Re-adoption???

For both of our domestic adoptions, once they were legalized, we received a certificate of adoption as well as a birth certificate (not the OBC). I'd be curious to find out how this is done with international adoptions.

BUMP!!! Surely, there must be some NE parents out there who have adopted internationally who could lend some wisdom here...

We are planning to re-adopt, but haven't done so yet. I'm also interested in the response. - Maura :)

First off, some basics. With most, but not all, countries, the foreign country issues an adoption decree. In the remaining countries, the child is sent to the U.S. under a decree of guardianship, for adoption here. If your child comes to the U.S. under a decree of guardianship, he/she needs to be adopted in your state, the same way as you would do in a domestic adoption, to be recognized as your legal child. Once you have a state decree of adoption, you don't readopt. Readoption occurs only to legalize a foreign adoption in your state. If your child has a foreign decree of adoption, you may be REQUIRED to readopt in your state or do a "recognition" of the adoption in your state, to satisfy U.S. or your state's laws. This is based on your child's visa classification. If your child comes home on an IR-3 visa, meaning that both spouses in a two parent family saw the child prior to the issuance of the foreign adoption decree, the U.S. government does NOT require readoption/recognition, though your state may. And your child becomes a U.S. citizen the minute he/she enters the U.S. However, if your child comes home on an IR-4 visa, meaning that one or both spouses in a two parent family, or the single parent, did NOT see the child prior to the issuance of a foreign adoption decree, the U.S. government does not consider your adoption to be "full and final" until you readopt/do a recognition in your state. Your child also does not become a U.S. citizen until you complete readoption/recognition. (Children coming to the U.S. under a decree of guardianship also come home on IR-4 visas, but they need adoption, not readoption.) Even if you do not HAVE TO readopt/do a recognition in your state, you may CHOOSE to do one for a variety of reasons. One of these reasons MAY be, depending on your state, to allow you to apply for a state birth certificate for your child. However, some states do not require readoption/recognition for the issuance of a state birth certificate. Other reasons for readopting tend to relate to things like getting documents that can be replaced if they are lost or destroyed, getting documents that are easily recognizable (for example, when you enroll your child in a school), protecting inheritance rights, etc. Readoption is a state function, so procedures vary widely across the 50 states. But basically, readoption is very similar to adoption. A judge will want to see proof that you can provide a safe and welcoming home for a child, that you aren't a criminal or child abuser, etc. He/she will also want to see that the child is legally eligible to be adopted by you, entered the country legally, etc. He/she will then issue an order -- an adoption decree -- declaring you to be the legal parent(s) of the child under the laws of the state. In many states, the law recognizes that you have already provided all sorts of proofs when doing your overseas adoption, so you may not need to have a totally new homestudy, etc. Readoption may be a more simplified process than adoption. However, in others, like the District of Columbia, readoption is pretty much identical to adoption. Readoption is a very common way for adoptive parents to change the name of the child. REMEMBER that if your child's American name does NOT appear anywhere on his/her foreign documents, then it is NOT his/her legal name. His/her foreign name is the legal name, unless you do a legal name change in your state. You will not be able to have legal documents, such as a U.S. passport, issued in your child's American name unless it is his/her legal name. Basically, to do a legal name change via readoption, you simply ask the judge to include in the adoption decree, a statement saying something like, "The child formerly called Zeng Chufang will now be known as Rebecca Joy Chufang Kaufman." You then show the statement when seeking legal documents such as a state birth certificate, a U.S. passport, a certificate of citizenship, etc. If you do not have to readopt and don't choose to readopt, your state will most likely have an alternate mechanism for doing a legal name change. You will have to check with your state to see if the process is a simple one, or if you would be better off doing a name change through readoption. In some states, where readoption is a complicated procedure, there may be an option for you to do a simple "recognition" of the adoption, to satisfy federal readoption requirements. A recognition does NOT provide a new adoption decree. Basically, all it provides is an official statement, indicating that your state accepts the validity of the foreign adoption. This will satisfy USCIS requirements, but it does not give you replaceable adoption paperwork, etc. It CANNOT be used to do a legal name change. A birth certificate is issued by the Vital Records department of your state. With foreign adoptions, you don't get the same birth certificate as you would if your child had been born in the U.S. What you actually get is a "Certificate of Foreign Birth". It lists the child's birthplace as the foreign city and country, and you as the legal parents. In some states, you may request a Certificate of Foreign Birth without readopting or doing a recognition. However, in others, you may not. Do remember that, if you can get a certificate without readoption, it will be in your child's legal name, whatever that is. I hope this helps. Sharon Under U.S. law, if both spouses in a married couple, or a person adopting as a single, see the child BEFORE the issuance of a decree of adoption overseas -- for example, as you would do in a Russian adoption -- your child comes home on an IR-3 visa. Readoption/recognition is not required, from the U.S. perspective, although your state may require it, and although some families may CHOOSE to readopt.

