What is it meant by degree of sanguinity

This is where ICAB's winning personality, "We're not Lawyers we're Social Worker" really shines. Sanguineous-Means a blood relative. In the adoption of a relative, according to Philippine Law for the waver of the residency requirement it must be with-in the "4th degree of relation". Actually it can be by blood or by marriage but must be with-in the 4th degree. However since ICAB sets the policy they make the rules for approval when it comes to immigration. So even if the Regional Trial Court approves your petition, ICAB will still have to bless it for the child will be able to immigrate to the US, that is if the child is eligible for Inter-Country Adoption. If not you'll have an immigration problem. Once you have a final decree, you'll have to wait for two years when the child actually becomes your child under US immigration law or until Adoption Reform happens for the child to be able immigrate with-in the two years. There is a new amendment however that will allow the child to have a visitor's visa but still under the Child Act of 2000 he/she will not be a US citizen till he/she enters as a resident. It would be prudent for you to file for custody in the case of a relative so that the two years can be done with before the final is granted. If the adoption is not with-in the 4th degree the petition can still be granted but 3 years residency must be established before the filing of the petition. Johnny

thank you for all your information. We are from British Columbia Canada and my wife and I are both Canadian Citizens. Do you know about the legalities between Canada and the Philippines and their relations regarding relative adoption ?

BC and the Philippines are both signed up to the Hague rules when using the Intercountry process. This means the child must be in the Intercountry program to be adoptable. For the Philippines, as a sending country the exception is a relative adoption within the 4th Degree of relation in order for the court to waive the residency requirement of (3) years. (ICAB is involved in this process.) Domestically (ICAB is not involved) both Filipino and non-Filipino can adopt as long as there is no criminal background and they meet the other basic qualifications. The rules and process however do favor Filipinos. A Filipino Relative Adoption with an astute Lawyer can take less than 2 years to push through the system without paying to expedite. Expect 3 to 3.5 years with a Lawyer not familiar with the requirements and a few extra hearing fees too. Non-relative adoptions are scrutinized. I have read a decision (1998) where the judge approved a case similar to ours but it was and overturned when the OSG objected because the AP was a resident alien (American) and the child was not related to the spouse. A previous case was sited with the overturned decision and the appeal was rejected as well. This doesn't mean that a non-relative adoption can not happen. It just means that all your "T's crossed and I's doted". There are a number of sites that contain the Philippine Law text online. Chanrobles.com usually pops up on a quick search. This is quite a good one for doing research and the text is accurate. [url]http://www.pinoylaw.com/library/laws/ra8552-adoption.htm[/url] You also should be aware that rules get added that are not amended to the public laws. An Executive Order is one type of rule and is basically a Law. I am not a Lawyer and only know these things from experience. There may be an easier way of obtaining the pertinent rules but I dont know how. A paralegal certainly should know how. A Filipino law student might be a good source. Example: A resident non-Filipino now has the same basic requirements as the PAP using the Intercountry Adoption process. i.e criminal clearance must come from the Alien PAP diplomatic office and legal capacity to adopt from the country of origin. There is also a third requirement but I forget what it is. I don't know the specific requirements for immigration to BC you'll have to check with BC Immigration. HTH, Johnny

Johnny Can I adopt my sister in law's(fillipino,but resides in the states now) brother's baby(in the phillipines) if the baby is not considered an orphan?The baby's parents are married but cannot take care of it and all have consented because I am family.I was hoping you would know something about my situation.Thanks-Candy

Not to try and discourage you, but you'll need to verify the affinity or relationship definition through an experienced adoption Lawyer or approach a Judge regarding this law. I have not read the technical description in the text of the law because I couldn't find one. My guess is that none exist other that what is described under Catholic rules regarding marriage prohibition. One would think that there is text to support the definition and I suppose there is under “Family Law” but it is not referenced under the Adoption Law. If I understanding you correctly, the reason you did not write “your brother-in-law’s child” is because it is your sibling’s brother-in-law. I don’t know if this counts, because I would think it means you are not the one connected through marriage but rather your sibling is the one connected. DSWD is another source which should be able to answer the question with assurance. Supposing you are qualified for the residency wavier, under the newly implemented (ICAA of 2000) Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 even children that are not technically orphans can now be qualified for the I-600 process. Your Agency, (and you must process under State Department approved agency) should be able to explain the process. Although I'm sure there will be some agencies that have not educated all of their staff or understand the process. You should get started with the I-600a as soon as possible. HTH, Johnny

Hi Johnny-thanks for your response!I have been told that since the relation is through marriage and it is too distant.What do you mean qualified for the residency waiver?Do you mean living in the PI for 2 years?Why do I have to use an agency?I have contacted an immigration lawyer and am still trying to get through to ICAB.Is ICAB an agency for the PI?I emailed Wide Horizon's and they told me I could not adopt a non-orphan child so I contacted an immigration lawyer(waiting to talk to him still).I have not seen anything about this newly implemented ICAA of 2000.I have been a million websites regarding international adoption.Where can I find this info? Do you think my brother could get the child a visa to get here,then I adopt?The relationship is-my brother's wife's(she is fillipino and lives here)brother(lives in PI) has a new baby.Does that make sense?? I didn't want to submit the I-600a if there is no chance of getting a visa.Thanks again!! Candy

