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Hello-
I have a good friend whose mother was born and raised in the Philippines. She married a GI and moved here and raised her family, however, every year she goes back to take humanitarian aid. In meeting her I had mentioned that I was looking into adopting there, and this summer when she visited, she located and identified several families who were unable to care for their children and who wished for them to be adopted into the United States so that they might have a brighter future. I am an attorney in Florida, however, I do only domestic adoptions, and I am trying to avoid most of those as they are becoming more problematic lately. Does anybody know if it is possible to adopt independently there? If so, can you point us to any links for info. i have the government one there. Has anyone done this? I suspect there are MANY children out there who would be able to be adopted this way if it was not too complicated. Any help/info is appreicated.
Sue
Information on International Adoption from The Philippines. [url]http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption_philippines.html[/url]
More information on Visas
[url]http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption_resources_06.html[/url]
Information on Orphan Classification
[url]http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/Adop_Prospective.htm[/url]
A child who is adopted internationally must be considered an ғOrphan in order to be eligible to come to the US.
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Hi,
I am afraid Brandy is right. However, if one the children that she has located has some sort of medical need (a real medical need, like club feet or something), a family can bring them here for medical treatment, and then adopt them, but, they still would have to be considered an orphan, so their parents would have to relinquish rights to the child/ren beforehand, and prove to their courts that they cannot provide for their child. Check out ICAB's (Intercountry Adoption Board) website, and write them a letter if you'd like more information on their laws, etc. Good luck!
Jen
Okay- I see your point about the "orphan classification" What if the mother flew here with the children and consented to adoption here? Would the same snag happen? Could they come here on a temporary basis/temp placement like a guardianship agreement and then become adopted? I am not familiar enough with INS rules to be certain how it all works. Could the lady relative here not try to "claim" the kids then consent with the mother to the adoption? I am very afraid that if the mother declares her indigency, then the goventment there will take the children and they could spend significant time in an orphanage, which is obviously not healthy for them if it can be avoided. I guess I am just looking for a workaround. It seems if the adoption goes on in another counrty, then the child can be classified a "relative"? But if not, then it is hard to get them here in the first place. What about if a pregnant mother (this one may be pregnant again...) flies here under a tourist visa and gives birth? Would that child be adoptable here without stepping on the toes of her country? I can see this could pose problems for unscrupulous black market baby vendors though, opening the door to abuse that way. Any potential workarounds would be helpful, thanks!
There is no way around the law...even if they were to come here, they would still have to be adopted internationally.
As for your scenario regarding the pregnant mother; The US passed laws recently regarding the import (for lack of a better word) of pregnant women from other countries...This WAS a common practice between The Marshall Islands and Hawaii...with the new laws not only here in the US, but RMI, the practice is outlawed (although some money hungry agencies and attorneys could care less).
Many women immigrate here from other countries and give birth, it happens every day...some even place those children for adoption...but it would be hard to hide the fact that the mother came here simply to give birth, then go home...you might have a very hard time finding a judge that would look past that...and even then, it would be an illegal adoption, because of the laws surrounding the import (theres that word again, sorry) of pregnant women for purposes of adoption.
I know its not what you want to hear҅but if your heart is set on the Philippines, then itd be better for everyone (you, the child and the adoptive parents that follow behind you) if you follow the steps outlined for both countries!
Good luck!
To qualify for immigration, as the others have pointed out, the child must be classified as an 'orphan'. However, there is one thing that the others have not mentioned to you, and that is the fact that a single parent CAN directly relinquish a child for adoption and that child will qualify for orphan status. If one parent is dead, or the mother is not married, then she may relinquish her parental rights and the child is eligible for adoption and immigration. However, that would most likely mean that the child(ren) would need to reside either with a foster family or in an orphanage from the point of relinquishment until the adoption is completed and the child could travel to the US. The likelihood that a child could remain in the custody of the biological parent for the duration of the adoption process is highly unlikely, and frankly rather suspect.
This is actually the most common way that mothers relinquish children for adoption in Guatemala. They are single mothers and they sign away their parental rights. The children are then placed in foster families until the adoptive families in the US are able to complete the adoption process and bring them into the states.
