[sak9645]

Luv2teach2

I did not say that gay couples can't adopt. I said that they, as well as straight but unmarried couples, can't adopt internationally AS COUPLES, even when they live together openly.

In other words, if Jack and Jill OR Jack and Bill want to adopt from a foreign country, ONE partner must complete the adoption as a single person. If Jack is that person, his homestudy will indicate that he lives with a partner, unless he chooses to try to hide the relationship.

Jack's partner will be interviewed and will have to go through a criminal background and child abuse check, since he/she lives in the same residence. If the partner's finances are needed to qualify the couple for adoption, or if the couple's finances are completely intertwined, then the finances of both will be considered.

The adoption decree will be written in Jack's name, and Jack will be the one who must have an approved I-600A and I-600.

Now, in some states, including the District of Columbia, there is a law -- often referred to as a "second parent adoption" law. If Jack lives in one of those jurisdictions, he can petition the court, after the adoption, to have his partner, Jill or Bill, granted the full rights of a parent. Unfortunately, many states do not have second parent laws.

Now that Massachusetts has legalized gay marriage, things may have to change. But even married gay and lesbian residents of Massachusetts will most likely continue to have to adopt as singles for the foreseeable future, if they choose international adoption. It is unclear to me whether the USCIS will be allowed to approve an I-600A or I-600 from a married, same-sex couple. And foreign countries will definitely not issue adoption decrees in the name of two people of the same gender.

Plenty of gay and lesbian people adopt, and plenty of gay and lesbian people with partners adopt. But until the Massachusetts experience leads to significant changes in laws around the country, and until foreign countries are more comfortable with gay and lesbian parents, do not expect to see the names of two people of the same gender on a foreign adoption decree or on a child's visa.

Sharon