[playadave]

My wife and I have a unique situation that we need help with.

My wife is from Belize and became a US citizen last year.

Her sister, who lives in Belize and is a Belize Citizen, has asked my Wife and I to adopt her 4 year old child.

We are looking for assistance from someone in the Los Angeles area that can guide us through the complicated steps of this type of adoption.

We need someone who can inform us of the proper steps to take such as home study, going through the right processes in Belize, etc...

Anyone can help?

[sak9645]

First off, you have to make sure that the child will qualify for immigration. Not all children, even relatives' children, do.

The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act states that an adoption visa may be given only to children who qualify as "eligible orphans." An eligible orphan, under the terms of the Act is:

"...a foreign child who does not have any parents because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, separation from or loss of, both parents. An orphan can also be a foreign-born child with a sole or surviving parent who is unable to provide for the child's basic needs, and who has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption."

To put it in plain English, an eligible orphan, under the terms of the Act, is one who is NOT living with married parents -- or with unmarried parents living together, in a country that recognizes common law marriage. Basically, the child is eligible if he/she meets one of the following criteria:

a) Has been abandoned, and is living in an orphanage or other setting, without any contact with the biological parents.
b) Has had both parents die.
c) Is living with a single parent, who cannot afford to raise the child at a level customary in the foreign country. (Note: it is not enough that the child is being raised differently from the way he/she would be raised in the U.S.)
d) Has been irrevocably relinquished by his/her parents and is living in an orphanage or other setting, without any contact with the biological parents.
e) Has been taken from his/her parents by a recognized court of law in the foreign country, and is living in an orphanage or other setting with no contact with the biological parents.

Note that children have been declared not eligible fi they are living with one biological parent and his/her new husband/common law spouse, even if the new husband has not formally adopted the child.

If the child you wish to adopt does NOT meet the orphan definition, the only way to bring the child to the U.S. would be for you to live overseas with the child for two years, and then apply for a regular visa for him/her.

Second, you will have to make sure that you can adopt the child under the laws of Belize. You can get some information on the adoption laws of Belize at the U.S. State Department website. Go to http://travel.state.gov. Click on "Children and Family" at the top of the page. Then click on "Country Specific Information on the left side of the page. Then click on Belize in the country list.

If you are sure that your child will meet the requirements of the orphan definition, or if you "think" you might have a chance, the best way to proceed is to contact a reputable adoption/immigration attorney in your state. (It is not necessary to work through an adoption agency, as most agencies work mainly with non-relative adoption.)

As you guessed, you will need a homestudy done by a provider legally qualified to do them in your state. Your attorney can refer you to someone. Or you can simply contact an adoption agency and ask for a homestudy for international relative adoption.

You will also need to have the USCIS approve you and your spouse as parents, and the child as an eligible orphan. Your attorney will probably advise you to split this process into two tasks:

a) The I-600A, which you submit to the USCIS with your homestudy report and some other documents. This process approves you as people qualified to bring an orphan to the U.S.

b) The I-600, which you usually submit at the U.S. Embassy overseas, after you either finalize an adoption under Belizean law or receive guardianship of the child under Belizean law, and are seeking a visa for the child.

In some cases, an attorney will have you roll the two processes into one.

Do remember that you really should consult an AMERICAN attorney. He/she will probably need to work with a Belizean attorney on the court process overseas. However, a Belizean attorney is NOT going to be knowledgeable about USCIS requirements, and you don't want to wind up adopting a child whom you can't bring into the U.S.

Sharon

[playadave]

Sharon, your detailed reply is excellent. Thank you!

Your section - Plain English is interesting. The child would not meet any of the criteria except:

Is living with a single parent, who cannot afford to raise the child at a level customary in the foreign country. (Note: it is not enough that the child is being raised differently from the way he/she would be raised in the U.S.)

The mother, my wife's sister, had the child out of wedlock and the Father does not provide any support.

Now, your explanation above I could not find in any INS documentation. Who would make this determination?

Second, do you have any recommendations for an Attorney who specializes in this type of adoption in the Los Angeles or Southern California area?

Thanks,

[sak9645]

If your relative had the child as an unmarried person, and is not living with the father of the child or a stepfather of the child, he/she would probably qualify as an eligible orphan.

The I-600 requests information on the child for whom a visa is being sought. If the prospective parent has filed the I-600A in the U.S., he/she will often file the I-600 at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the foreign country, after receiving custody of the child via adoption or guardianship. However, he/she can also file it with his/her local USCIS office in the United States, I'm told, prior to travel.

If the I-600 is filed overseas, the parent will be asked for certain additional paperwork at that time. Some of this paperwork will be about the child -- for example, the adoption decree, birth certificate, foreign passport, report of an examination at an approved visa medical clinic, and so on. There will also be certain additional paperwork about the parents, in some cases, such as the I-864 Affidavit of Support if only one parent
travels. The child will have to be present at the Embassy or Consulate.

Based on the information provided, a Consular official may simply issue a visa, or he/she may delay issuing the visa, pending the outcome of an investigation into the facts pertaining to the child. In some countries, there may be a request for a birthparent interview, for example, so that the Embassy can be sure that the child was voluntarily relinquished and not bought or kidnapped, or so the Embassy can verify that the woman is a single parent. Any irregularities in the foreign paperwork, even fairly minor ones such as two different spellings of the birthmother's name, could cause
delays.

If the I-600 is filed in the U.S., there may be fewer problems when the family goes to the Embassy or Consulate abroad to obtain the child's visa. However, Consular officials overseas still have the right to request additional information if their knowledge of local conditions leads them to suspect that something is amiss.

In countries where there is a long tradition of adoption by U.S. citizens, and where the foreign government tends to be meticulous in its handling of adoption issues, I-600s and visa applications are handled fairly routinely. As an example, it is rare for the Consular authorities in Guangzhou, China to challenge any paperwork. With about 7,000 Chinese adoptions annually by American citizens, and with a tightly controlled and centralized adoption process, things tend to go very smoothly.

In countries where there is a history of child trafficking, visa fraud, etc., investigations tend to be more thorough and there may be specific, required investigative processes. As an example, with regard to non-relative direct relinquishment adoptions from Guatemala, the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City requires DNA testing of the child and the birthmother, to ensure that the woman relinquishing the child is, in fact, the birthmother and not someone who has stolen or bought the child.

While it is, at least theoretically, possible to do independent adoption from some countries -- others don't allow it -- I would like to reiterate
that you should have competent help to ensure that things go smoothly.

You may find an adoption agency that can help you with a Belize adoption, but I don't think it's your best or lowest cost option. There are very few adoptions from Belize, and I can't think of an American agency with expertise in that country, though there could be one.

On the Belizean side, you will probably need an attorney to handle the adoption/guardianship in the country's court system. Be very careful in choosing such a person, to make sure that everything is done in a legal and ethical manner, and that the person is thoroughly familiar with the processes and personalities involved. Your adoption/immigration attorney can help you find such a person if you don't have good contacts.

On the American side, I would STRONGLY advise against trying to go it alone. U.S. immigration law is complicated, and it is easy to run into problems if
you aren't thoroughly familiar with the process, or if you rely solely on a foreign attorney.

I'm afraid that I don't know an attorney in your area who can help you. I will PM you with the name of an immigration/adoption attorney in Georgia who might be able to refer you to someone. She is very, very well regarded in the field of adoption and immigration law. You can also call your local bar association.

Sharon