Thanks Sharon- Fortunately I am familiar with most of the info you posted. I understand the advantages to readoption which is why I want to do it. I heard about going to the town hall for and getting a birth certificate there and so I'm really wondering if that will give us the same benefit as readoption. In our case we have a birth certificate naming us as parents (from Russia) so it's not necessarily about that.

Actually, what I was trying to say was that birth certificates and adoption decrees are two separate matters. They are issued by different bodies, and serve two different purposes. You will definitely need a birth certificate for some purposes, such as enrolling a child in school. Yes, you probably can use the Russian one for most purposes. However, be prepared for having it looked at upside down and sideways by some registrar, who will then hold up a whole line of parents by consulting with six other school officials to see if you can use it. Meanwhile, the whole line of parents will wonder what is so "different" about your child. And if you should happen to lose the Russian birth certificate, forget about being able to obtain a replacement, especially some years down the road. So whether or not you readopt, you should try to obtain a state Certificate of Foreign Birth for your child. I believe that you will really find it worthwhile to have one. The biggest problem you may face is that your state may not allow you to obtain one without readoption. And just remember that a Certificate of Foreign Birth is not proof of citizenship. A U.S. birth certificate is, simply because the U.S. automatically grants citizenship to anyone born in the U.S., even if his/her parents were illegal aliens. But with a foreign birth, there is no guarantee that the child qualified for automatic citizenship or was naturalized. Hence, you need to obtain a certificate of citizenship. I also believe that, at some point down the road, you may be asked to provide an adoption decree, proving that you went through a process, recognized in the U.S., for making your child your own. Providing a birth certificate may not suffice. Again, you probably can use your foreign one, but it may not be recognized in some quarters. If you use a foreign adoption decree, there will always be people who question its validity -- much as some people question your marriage license issued in another country. You will also be unable to replace the foreign decree if it is lost or destroyed. And the foreign adoption decree does nothing to protect your inheritance rights. Sharon

Thanks - I guess I should have been more specific in my original post. I would like to find out from other MA parents who re-adopted or got the birth certificate from the town hall what they were told about the differences and/or what process entailed.

My partner and I have two adopted children - one from Russia and one from Guatemala. Both children were readopted in the U.S. It was a very easy process, and for our russian adoption carried no additional charge. My understanding is that you can take your Russian paperwork to town hall to get a new birth certificate. The agency and attorney recommended the readoption for two reasons - first all of the new paperwork will be in english - second - with the possibility of changing political environments, the U.S. adoption would always be recognized by the US government. It seems unlikely that Russia or the US would suddenly decide to change a previously completed adoption, but frankly I didn't want to even think about it. My cousin processed her readoptions without an attorney - it was just another form and an appearance at the Cambridge court house.

Leight - thanks for the info - Sometimes it seems like people consider re-adoption to be getting a new birth certificate. I found the paperwork from my agency and it seems like the recommend it if the town won't reissue a new birth certificate. They asked for a letter from our pediatrician? Did anyone need this? Doesn't really make sense to me?