[daisy_hobbs]

Today I talked to my friend who works on diplomatic issues with North Korea and several things clicked:

1) My husband and I had previously thought about adopting instead of having another biological child

2) I have read that some Korean parents are paying to have their teenagers adopted by Americans who do not have a Korean background

3) I have read that some folks pretend to adopt children for use in the sex trades

4) North Korea's nuclear testing has probably drastically increased pressure on South Korean parents wanting to get their children out of the country, making them extra vulnerable to exploitation via #3 and #2

So I'm wondering, is there some way that we can help? I've seen lots of info on adopting babies, but nothing on older children so I don't have any idea about where to start.

We have a pretty modest home, but at least it's a safe place in a good neighborhood with good public schools.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Daisy

[nancyinoh]

I'll PM you
Nancy

[BrandyHagz]

I've deleted one post from this thread.

If you don't have something useful to contribute, there really is no need to post.

If you feel this post needs the attention of a moderator, use the Report This Post feature.

[sak9645]

I really think that you are hearing a good deal of misinformation.

A. As to lots of Koreans paying to place their teenagers for adoption with Americans, I think you are very mistaken.

First off, U.S. immigration law does NOT permit an adoption visa to be granted to a child who has been adopted directly from a married couple.

Under U.S. immigration law, an adoption visa can be granted ONLY if a child meets what is called the "orphan definition". Under the orphan definition, a child can get a visa only if:

1. He/she was declared abandoned after a failed government effort to locate his/her birthparents, and has been living in an orphanage or foster home with no contact with the biological family.

2. He/she lost both parents to death. (Death certificates are required.)

3. He/she was removed from the biological family for cause (such as abuse or neglect) by an action of a legitimate government entity and has been living in an institution or foster family with no contact with the biological family.

4. He/she was unconditionally relinquished by the biological family to an orphanage, and has been living there for some signficant period of time, with no contact with the biological family. (The U.S. government has denied visas when it felt that the child wasn't living in an orphanage long enough, and there was the appearance of an effort to circumvent the orphan definition.)

5. He/she was in the custody of a SINGLE parent who could not afford to maintain him/her at a standard considered normal in the foreign country (NOT by U.S. standards).

If a child does not qualify for an adoption visa because he/she does not meet the orphan definition, then the only way he/she can enter the U.S. to live with adoptive parents is for the adoptive parents to live overseas with him/her for two years and then to apply for a regular immediate relative visa. Most Americans cannot take two years away from their jobs and family to live overseas with an adopted child.

The U.S. government is extremely strict in enforcing the adoption visa rules, which apply both in the case of unrelated party adoptions and in the case of relative adoptions.

The U.S. government has been known to deny adoption visas on many grounds. As an example, it has even denied a visa to a child living with a single woman who is living with a man other than the biological father, claiming that in practice, if not in law, the man is the stepfather of the child. So you can see that it is not an easy matter to qualify for an adoption visa.

Also, under U.S. immigration law, a child is not eligible for an adoption visa if he/she has reached his/her 16th birthday when the immigration petition is filed. The ONLY exception is made if the adoptive parents have already adopted his/her biological sibling, in which case an adoption visa may be issued up till the child's 18th birthday. Again, this holds true for both relative and non-relative adoptions.

Moreover, the U.S. government routinely denies adoption visas if there is evidence that money has passed between the birthparents and the adoptive parents.

Usually, allegations of "purchased" children involve adoptive families paying birthparents for their children. I have never heard of allegations of birthparents paying adoptive parents. This is simply a bizarre scenario, since the birthparents usually have much less money than the adoptive parents.

Also, most adoptive parents do NOT want to adopt teenagers, whether or not money is involved. Most adoptions by U.S. families involve infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Adoption agencies try very hard to convince American families to adopt older children and children with special needs, both domestically and internationally, but the fact is that such children often wind up living in orphanages for the rest of their lives.

Finally, Korean law probably has a maximum age after which a child can not be considered adoptable. In China, for example, a child cannot be adopted after his/her 14th birthday.

