China adoptions: U.S. immigration requirements
U.S. immigration and adoption law
Once the adoption process has been completed, the child will still need to be granted an US immigrant visa before they will be given clearance to enter the US. There are two categories in which an application may be made:
- A Previously Adopted Child: A child qualifying under this category will be under 16 and have been in your care for at least 2 years. You must file an I-130 petition with your local US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) office, and then apply for an immigrant visa for the child at the Immigrant Visa Unit in the US Consulate in Guangzhou. (The Adopted Children’s Immigrant Visa Unit deals only with orphans.)
- An Orphan: All children who have not yet lived with their adopted parents for 2 years (or who have not yet been adopted) qualify for this category.
The main considerations under US law are as follows:
- You or your partner must be a US citizen. (Only a US citizen can file an orphan petition.)
- If you are married, you and your partner must both be party to the adoption.
- Single parents must be over 25 years old.
- The child must be under-16 when the I-600 petition is filed.
- The child must be an “orphan” (as defined by US law) or s/he will not be allowed to enter the US, even if a legal adoption has taken place. (A detailed description of the legal definition of this term can be found at www.uscis.gov.)
Filing an orphan petition
Chinese law does not permit applicants to “pre-select” the child they are to adopt, so it tends to save time to file an “Application for Advance Processing of Orphan petition” at your local USCIS office before beginning the adoption process. The I-600A form must then be taken to Guangzhou and filed at the US Consulate when the adoption has been completed.
Both partners in a married couple must sign the original I-600 after at least one of them has met the child. If you or your partner does not make the trip to China, the spouse who stays in the US must sign the petition after the adoption has been completed and then send it by international courier to China. In this case, the child will be admitted to the US in category IR-4 and will need to be re-adopted in the US.
After filing these forms, it is a good idea to request that the USCIS inform the US Consulate in Guangzhou when they have been approved, as this confirmation is required before work can begin on your case. The Adopted Child Unit at ConGen Guangzhou will then contact you with more information.
All children applying to enter the US in the “Orphan category” undergo an “orphan investigation” by the US Consulate General in Guangzhou. This investigation is to ascertain that the child fits the US immigration law’s definition of an orphan.
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