readoption help needed

The term "re-adopt" is misleading. Either you adopted in the sending country and need to finalize the adoption in the local courts or the adoption was not done in the sending country and you need to adopt in your local court. How did you complete the I-600 requirements? You must have done your homestudy if the child was given a visa. The agency that helped you complete the requirements should be your guide through finalizing the adoption including the submitting documents and final report that are necessary to obtain the adoption certificate from your local court. Once you are issued the certification you will apply for a change of status and you child automatically becomes a US Citizen.

My daughter was fully adopted. I have her adoption decree. Thanks for the direction w/our homestudy agency. I feel like in a lot of ways, my adoption has been fraught with a lack of communication/direction. My homestudy agency never told me they would help with the finalization. My adoption agency told me I wouldn't need to "readopt" as I had seen her....but that turned out to be false. My husband did not travel to Liberia and therefore we do not qualify. Thanks again.

You asked a very specific question about how to obtain citizenship for a child who came home on an IR-4 visa, if your state recognizes foreign adoptions. And I will give you a very specific answer. What you need to obtain is a document from your state, "recognizing" your child's adoption. You then send that material in with the rest of your N-600 paperwork, to get your child's certificate of citizenship. Sharon

Along these lines, I too have a question...we adopted from Ethiopia and have completed the readoption in AZ. I have gone to the social security office and have the ss card coming.... I know I need to get a Certificate of Citizenship and I have the paperwork printed off the computer. Along w/the N600 it asks for final adoption decree (got it), birth certificate (got it), and us passport (don't have it...). Ok, so I went to the website for passports and what do they ask for? The certificate of citizenship! How do I get one w/o having the other?? Thanks, Teranga

Since only one parent traveled, your child came home on an IR-4 visa. As a result, under U.S. immigration law, your child is not considered to have had a "full and final" adoption, even though the foreign country views your child as having had such an adoption. You need either to readopt your child in your state or, if allowed in your state, to obtain a document showing that your state "recognizes" your child's adoption as final. Your child does not become a U.S. citizen automatically until you do one of these things. Procedures vary by state. In some states, you MUST readopt; there is no alternative. In other states, you can obtain a recognition, or you can readopt; recognition is cheaper, but you can't do a name change as part of the process. In still other states, you are not able to readopt, but must obtain recognition. In DC, when I readopted my daughter, there was no official readoption or recognition procedure; you actually had to go through the same process you would for adopting. I am rather surprised that no one in your state courthouse can tell you your alternatives in Alaska. Did you try the section that is called something like Family Court or Domestic Relations? And certainly if you called a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys who lives in your state, he/she could find you the information. I know that there is at least one such attorney in Anchorage, as there is information about him on the website of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (Quad A). We are not permitted to name fee-based providers on this website, but I would urge you to go to the website of this organization and find the man's contact information. If there is an adoption support group in your area, make contact and talk with some of the other internationally adoptive parents. I'm sure that at least a few of them have dealt with this issue. These people can tell you whether you will need to hire a lawyer, or whether you can do the readoption "pro se" (on your own). Sharon

Teranga, I answered your question on another board where you posted. Please look for it. Sharon

We re-adopted our son here in California even though it was not required - our son came home on an IR-3 visa. We did this so that our son would have a California birth certificate of which copies could be more easily obtained. If we had not done this, his Haitian birth certificate would have been IMPOSSIBLE to obtain copies of. Our international homestudy agency provided the readoption service for about $750. I believe they just handled the legal paperwork and made appointments with the court. We applied for his Social Security card but had to get that in his Haitian name, even though his California birth certificate had already been obtained. We have his US passport now and we will be going to the SS office to ammend the name on his card. Overall, I thought that doing the readoption thing was worthwhile even though it wasn't required in our case. I agree that locating an adoption attorney in your state should be the way to go to readopt. Good luck!

Teranga, I would think if your intending to travel it's better to have the US Passport. You can try to apply in one of the passport offices. Proof of Citizenship is the "original" Adoption Certificate and the AZ adoption certificate and I-551 stamp in your child's passport. On the Americanslivingabroad yahoo group some of the members posted they obtained a passport while visiting and they didn't need a COC. Some could not it depended on what office they applied, and others were able to get the COC in a District office and then get a passport. So if your intending to be on the move you might try calling a the BCIS district office orphan number and ask for a COC appointment. If you're not in a hurry for the passport then just wait for the N600. HTH, Johnny