[Lo-la-la]

I'm curious about readoption and registering our children with the Russian Embassy. I have not started the process of readoption, but if I never do, is that okay? What, if any, problems would I run into if I never did readopt Olya in Texas?

Also, I did register Olya with the Russian Consulate within 30 days after the adoption. Why is this necessary? It must be important or my agency would not have collected a $1000 fee to ensure that I did this. Of course, I was reimbursed the full amount when I provided proof that Olya had been registered, but what is the purpose of that? What if I hadn't complied? If we ever move, would I need to contact the Russian Embassy and inform them of our new address? I'm really just curious about why this is necessary.

Thanks for any information!

[Jim_in_PA]

Registration: Russia still considers your adopted child a Russian citizen and all Russian citizens are obligated to insure that the Russian government knows where they are living. As the parent of a minor child adopted from that country, the registration requirement falls on you. You not only need to register after adoption, but also let them know if and when you move. The child can choose to keep their Russian citizenship or renounce it upon reaching the age of 18 or at any time afterward. If they keep their Russian citizenship, presumably, they will also need to continue to notify the consulate of their current address throughout life.

Re-adoption is not required in many states. Many folks readopt or do some simpler process, when available, to obtain a state-issued birth certificate which is far easier to replace or get certified copies of in the future. Some folks re-adopt to provide additional comfort (and a US court ruling) relative to documenting their adoption...although adoption in Russia is "closed", there is always the extremely infinitesimal potential that someone could contest things in the future. We will likely readopt just for the ceremonial aspect and because my group legal plan covers it...and the PA birth certificate will be a nice added benefit. (Even if we don't re-adopt, we'll still get the birth papers for future convenience)

[Lo-la-la]

Thanks, Jim_in_PA for your reply. What do you think would happen if someone does not register their child? Is it required by law? If adopted Russian children decide to keep their Russian citizenship, they still have to let the Russian government know where they live? Even after the age of 18? Why is this, do you think?

[Jim_in_PA]

Originally Posted by Lo-la-la

What do you think would happen if someone does not register their child? Is it required by law?

It's required by Russian law. We actually had a paper in our dossier that acknowledged we would do it...notarized and apostiled and all... Registration is one of those beefs that they are using in arguments against IA alongside of late or omitted PPRs, etc. An AP might not "get in trouble" themselves, but they would be jeopardizing future adoptions through non-compliance. That's why the agencies have instituted the deposits, etc...and the Russians, justifiably so, want to know where their citizens, including children, are.

If adopted Russian children decide to keep their Russian citizenship, they still have to let the Russian government know where they live? Even after the age of 18? Why is this, do you think?

Per my previous, Russian citizens are required by the Russian government to disclose where they are living, etc. That includes internally as well as when they are living outside of the Federation. It's just one of those responsibilities that comes with citizenship. If your child decides to keep that citizenship and does not formally renounce it, they need to report their whereabouts...

[mikeintexas]

Lola,

I'd strongly urge you to go ahead and go through the process in Texas. It is so incredibly easy that it is not even funny. Are you pursuing a "readoption" or a "recognition of a foreign decree"? The readoption typically is more involved and involves an attorney (which you have an arm up on here). The recognition of foreign decree does the same thing (I think)... in the end, you have a Texas-issued birth certificate. This was VERY important to us because we thought of all the times we needed an official copy of our birth certificate... can you imagine trying to get an official copy of one from Russia???? Good heavens, that gives me heartburn just to think about it.

This procedure cost us less than $175 and we did it at our district courthouse. Very simple.

Della wrote out all the details... here are the instructions:

Here are the instructions:

For Julia’s Texas birth certificate we printed forms and turned them in at our local courthouse, were assigned a court date and received the actual birth certificate – hooray! To start, go to the website for Texas Department of State Health Services: www.dshs.state.tx.us
Click on Birth/Death Certificates, Request Processing, General Info – forms, Adoption forms and print the forms: Certificate of Adoption and Instructions, Validation Order, Validation Petition.