I don't know what role the Phillipino government would play in an independent adoption though. Its my understanding that the oversight branch must sign off on every match of a Phillipino child with an adoptive family in the US. The person I spoke with said that getting approval seems to have little rhyme or reason beyond the knowledge that they strongly prefer families that have ties to the Phillipines and are Catholic. But, they also said that its not always the case either. So, you would have to look into what impact the government of the Phillipines would have on any adoption you might pursue independentally.
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Did I read your post right, is a relative wanting to adopt the children? If so, that is entirely different. You CAN adopt relatives, and it's different from what we had to go through, but it is very doable!! They just need to contact Dr. Lourna T.R. Laraya at ICAB in Manila, and ask her how to do it!
If not, Philippine laws are much different, and they won't budge. They will not let you pick your child. If it is an entire sibling group, and you asked for specifics, you might end up with that family of children, but again, they'd have to have already been relinquished as orphans. Good luck.
Jen
ps, I just read the part about being Catholic, and do not believe it. Almost every adoption agency in America will tell you that, but we cleared the air on that one while we were there. they said that is the old way the used to think - years ago, but their guidlines are that they will adopt to anyone, any religion, as long as you believe in God, and are good people (exept Jehovah's Witness because of their belief in the blood plasma thing, which I don't know much about, so I can't really say what it is - something about not accepting blood transfusions). We are LDS, and our journey was half of what most peoples waits are, so the religion thing does not make a difference to them.
These children are not my relatives. They are the children of my good friend's cousin. My friend was born here of Filipino mother and GI American dad. The Filipino mother has an extended family back there, and it is her sister's child who is the one who wants to send her children here. The mother of the babies is unwed, and the father is pretty much unknown.
So is what you all are telling me that if my friend, who is 2nd cousin to these babies, wanted to adopt, she could much more easily, but I can not? Could I adopt the mother, who is all of 18 or 19? Then she could place the children with me? I think any adult can consent to adoption but that might not allow her to come to the US, but maybe would allow her to place the children with me, either as adopted children, or as permenant guardians? Is this a another alternative, long term guardianship? The point is to get the children out of that place, so if that is what it takes, then would that be allowed? And how would US look at that, would they allow a long term placement of a child that way? This is very difficult, but from what I am hearing it is not possible for the mother of the babies to be any way guranteed that the children would be placed with ANYONE, let alone me? And that the babies would be subjected to institutionalization while this was all pending? I can't imagine how the local government can possibly think this is a better alternative for the children? This would likely keep many people from giving their children to good families because of the mess in the middle between relinquishing their rights and the adoption. Are there NO private adoptions there?
I know this is a lot of questions, but I think the children are worth it...
No, you cannot adopt the mother. Children must be younger than 16, or younger than 18 IF you are adopting a sibling younger than 16 at the same time.
Yes, we all understand that you want to get those young children out of where they are, but there are children in the Phillipines who are MUCH more in need of an adoptive home, and those are the legally relinquished children already in orphanages. That is one reason why you can only adopt legally relinquished children from orphanages.
Most countries feel very strongly that the only reason a parent should give up rights to their children is if there is absolutely no way possible for the parent to provide even the bare necessities for the children. Almost everyone in the USA is better off than almost everyone in the Phillipines, but that is no reason for all the Phillipine children to be adopted to the USA, and neither the Phillipine government nor the USA government is going to bend in the case of any individual child.
Yes, it absolutely does keep poor Phillipine adults from allowing their children to be adopted by families in more prosperous countries. It also avoids all the corruption, black marketing, paying people to surrender their children, promises of contact that can be broken, bribes, substituting adoption when the birth parents were told it would only be guardianship, people walking all over the coutryside saying "I'll take that one - how much money do you need to say you asked me to adopt her?"... and all the other heartache and deceived people that have made the countries set up adoption laws the way they have.
It may not be better for those individual children you have heard about, but it IS better for all Phillipine children, en masse, for the legal route of adoption to be followed at all times. That means submitting your application through the proper channels, and allowing the Phillipine government to select your child from the ones already legally orphaned and waiting.
Diane said it well. There are NO private adoptions in the Philippines, unless you are adopting relatives, or an orphan that you brought here for a medical reason. Sorry.
Isn't there a way that you can sponser someone, and bring them here for education and/or work? I've heard of it, but do not know how.
Jen
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