and the RMI have implemented measures to prevent agencies and facilitators from bringing pregnant women to the U.S. for delivery and relinquishment, and the RMI has tightened up its adoption laws.

Today, all agencies working in the RMI are supposed to be licensed by the RMI government. There is a central authority in the RMI that is supposed to ensure that pregnant women receive appropriate counseling about their options, such as domestic adoption, and that matches birthmothers with qualified adoptive families.

The child cannot be placed with a family until after a waiting period, during which the birthmother can change her mind. American families must travel and stay in the RMI for about a month. They usually meet the birth family, and must complete the adoption there. At one point, families had to travel to Manila, in the Philippines, to get their children's visas, but I believe that this is no longer necessary.

Interestingly, the number of agencies and facilitators placing children from the RMI now is way down. It is clear that at least some adoptive families chose RMI adoption in the past, mainly because it was "easy". The babies were very young and often healthy, the families didn't need to travel, and the time frame was very short. Now that RMI adoption is similar to adoption from any other country, and ongoing contact with birthparents is encouraged, many families are not choosing it.

People who are interested in RMI adoption can consult the U.S. State Department for the latest information. They can also contact the U.S. Embassy in Majuro, the capital of the RMI.

Sharon