Relative adoption japan

March 21, 2007

I am looking for some information about a potential relative adoption.

I am an American citizen and my husband is Japanese.

His sister is a single parent with an 11 year old daughter. The little girl was born out of wedlock and they apparently have not seen her dad in years.

My sister-in-law is ill, and although we are hoping for her full recovery, I would like to know what to expect should the need for adoption and her immigration to the US arise.

Also, would our ages potentially restrict an adoption in Japan even though it is a relative?

Any information you could provide us would be greatly appreciated.

:thanks:

sak9645

March 21, 2007

Whenever you do an international adoption, there are two parts to it -- the adoption itself, which must be done according to the laws of the country of the child's citizenship, and the immigration of the child into the U.S., which must follow U.S. law.

As to the immigration of the child to the U.S., both you and the child will need to be approved by the USCIS. In the case of you and your husband, you will need to have an approved homestudy by a provider in your state. I will be happy to discuss the homestudy process in detail, but it involves determining that you can offer a safe and welcoming home for a child, that you are morally and financially fit to parent, and that you and your spouse have a good understanding of the challenges of parenting an adopted child. You will also be fingerprinted for an FBI criminal records check, usually in conjunction with the filing of an I-600A with the USCIS.

The U.S. does not have age requirements for immigration, except that single parents must be age 25 or over. The financial requirements are simply that the parents earn more than 125% of the Federal poverty line income for a family of their size.

With regard to the immigration requirements for the child, you will need to prove that he/she is under age 16 (under 18 if you have already adopted a bio sibling of the child). A valid Japanese birth certificate will suffice. You will need to prove that you have adopted the child legally under Japanese law and have an adoption decree.

You will also need to prove that the child qualifies as an "eligible orphan" under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. In your case, this should not be an issue, since the child has been living with her unmarried Mom, although you will have to be able to prove that she cannot support the child at a level deemed customary in the country. If the Mom is very ill, with no hope of full recovery, you can easily get a physician to indicate that it will be impossible for her to work, etc.

In short, from a U.S. immigration point of view, you should have no trouble, as long as you can pass a homestudy and meet the USCIS income requirements.

HOWEVER, you also must meet Japanese adoption requirements. You can get a sense of what these requirements are by going to the website of the U.S. State Department, at [url=http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_406.html]Intercountry Adoption Japan[/url].

Japanese adoption requirements are complex, and you will probably want to obtain the assistance of a U.S. based, reputable adoption agency or attorney. Alternatively, if your husband speaks Japanese, you may be able to work with a reputable Japanese attorney.

Normally, Japan will not allow the placement of older children for adoption. You will have to find out, via the agency or attorney of your choice, whether Japan will allow the adoption of a relative's child who is 11. I am not aware of any upper age limits for parents.

Sharon