I am not an expert on Korea, but my understanding is that Korea does not like to place older children for international adoption frequently, because of a belief that adjustment to a new family overseas is difficult for an older child. Thus, is quite possible that the Korean government would not grant guardianship of a teenager to an American family, so they could take the child out of the country for adoption.

Remember that international adoption involves two components -- adoption, which must follow the rules set forth by the country of citizenship of the child, and immigration, which must follow the rules set forth by the country of the adoptive parents' citizenship and residence.

Now, what DOES happen is that some South Korean children come to the U.S. on education visas. Education visas CANNOT be used to bring a child to the U.S. for adoption. To try to adopt a child brought to the country on an education visa would expose the adoptive family to charges of visa fraud.

With an education visa, a child must have been accepted to a legitimate school and to have proof that all necessary fees have been paid. The visa is good only as long as the child remains in the school. If he/she graduates or quits, he/she must return to South Korea. He/she cannot work while in the U.S.

Because of the fact that some of the 9/11 terrorists came to the U.S. on student visas, it has become increasingly difficult to get a student visa for a child.

A few children may also come to the U.S. on medical visas. Again, such visas cannot be used for adoption purposes. The child must have a medical condition that cannot be corrected in the foreign country, and there must be proof that all his/her medical bills will be paid. He/she must also have proof that he/she has been accepted by a medical institution as a candidate for surgery or whatever other intervention is necessary. The visa is issued to cover only the time needed for the medical intervention and recovery.

Because South Korea has an excellent medical system, it is highly unlikely that many children will have conditions that cannot be treated in that country. South Korea is much more prosperous than the other countries from which Americans adopt.

B. As to adopting to place a child in the sex trade, that is also pretty unlikely, since South Korea has a very well-developed adoption system that sets very strict rules. Unlike in some countries, corruption does not appear to be present in the government's adoption processes. Adoption also takes a year or more and most people in the sex trade aren't going to want to be bothered.

Except in the case of relative adoptions or adoptions by Americans living in Korea, prospective parents living in the U.S. must use an American adoption agency that has been licensed by the Korean government. The relatively few licensed agencies have been around for years and are extremely reputable. The process for licensure is very strict.

More importantly, each adoptive family must go through a fairly complicated process in order to be accepted as a candidate for adoption.

First off, all families must have a homestudy that conforms to the laws of their state of residence, and that satisfies the requirements of U.S. immigration law and the law of the foreign country. The homestudy includes a background check that involves things like a police clearance and a child abuse clearance, a medical exam, counseling, reference checks, review of financial records, and so on. While an occasional unfit person has sneaked through, and has later been accused of child abuse, this is actually surprisingly rare.

Korea is particularly strict about its requirements for adoptive families. As an example, you cannot adopt if you are single, or if you have been married less than three years. You must be under age 43 at the time you start the process and under 45 when the child is brought home. You must have no criminal background and, unlike some countries, Korea does NOT excuse most minor offenses such as old DUIs. You must also be in very good health.

The USCIS requires not only a valid homestudy, but also an FBI fingerprint check. In many cases, this brings up even criminal records that people have thought were expunged (officially removed). As a result, it is pretty good about detecting criminal incidents in a person's past. It is quite likely that, if a person was involved in the sex trade, he/she would have previous run-ins with the law.

If the USCIS does not approve the I-600A and I-600 applications, the adopted child cannot get an immigrant visa to enter the U.S.

Now, I have heard that, if a foreign national, such as an American, resides in Korea, it may be possible for him/her to adopt a child without going through some of the usual U.S. processes. It is pretty rare, though, and the person will still be subject to the KOREAN approval process. The child will also not be eligible for an adoption visa to enter the U.S. before two years are up.

In the sex trade, as I understand it, the "higher ups" tend to be members of well known organized crime syndicates, like the Mafia, which are into the drug trade as well as the sex trade. They are usually known to law enforcement people. And the "lower level" people are usually common criminals with long records for things like being a procurer (pimp) or committing violence against women or selling illegal drugs.

