[nori]

Hello everyone!
I am Japanese and my husband is American
who is applying to agency in Japan.

We just got news there is 3 years old boy might be match with us!

We are very exciting now but I have one question....
Agency in Japan told us that we must finalized court process in Japan because boy has parents on the paper....

I thought we could adopt only orphan from overseas but he has both parents...

But if we will finalized court and get court order,US recognized Japanese court order and we could issue visa which is IR3,that's I heard.

And now,I am so confusing.....


Uscis says if we have court decree from country we will adopt ,we could get IR3 visa.
And in Japanese law,they allow us to adopt kid even he has both parents.

Is anyone had experiences to share with us your success story to finalized court in Japan?
It would be great help for me if you could post me any your story.
Thank you!

Nori

[sak9645]

Be very careful.

Yes, you can finalize an adoption under Japanese law, as an American family.

However, just because you can adopt in a particular country, according to that country's laws, it does NOT mean that you can always get the child an adoption visa to enter the U.S. Visas are issued by the U.S. Embassy in the foreign country, and the process is governed by U.S. immigration law. As you said, if you cannot get an adoption visa for the child, you will have to live overseas with him/her for two years and then get a regular visa for him/her.

If you adopt a child who has been living with married parents, you cannot get him/her an adoption visa. You can get a visa for a child ONLY under one of the following scenarios:

1. The child has been living with a single parent who cannot support the child at a level considered normal in the foreign country.

2. The child has been abandoned and is living in an institution or foster care setting, with no contact with the birth family.

3. The child's parents have died, and death certificates are available to prove it.

4. The child was taken away from his parents by a legitimate government entity in the foreign country -- for example, because of neglect or abuse -- and is living in an institution or foster care setting with no contact with the birth family. There must be proof that termination of parental rights occurred.

5. The child was legally relinquished by both parents, and has been living in an institution or foster care setting with no contact with the birth family. The USCIS will DENY a visa, if it appears that the child was placed in the institution or foster care briefly, simply to avoid the prohibition against direct adoptions from married people; for example, if the child was in the orphanage or foster home for only a month, this might raise suspicion.

As you can see, a child CAN have living parents. The prohibition in U.S. law is against direct adoptions from married couples or couples living in a common law marriage recognized by the foreign country. If there is proof of a valid relinquishment or termination of parental rights, and you are adopting from an orphanage or foster care setting, that is fine.

If you are worried about how the USCIS will look at your child's situation, consult an American immigration attorney. But if you are working with a reputable U.S. agency to do the adoption, the agency will be able to tell you if the child meets the requirements of U.S. law.

Sharon

[nori]

Sharon,

Thank you so much for your reply!

Yes, this boy has been living in an institution when he was "day 6" till now,and bio parents never visited him even once .

I heard that so many adoptive children from ISSJ has both bio parents but they got through adoption process and abroad successfully.
My agency in Japan is normally just do only domestic and they don't support visa process.....
I am trying to find attorney in Japan who knows intercountry adoption but I can't find yet.

I guess ISSJ is only one who is doing full intercountry adoption process in Japan.

Thanks again,

[onelittleone]

We just immigrated our son from Japan. We took him from the clinic when he was 6 days old. My husband is US air force. We were stationed there. We did not live there with him for 2 years. We did not have an agency. We had to have a homestudy, an interview at the Tokyo Embassy, all that you will be required to do. My son's "Natural Mother" (as they call it in Japan) wrote a statement saying that she was not financially capable of taking care of a child. His "Natural Father" denied that he was his, so nothing was required from him. Just make sure you have a letter of rejection from the Natual parents. That was all we needed for a visa. As long as you have those, you should have no problem. Our son was never even in an orphanage. We were concidered foster parents until the Japanese court finalized our adoption. If you have any questions just PM me and I will do my best to answer any questions you might have. I know it is a time where there are many emotions and Japan is a country where there are not many people to talk to about adoptions. Not to many people adopt from Japan. Good luck and Congratulations!!!

[nori]

Congratulations to became adoptive parent s from my country!

And thank you very much for your help!
Finally I feel like I could see green light now!

I will post you PM

nori