Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

You need to get a lawyer. It IS visa fraud to bring a child into the U.S. on an adoption visa, if it can be proven that the person applying for the visa had, at that time, the intent to dissolve/not finalize the adoption and to place the child with another family. This intent can be shown by the fact that the person relinquished the child to his/her agency or to another family immediately upon arriving home. The person who commits visa fraud can face a felony conviction and criminal penalties, if the U.S. government chooses to prosecute. Whether a person who knowingly accepts a child brought into the country under false pretenses is also considered to have committed a crime is something that a lawyer will need to investigate. It is possible that, since you knew that the child was being brought into the country through misrepresentation of his situation, so that you could adopt him, you have some legal responsibility. It is also possible that your agency has some legal responsibility, especially if it can be proven that the agency advised the first family to bring the child home and relinquish him to you, instead of overturning the adoption in Guatemala. It appears from what you said that the child's original adoption has already been dissolved legally and that you have already finalized his adoption in your state. If so, that's a good thing. Otherwise, if you have legal liability, and are charged with a criminal act, your state could decide not to let you finalize the adoption. As far as your son's status, I know that it seems unfair to penalize him for the actions of his first adoptive family. The child did nothing wrong. However, under federal law, he is probably classified as an illegal immigrant, since his visa was obtained improperly, and illegal immigrants don't qualify for either automatic citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 or naturalization. A good adoption/immigration lawyer can help you decide if there are ways to help your son get citizenship, so don't rely solely on what the USCIS tells you about an appeal. There ARE other people who have faced what you and your son are going through. Although these sorts of things are not discussed in public a great deal, they do happen, and not as rarely as you might think. In my own community, I actually met one couple who decided to reject a placement after their first trip to observe a referred child in Eastern Europe, because the child seemed very delayed. Having adopted a healthy infant from a good orphanage in another Eastern European country previously, they were also shocked at the conditions in this child's orphanage and the child's overall health status. The adoption agency urged the parents to make the second trip, go through with the adoption, obtain the child's visa, and hand the baby over to an agency representative as soon as they cleared Customs and Immigration in the U.S. The parents, knowing that they were committing visa fraud but wanting to get the child out of her unheated, extremely under-resourced orphanage and suffering from a certain degree of guilt about the decision not to adopt her, agreed to do what the agency recommended. Ultimately, the Mom didn't feel she could handle the trip emotionally, but the Dad traveled, completed the adoption, carried the child home, and handed her over to the agency. The child was placed with a foster family and later adopted; fortunately, she caught up rapidly and turned out to be quite healthy. In that case, the USCIS did not find out that the family planned to disrupt, the adoption in another state went through, and I am unaware of any problems the new family faced in terms of getting citizenship for their child, although there may have been some. The disrupting family decided to take some time to grieve, and then to pursue adoption from a different country. And the agency eventually went out of business, possibly because of unethical practices like advising families to commit visa fraud, as well as because of poor preparation of families for what they might experience in the foreign country. I am also aware of an agency that found out, after an adoption decree was issued in a foreign country and the new parents didn't hurry to travel and bring their newly adopted child home, that the husband and wife had begun divorce proceedings, but were going through marriage counseling in a last-ditch effort to save their union. Seriously conflicted about the legal implications of what she was doing, but not wanting to have the child lose what might be a last chance for adoption, the normally very ethical agency head decided to escort the child to the U.S., even though it meant signing papers indicating that the new parents intended to care for their child. The child was placed into foster care with a family who agreed to adopt, if the parents relinquished their rights, which they appeared likely to do. I do not know what happened subsequently. If the parents decided to dissolve the foreign adoption, the agency, I'm sure, would have made every effort to help the foster family become the legal parents. However, the agency never had a case like this before, so it is quite possible that the foster family will also run into problems with naturalization, if the USCIS discovers that the child was never actually parented by the first family. On-line, I also met a young woman, with an unusual story. This young woman had just learned that her adoption had been irregular, and that she was not eligible for citizenship. The young woman, from an African country, had been raised by a family in the U.S. from the time she was a young baby. A hard-working, serious student, she had made good grades, and was now trying to get a college scholarship. As she began to apply for scholarships, she learned that most would be given only to U.S. citizens. When she tried to apply for citizenship, however, she was turned down. She had always assumed that she was legally adopted from her birth country. In fact, however, this was not so. Her birthfather, who knew the adoptive parents because they used to reside in the same country, brought his newborn daughter to the U.S. on a non-immigrant, tourist visa. By prearrangement, he then left the child with the adoptive parents and returned home. The child's visa expired, but she stayed on in the U.S. and was raised as a daughter by the adoptive family (who were legal residents of the U.S.) The adoptive family did not realize that the birthfather had committed visa fraud by applying for a tourist visa for her, knowing full well that he was going to the U.S. to place her with an adoptive family. And they did not realize the huge problem created by the fact that the girl was not adopted legally and was living in the U.S. on an expired tourist visa. Taking in someone else's child was not a big deal in their country of origin. So the young woman had quite a shock when she learned that, from the standpoint of the USCIS, she was an illegal alien and subject to deportation to her birth country -- a country she had left behind when she was just a couple of months old. She was also told that, even if she managed to get humanitarian parole to remain in the U.S., she had absolutely NO chance of becoming an American citizen. I never found out what the outcome of the case was. I don't know if she and her family were able to retain a competent attorney, as I advised. I do know that this poor young woman, through no fault of her own, appeared to be losing all chance of going to a good college, finding a good job, and living the life of a typical American. In short, ignorance of the law resulted in some very negative consequences for the girl. And ignorance of the law by the people who advised you that your son's adoption would be easy has led to some negative consequences for you and your son. I would advise anyone who wants to adopt a foreign born child whose first adoption was disrupted to find out, before proceeding, if the first adoptive family went through readoption/recognition in the U.S., if necessary, and obtained the child's citizenship before relinquishing parental rights. It might also be a good idea for the family to verify any information provided by the adoption agency, related to the "ease" of such an adoption, with a reputable immigration/adoption attorney. Right now, your best bet is to find the most experienced and reputable adoption/immigration lawyer you can find, and see what he/she can do for you. I am not an attorney, and do not know whether there are any options. However, for the sake of your son's future -- he'll need citizenship for a lot of purposes, possibly including scholarships, security clearances, etc. -- I do hope that something can be done. Sharon

