The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established new procedures for the immigration of children who are adopted by U.S. Citizens and who come from countries that are parties to "Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption."
The actual filing of cases will begin when the United States becomes a party to the Convention and the Convention has entered into force for the United States. The Department of State is finalizing this process and will announce the exact date that the Convention will enter into force approximately three months in advance.
The new regulation is aimed at protecting the interests of birth parents, adoptive parents, and children. An officially designated Central Authority in the child's country will ensure that the intercountry adoption is in the child's best interests, and that any necessary consents have been freely given. The Central Authority in the United States will ensure that the U.S. citizens are suitable as adoptive parents, and that the proposed adoption will meet the requirements of the Convention and U.S. immigration law, so that the child is eligible to immigrate.
More information concerning intercountry adoption procedures is available on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov. General information can be obtained from the USCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.
Information contained in this article was obtained from the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association website at www.aila.com.