I strongly doubt that any such people could conceal their backgrounds enough to pass a homestudy and USCIS review. I also strongly doubt that such people would be willing to go through the amazing paperchase that is required when one attempts to adopt.

Yes, children are acquired for the sex trade in many countries, though not usually in Korea. But adoption is not the mechanism of choice.

Most commonly, a procurer will go to a girl or boy's parents, particularly if they are poor, and tell them a wonderful story about how they can get the child a good job overseas, so he/she can send money home to his/her parents. Maybe he/she also promises that the child will get to go to school. The procurer may pay the family some money, as well.

In most cases, the parents believe the stories. In others, even if they are suspicious, they feel they have no choice. They accept the money and send their child off, simply so they can feed the other children in their family.

Some of the children procured in this way will be brought to a large city within the country. Others will be taken out of the country, usually on forged or fraudulent documents.

The procurers will basically imprison the children, when they get wherever they are going, whether in the country or outside the country. They force the children into prostitution. The children can be beaten if they try to run away or refuse to participate.

Most children feel that they can't run away. They don't know the language of the foreign country. They may have been told that the procurers are in league with the police and that if they go to the police, they won't get help. They may even worry that, if they go back home, they will be stigmatized because they were forced to submit to prostitution.

This is NOT adoption, in any way, shape, or form. No adoption agencies, orphanages, or government adoption bureaus are involved. This is child-buying, child-stealing, child abuse, child prostitution. These are illegal under U.S. law. They are illegal under Korean law. And the perpetrators will be punished severely when they are caught.

C. I strongly doubt that North Korean weapons testing is causing parents to place their children for adoption.

First off, remember that adoption involves total parental relinquishment. The biological family placing a child for adoption loses all rights over that child. In Korea, the child is actually removed from the family register maintained by the government. The child goes into the adoptive family and is legally granted all the rights of a biological child. He/she takes their name, has inheritance rights, takes on their citizenship, and so on.

Most people do not relinquish children without a very compelling reason, and those who do relinquish their children often experience a degree of grief that lasts for years. If you go onto some of the birthparent boards on the Internet, you will hear many of them talking about how difficult the decision to relinquish was. I would also encourage you to read a book called something like, "I Wish for You a Beautiful Life," which tells the stories of Korean women who made an adoption plan. You will probably cry when you read about their pain.

In most of the countries from which Americans adopt, the main reason for relinquishment is such dire poverty that we as Americans simply cannot imagine it. Parents WILL relinquish a child who would otherwise die because they can't feed him/her. Some will relinquish a child because the breadwinner of the family has died or run off, and circumstances that were manageable previously are now unmanageable.

In many countries, children are relinquished because they have a physical or mental condition that the parents cannot deal with. Most relinquish in hopes that the adoptive parents can fix the children's problems so that they do not die. Some relinquish because they don't want their visibly "malformed" child to experience ostracism in school, inability to get a job, etc.

Children may also be relinquished because the birthmother is unmarried and there is huge social stigma against pregnancy outside of marriage. Although the situation is changing, young Korean women with an unplanned pregnancy often relinquished in the past because they would never have been able to marry or get a job, and because their families would have been disgraced.

Some children are relinquished involuntarily, because the parents are adjudged unfit by a court of law.

In countries like Korea, there remains a huge stigma against placing a child for adoption. Besides the family's grief, placing a child for adoption could cause the family to be ostracised in the community. This stigma could be almost as great as if the government took the child away from the family because of abuse and neglect.

As a result, if a family is worried about North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the family is unlikely to choose to place teenagers for adoption. They may try to get visas to bring the entire family to the U.S. If that doesn't work, they may send children to the U.S. on student visas. But they are not going to break the family bonds permanently.

And most Korean families probably DON'T worry as much about North Korean nuclear weapons as you might think. Many families have relatives in North Korea, and what they would prefer is to see the normalization of relationships with Pyongyang, so that they can see those relatives and share with them South Korea's prosperity. I suspect, too, that there are people who would like to see the governments of the world's superpowers take action to oust the current North Korean leader and install a democracy.

