[amarath5000]

Last year our neighbor had their nephews living with them. Two boys 12 & 13. Their father is in Mexican prison and mother here does really want them. They had been in country since they were babies illegally. Anyway the aunt sent them to Mexico for the summer. They came back to live with their mother, who didn't take care of them so the family sent them back to Mexico. I know what Mexico means, now the older boy is already out of school. I told the aunt I would be willing to adopt them. I had been waiting to adopt from the US foster system. Anyway I just got off the phone with the boys visiting Dad at prison. It was terrible. They wanted to know when they could leave. They sounded desperate. I know them really well, this isn't a line. If the mother and father give them up for adoption can I adopt them and bring them here? Can I get a VISA for school and bring them sooner? This is terrible, they sounded so desperate. Where do I find out what to do?

[riverview]

how about an adoption attorney on the US/Mexican border, perhaps in Texas?

[amarath5000]

Tomorrow I'll try calling a local place that I was referred to when I was thinking about China. This is terrible, by the time I get would get through all this the older boy will be nearly 15 and drugs will have gotten him, if they haven't already. It doesn't seem right that boys who lived here 90% of the their lives just can't be adopted. If they were citizens they could come live with me as soon as mom agreed. I'm worried that it is too late already.

[sak9645]

Get a REPUTABLE American adoption/immigration lawyer immediately. (There seem to be a lot of less than reputable ones on the U.S./Mexican border; don't go with any of them.) Consider a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys. If you need a recommendation, I can give you two names of people who are of stellar reputation and highly experienced with immigration and adoption issues. What you are trying to do is complex, and you'll need very competent legal help.

First off, you'll have to hurry if you want to adopt the boys, as they cannot get an adoption visa to enter the U.S. if they have reached their 16th birthday when the orphan petition is filed with the USCIS. Don't wait.

Second, any international adoption requires compliance with the laws of the child's country of citizenship. You will have to get a legal relinquishment of the children and do a legal adoption, under Mexican law. And Mexican adoption law is a nightmare, varying by Mexican state and, occasionally varying in interpretation by different individuals in the government. Most American adoption agencies don't work in Mexico because of the difficulty of completing ethical adoptions in a timely manner. You will probably need a Mexican attorney at some point, but DON'T find one on your own. Let the reputable American attorney find one for you, as he/she will know who is reputable and in good odor with the Mexican authorities.

Second, once you have adopted the boys, you won't be able to bring them into the U.S. unless they can get adoption visas. Don't even try to do the adoption unless a competent American attorney advises you that the children are eligible for visas. The reason I say this is that you MAY have a problem with the boys' eligibility.

You see, under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, children qualify for an adoption visa only if they can be declared "eligible orphans." A child can be declared an eligible orphan ONLY if: a) the child lives with a single parent who cannot maintain him/her at a level considered normal in the foreign country; b) the child is legally determined to be abandoned, with no known parent; c) the child is legally determined to have lost both parents to death; OR d) the child has been legally relinquished by a court of law, and is living in an institution with no contact at all with the birth family.

A child whom you adopt from married parents is NOT eligible for an adoption visa. If the boys' parents are considered still married, and you adopt them, they will not qualify for an adoption visa, even if both parents agreed to relinquish them to you and you completed a legal adoption under Mexican law. A good lawyer could tell you whether it is possible to have the boys considered eligible because they technically live with their Dad, even though their Dad is now in prison.

If a child whose adoption you have completed doesn't meet the requirements for an adoption visa, he/she would not be able to come into the U.S. UNLESS you were willing to live overseas with him/her for at least two years, and then apply for a regular visa for him/her. My guess is that you would be unable to do this, due to work requirements and such.

If, after getting advice from an attorney, you decide to pursue adoption of the boys, you will need to have a homestudy in your state of residence. You will also need to prepare other paperwork about yourself that the authorities in Mexico will need in order to consider whether you should be allowed to complete an adoption. In addition, you will need to get USCIS approval to bring children into the U.S., and USCIS recognition of their eligibility for an adoption visa, considering their age, their orphan status, etc.

If you decide not to pursue adoption of the boys, either because you are advised that they will not be eligible for immigration or because you think it's too much of a hassle and a risk to go through the complex adoption procedures (which can take a year or more), you can certainly try to get them to the U.S. on an education visa.

HOWEVER, be aware that the USCIS is not giving out education visas as freely as it once did, since the events of 9/11 (where some of the terrorists came to the U.S. on education visas). You will need to use a good immigration attorney in the U.S. to help you determine whether the boys can get education visas, and, if possible, to pursue the application for the visas.

Remember that, if you bring the boys to the U.S. on education visas, they are NOT able to stay here permanently. They must go back to Mexico when the terms of their visa expire. Technically, you can be prosecuted for visa fraud if you bring a person to the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa, and try to keep him/her in the U.S. permanently.

Do NOT expect, in any case, that you will be able to adopt the boys under the laws of your state. If they come to the U.S. on education visas, they will remain citizens of Mexico. As a result, they will need to go back to Mexico, and you will need to adopt them under Mexican law.

I hope this helps.

Sharon

[amarath5000]

Thanks, that is a very good explanation about what I have been reading. I'm afraid it is hopeless. If we say the mother abandoned them, which is basically true, later on she will come and want them back, probably for money. If she gives them up, then they don't qualify as orphan? I wish the family hadn't told the boys. I know they wanted to find out if they wanted to do it but now they have their hopes up. I wish the mother would bring them back up here. Then they might end up in foster care and I might be able to get them that way. Maybe we will think about education VISA and worry about it when they get out of school. Better to be educated here and go back to Mexico rather than only going to eighth grade. Please send me the name of attorney.

[Exchangesis]

im not sure how this would apply to you, but you would probobly not be eligible to adopt the boys once they are out of high school. One of my firends has lived in america illegaly since she was 5 (she is 22 now), and her mom married an american citizen when she was here, but they never got the daughter citizen ship, and now since she is 21, she is no longer eligible to get american citizenship based on her stepfather. Just a caution for you!

[amarath5000]

Anybody know about educational VISAs? Everything I saw said it's for college but I know girls came up from Mexico to my grade school and were not citizens and I doubt they were illegal. I know if you do the VISAs you have to accept the fact that they will go back to Mexico after school but I know what will happen if they stay there with 7th grade educations. Even if I could adopt, a year would be nearly two years out of school for the oldest. Being realistic, would you go back to 8th grade at 15?

[amarath5000]

The boys talked to their Mother who won't agree to any adoption. She says she wants to bring them back with her but they don't trust her. Apparently this is what she always says, then she leaves them somewhere. Anyway I think step-mom is going to go to court to have them taken away from her. If this happens I might be able to adopt them. We will see what step-mom comes up with, then I will contact attorney up here. It was great to talk to the boys again but you can hear in their voice that they want to come home.