First we completed the Validation Petition form APPLICATION FOR ORDER RECOGNIZING VALIDITY OF FOREIGN DECREE OF ADOPTION, NOTARIAL ACT OF ADOPTION, AND FOR CHANGE OF NAME. Even though Julia’s name was already changed by the Russian court we still had to fill it out again as a name change in part IV. We attached photocopies of the adoption decree, birth certificate and adoption certificate, and we attached both the translated and Russian pages. At the bottom of the page we crossed out the words “Attorney for the” and both signed above the line as Petitioners. We also filled out the information we could on the ORDER which is what the judge actually signs. We took this paperwork to the District Clerk’s Office at the county courthouse where someone accepted the papers and gave us a copy of both documents with their stamp on it. We paid the fees and were given a name of the Court Coordinator in our district and told to call her in a week to see when our court date would be. Following are the fees we paid:
District Clerk Filing Fee/Adoption $ 51
State Fee/Family Cases 45
ADR/DC 10
Record Preservation Fund/DC 10
Courthouse Security/DC 5
Law Library Fund/DC 20
Sheriff’s Jury Fee/DC 5
Court Reporter Fee/DC 15
TOTAL $161

The next step was to fill out the CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION and we were told to take that to court with us. We completed Sections 1 and 2 then the rest is ok if you don’t know the information, just put “not known” (we filled in the agency info). After waiting a week I called the Court Coordinator and she told us a date and time for the court hearing. When the appointed time arrived we took Julia with us and went to court. The judge asked a few questions just to verify names and information then he completed the ORDER and gave the file to a clerk and we were finished. I did give him the CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION and told him we were told to give it to him and he just put it in the file. So we left.

After a few days I called the judge’s clerk to see what happens next. She said to come right down and get a certified copy of the signed ORDER because it would be sealed and then we would never get a copy! (Whew, glad I called! This is where a lawyer would have known what to do!) So I went right down to the courthouse and the clerk made 4 certified copies for me where they stamped the bottom and marked it with the seal. She also filled out Section 4 on the CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION.

The next step was for us to follow mailing instructions on CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION INSTRUCTIONS (under Section 4). So we mailed the CERTIFICATE OF ADOPTION and one certified copy of the ORDER (will keep other 3 copies in safe deposit box with Russian originals) to Texas Vital Statistics. We were told to include a check for $36, which is the $25 for BORN IN TEXAS OR FOREIGN COUNTRY and $11 for ONE CERTIFIED COPY OF NEW BIRTH RECORD. We were told it takes 10-12 weeks to get the Texas birth certificate and we actually received the birth certificate after 10 weeks.

[Lo-la-la]

Thanks, Mike - that's great information! I will eventually do the readoption for Olya. I appreciate your response!

[RBSVARCHER]

We re-adopted David in Alabama because it would be easier for me to register him in school with an official certificate that was written in English - to expedite matters for us as well for him later in life, (not that we need any more identification for him)

Also, it just made me feel better seeing an official document in English saying he was "ours" instead of reading a Russian written document with a stapled translation.

Susan

[MyHeartsDesire]

I just went thru this process following Mike and Della's instructions (THANK YOU!) exactly and it was a piece of cake! No attorney needed. It cost us $233 (don't know why it was more for us) total and was only a matter of filling out the paperwork, going to the district clerk's office, making a couple of phone calls, then to court. It's so totally worth it. Gavin's life will be so much easier when he has a Texas birth certificate that doesn't need to be translated everytime an institution requires him to submit his birth certificate (such as school). We were thrilled at how smoothly this process went and how glad we were to have a little adoption "ceremony" that we got share with our daughter here at home. I strongly recommend it.

Lisa

[calikismet]

Originally Posted by Jim_in_PA

although adoption in Russia is "closed", there is always the extremely infinitesimal potential that someone could contest things in the future.

It is interesting, Jim, that you bring this up b/c I just found out that our state (California) will provide a state-issued birth certificate if you can get a "judicial establishment of the fact of birth" from the district court. It is 100 time easier than a readoption..

So the question came up: why even bother with readoption if you can get a state-issued birth cert?

I thought about it, and came up with the same answer: I wanted a court in the US to say that our child is our child... Maybe that shows my slight mistrust of the Russian system, but I want our adoption to be FINAL in any court of law.. even an international one.

So I will continue to recommend readoption even if your state issues a birth certificate without readoption.

** Edited to add: we have readopted both of our kids, and loved both of the "ceremonies." We made it a neat event, and got the kids all dressed and shined up..They got pictures with the judge and a teddy bear to take home. We followed it with a fun breakfast out. At our daughter's readoption hearing, there were about 5 or 6 other families (we went back into the judge's chambers for the actual signing of the decree). I was so disappointed that the other families were wearing blue jeans, shorts, t-shirts, etc.. and my kids were in Sunday best. I was sad that other families did not view this as a neat event.