D. In summary, the situations you have described are unlikely. HOWEVER, there are school-aged children available for legitimate adoption in the U.S. and in most of the countries from which Americans can adopt, including Korea.

These are children who have lost parents to war, disease, or famine. These are children who have manageable special needs, such as a club foot or Hep. B carrier status. These are children relinquished or abandoned by desperately poor people, or single parents who find their task overwhelming. And these are children whose parents made bad choices in life, and fell prey to alcohol abuse and drug addiction.

Most legitimate adoption agencies are eager to find parents willing to accept older children, whether American or foreign born. They sometimes reduce their fees for the adoption of children who are of school age and/or who have special needs. But, no, they DON'T pay parents to adopt the children. In the U.S., when you adopt a child with significant special needs through the foster care system, the child MAY come with a medical subsidy that will offset some of the cost of his/her medical care. But that does not exist in foreign countries.

If you are interested in adopting an international child who is of school age, your best bet is to contact a reputable American adoption agency that works in your country of interest. If older child adoption from that country is possible, the agency will explain the process to you, and will tell you about the likely time frame and the fees that are involved, such as the USCIS processing fee.

If you decide to proceed, the agency will help you obtain your homestudy and USCIS clearance, to put together a dossier of documents required by the foreign government, and so on. Be aware that your homestudy process will probably involve requiring you to learn about the special challenges of adopting an older child, who may have had some very negative life experiences in his/her birth family or orphanage.

Depending on what is allowed by the foreign country, you may then wait for the country to make a referral, or choose a Waiting Child from a list maintained by the agency.

Once you are approved by your state, your agency, and the foreign government, and once you have a referral, you will be able to travel to bring the child home. In a few countries, the child can be escorted to you, but I wouldn't recommend this approach with an older child. You will either finalize the adoption overseas or, in the case of certain countries like Korea, bring the child to the U.S. under a decree of guardianship, and adopt him/her here.

I hope this helps.

Sharon

[adoptkoreablog]

I read about this earlier this year and I blogged about it. See my link. It makes me sad.

Korea Adoption Blog - Korean Parents Pay American Couples to Adopt Their Children

[sak9645]

I must tell you that the article contains quite a bit of misinformation, which makes me suspicious about it.

As an example, it does not take two years for an adopted child to become a citizen.

If the child comes home on an IR-3 visa, which is not generally used for Korean adoption, the child becomes a citizen automatically the minute he/she enters the U.S., and a certificate of citizenship arrives automatically in 60-90 days.

If a child comes home on an IR-4 visa, as most Korean children do because they are adopted in the U.S., rather than Korea, they become automatic citizens as soon as the domestic adoption in the parents' home state -- which usually takes 6-12 months. The parents can then obtain a certificate of citizenship by sending the N-600 to the USCIS, with proof that the adoption occurred.

Perhaps the author was thinking about the situation in which a child is adopted and does not meet U.S. requirements for an adoption visa. In that case, the adoptive parents would have to live OVERSEAS with the child for two years, and then get a regular visa for him/her. The children would not then be eligible for automatic citizenship.

Also, adoption does not "skirt" normal immigration procedures. In fact, getting an adoption visa is not easy. The parents must submit a great deal of paperwork to the USCIS -- for example, the report of the homestudy, birth and marriage certificates, and so on -- to prove that they, themselves are fit to bring a child into the country. They must also submit a great deal of paperwork so that the USCIS can decide whether the child can be admitted to the U.S. on an adoption visa. It is not uncommon for both parents and children to be rejected.

Some of the adoptions described in the article are clearly illegal under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, and the USCIS could prosecute for visa fraud if it were aware of them. As I indicated, it is illegal for payments to be made to birthparents or adoptive parents to induce them to relinquish or adopt.

It also would violate U.S. immigration law if birthparents maintained a financial relationship with the adoptive parents, as this would show that they did NOT relinquish parental rights. If they are paying the adoptive parents to raise their children, they are undoubtedly expressing their opinions on how those children should be raised.

In addition, these adoptions almost certainly violate Korean adoption law, which is fairly strict.

Sharon