[philippineadopt]

I am in the process of adopting my wifes younger brother and sister ages 10 and 16. My wife and I have completed our homestudy and have an approved I-600A that has been forwarded to Manila, Philippines. Recently we both went to the Philippines and went through the adoption process in the courts.

Now we run into problems. My wife has returned back to the Philippines to finish the paperwork (submit the I-600) at the embassy. When my wife (A Filipino Citizen living in the US with me) took our paperwork into the embassy they looked at the paperwork and said ok, then asked her for her Pass Port. Upon seeing her passport they would not take the paperwork from her due to her not being the Petitoner/US Citizen even though the adoption and I-600A was in both our names and they have it there in the embassy to prove it.

I called the embassy and spoke with the person who spoke with my wife. She told me that I would have to come there and submit the paperwork in person or I could have my wife mail the paperwork to me here in the US and then I could mail it to my local BCIS office here in the US and they would mail it to the embassy in Manila BUT I COULD NOT MAIL IT DIRECTLY TO THE EMBASSY.

In speaking with her she also made statements about the children I have adopted in the Philippines. She advised that she knew my wife was related to the children and told me how hard it was for realitives to be considered orphans in the philippines due to there "almost always being a realitive who will take care of the child" As far as I know this does not have anything to do with the parents or qualifying the children as orphans.

Here is my question..1st has anyone ran into the problem where the Embassy would not accept the paperwork/I-600 even though there is an approved I-600A at the Embassy just because the submitting spouse is not an american citizen?

2nd. Is there something I have missed in the whole Orphan qualification. I am considering these two children "orphans" due to their mother and father never being married (giving them a Single parent) due to being Illigetimate. The mother has never supported the children and left them with the grandparents at a very young age. My wife has supported the children since she was 16 and I have been sending money to the grandparents since 2002 due to them being too old to work and support themselves let alone a 10 and 16 year old.

The father is still alive and arond but he also does not support the children. Both parents have signed a waiver for the children to be adopted and emmigrate to the US. The adoption is completed in the Philippines and now we are trying to complete the US side of things and get their visas to come to the US. Does anyone have any advice on this sort of situation and what I need to do to finalize this adoption.

Thank You
Seth

[johnny]

I have found that processors can easily give poor direction about which procedure to follow and typically will not provide you with information other than reply to the specific question you ask. I think they are trained this way.

Where to file: specifically states; "A petitioner residing in the U.S. should file with the Local Office with jurisdiction over the petitioner's place of residence. A petitioner residing outside the U.S. should consult the nearest American consulate or embassy"

http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-600.htm

The processors are not accepting the submission of the petition because your wife is not an "American" they are not accepting it because she is not the "Petitioner". Yes... I agree; I think it's unreasonable, but simantics is the game they play and they are very serious about it.

Yes... you missed quite a bit about the orphan qualifications. When you read the rules you have to take on the perspective that they are written to be interperted by someone that is trying to prohibit you from acomplishing your objective.

In providing proof there can be no question about the status. If there is any doubt, eliminate it with proof. It must be clear and as concise as you can possibly make it.

You have already lost the game if the parents are alive. According to the Manila Embassy processors the only clear defination of an "Orphan" is "If the parents are dead". The next best condition is if the child was living in an orphanage. A release waiver will not be enough. The RTC must declare the children as abandond and ICAB must bless it.

You should be working through ICAB and a Local US Adoption Agency/Social Office. If you are not then you have a lot of issues to address. If you already completed the adoption and have been issued the Adoption Decree and the Adoption Certification then you should consult a US Immigration Attorney as well.

Going the I-600 route, you may have a problem with ICAB blessing the 16 year old if the adoption was not finalized before the 16th birthday because the age limit using the Intercountry process is 15.
http://www.philembassy.se/consulr/info/afmlo.htm

You may be able to go the I-130 route if you can prove your wife was the chilren's parent for at least two years when they lived together without parenting assistance from the grandparents. This would surely be in the Child Study done by DSWD. If you don't have proof of this in your adoption petition and trial records then you'll need to consult your adoption Lawyer. He/She maybe able to file an urgent motion to resolve it. Be careful with this because according to Philippine Law it is illegal to approve an Adoption Petition specifically for the purpose of Immigration. Your case can be overturned by a complaint from the OSG office.

The US Embassy NIV Section told me the I-130 could take up to a year to process depending on the Service Center you file.

They "Key" releaving you of the co-residency requirements that makes the I-600 process work is ICAB.

HTH,

Johnny