Hi Candy, The short and easy answer is just to tell you it can't be done. It is a hard process and takes time and effort to explain what must be done. This is the reason to you statement from agencies like "you can not adopt a non-orphan" when you should be told that you can only adopt children that are qualified for the Intercountry process using the Intercountry process and that there are immigration difficulties with non-orphan children. For the most part I would agree with the agencies however like I said it's the easy answer. It's been a while since I taken a look at the USCIS and State Department's web sites... when I checked my links, most of them are already broken but you'll find some of what I've written about here: [url=http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=063807b03d92b010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=063807b03d92b010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD]Adoption[/url] and here: [url=http://www.gov.ph/faqs/adoption.asp]Philippines : Gov.Ph : Frequently Asked Questions : Philippines[/url]

Johnny,thank you for your time.This seems an impossible task by all accounts.I appreciate your willingness to respond-Candy

Hi Candy, It's not about us... It's about the kids future... If our Government and ICAB could just focus on the childrens needs the process wouldn't be this difficult especially when it comes to relative children. It's not impossible, but it does take lots of energy, effort and money on your part to figure it out. It is not beyond your brother and his wife to be in the fore-ground... Since they surely have the Affinity connection the I-600 process can be done.... HTH, Johnny

Johnny, Let me clarify something. At present, you still cannot get an adoption visa for ANY child, related or unrelated, who was living with married parents (or parents in common law relationship if the country recognizes common law marriage). This is true, even if you manage to adopt a child under Philippine law. When the U.S. ratifies the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, tentatively scheduled for some time in 2007, people adopting from countries that have also ratified the Hague will probably not have to worry about the orphan definition. However, it appears that people adopting from non-Hague countries will still have to comply with the orphan definition. The good news is that the Philippines has already ratified the Hague. However, since the U.S. still has not ratified -- and some people wonder whether it will really be able to ratify in 2007, despite the State Department's plan to do so, given how much still has to be done to make the U.S. adoption system Hague compliant -- you will have to wait if you want to adopt a child living with married parents. Sharon

Another clarification. The Intercountry Adoption Act is a U.S. law that allows the U.S. to implement Hague-compliant adoption processes, including the creation of a Central Authority for adoption, and to ratify Hague Convention #33. It was passed in 2000. The law itself does not implement the Hague Convention. All it does is provide some basic structure for what the U.S. must do in order to be able to ratify. As an example, the Act says that the U.S. State Department will become the Central Authority for Hague adoptions in the U.S., once the Hague is ratified. At present, there is no central adoption authority, and adoptions are regulated primarily by individual states, except in matters of immigration. Since the passage of the Intercountry Adoption Act in 2000, the State Department has created the implementing regulations to support the law. As you probably know, a law just outlines the way things will work in broad terms; the regulations provide the details. The State Department also created a process for selecting accrediting bodies to accredit U.S. agencies wishing to take part in Hague adoptions, and has now selected those accrediting bodies. The accrediting bodies have received applications from agencies and "approved persons" (mostly lawyers) wishing to participate in Hague adoptions, and will go through the fairly lengthy accreditation process with each. The State Department is still doing things like creating the information systems necessary to track all adoptions and maintain the Hague-mandated paperwork on each. A great many other tasks also remain to be completed. The State Department has said that it expects implementation to occur some time in 2007, and that the "instruments of ratification" will be deposited in the Hague once that occurs. There are some people who aren't sure that everything will be done on time, but we can hope that the process remains on schedule. The U.S. State Department website has a great deal of information about the Hague Convention on its website. You can read it at [url=http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/convention/convention_462.html]Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption[/url]. Sharon

You seem so knowledgable about all of this stuff, wow. My husband and I have applied, to and through an agency, for an adoption from the Philippines. What are some things we should expect? what are some of the tricky spots? we are not of filipino descent, we are just from Central Illinois. Neither of us have ever done this before and we don't know anything about it. any suggestions?

Thank you for your message thread.We have adopted a little girl from the Philippines and she is now with us in Canada. All intercountry adoption matters in the Phillipines are handled by only one body of authority, The InterCountry Adoption Board (ICAB for short).Getting any agnecy in the United State is a start.I don't know how will ICAB handle their applications from the United States since the United States is not under the Hague Convetion for World Children Protection and the Philippines is. You may be asked to notorise of all the necessary documentation submitted to ICAB and there will be a matching process to follow.They do not encourage independent placement unless it is from a designated authority from the local district social working department (The DSWD for short).The duration depends on your criteria and availability.It could be from six months to 18 months.

Also We have been to ICAB office three times and know some of the personel there.If we decided to adopt a second child we can always go there for more information.Their office is kind of hard to find in Quezon City in Metro Manila.It is a greenish building with a fairly long cover entrance and a security desk before the main entrance.

Does anyone know if ICAB has an appeal process if you are denied by the board? Do we have any other options?