I was completely unaware the other couple brought him into the country under false pretenses. The government has concluded that I am not at fault in any way, and that I was also lied to by the adoption agency and the original adoptive parents. Even so, I've been told that I would probably not be successful with an appeal. This leaves me with the task of re-affirming the adoption with a new home study and a lot of expense. After that, I can reapply for his residency because he has been in my custody for over two years. My son has severe delays due to mental retardation and it is so heart-breaking that we have been put in this position. I'm not sure if the government will file charges for perjury (one of the charges listed in the docs) against the original adoptive parents, but it is frustrating knowing they are wealthy, they turned around and adopted another child without special needs, and they have put my family in this position. I am thinking of trying to also obtain an attorney to try and get the agency and/or the other couple to help me with all of this expense. Again, I very much appreciate your taking the time to give me your take and personal experience on this subject. I'll be reading it again and trying to gain any insight I can as I press forward into this unknown territory. All the best, Lori

I believe strongly that SOMETHING needs to be done for the many children who have been denied citizenship through no fault of their own, but rather because of illegal or unethical actions of adoption agencies, facilitators, and desperate families. Back several years ago, certain U.S. adoption agencies and facilitators were using unethical tactics to place children from the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) with American families. One tactic involved misuse of a special relationship between the U.S. and the RMI. Because of that special relationship, citizens of the RMI do not need visas to VISIT the United States; they can just hop on a plane and go, without the involvement of the USCIS. They can stay and even work in the U.S. for a number of years. Note that I said "visit". The special exception is not supposed to apply to immigrants. People wanting to IMMIGRATE to the U.S. from the RMI are supposed to apply for an immigrant visa, just like everyone else. Unfortunately, some adoption agencies and facilitators misused the special exception. They convinced poor women in the RMI to relinquish their babies, and then escorted the babies to the U.S., without visas, for adoption by American parents. In some cases, the birthmothers, often illiterate, did not understand the concept of adoption. As it is not uncommon for RMI residents to come to the U.S. for a few years and then go home, using the special exception, they thought that the children were going to be educated in the U.S. and then return to them. And in most cases, the U.S. parents for whom the children were destined did not realize that the adoption professionals were either misleading birthmothers or abusing the special relationship between the RMI and the U.S. by bringing children into the country PERMANENTLY. Again, the special exception was never designed to apply to immigrant children; it was solely for visitors. Unfortunately, once they had their children, a number of American parents learned that, because their children came to the U.S. without immigrant visas, they could not be considered immigrants, and could not become eligible for U.S. citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. I do not know if any of the children ever managed to obtain U.S. citizenship. My understanding is that the parents could apply for permanent resident status for a child after living with him/her for a few years. Whether they could then apply for citizenship for him/her is unclear. I am not an expert on the subject, but it is possible that at least a few children will have to live out their lives in a legal limbo. This example is one that you might want to research with an immigration lawyer. If any of the RMI children have been granted citizenship, there might be some case law to use as a precedent in your situation, since these children, like your son, can be considered to have entered the U.S. improperly The good news is that the U.S. and RMI have made a concerted effort to prevent people from using the special exception to bring children into the U.S. for adoption. For a while, however, there was another problem involving the RMI and adoption, but not citizenship. Deprived of the ability to bring children to the U.S., some agencies and facilitators began bringing pregnant RMI women to the U.S. -- usually Hawaii or California -- to deliver their babies. The RMI women technically did not need visas, since they would be returning to their country. Bringing a pregnant woman to the U.S. so that she can deliver and relinquish a child for adoption is currently considered both illegal and unethical, because it creates an opportunity for coercion. A woman is not considered a "birthmother" until she has delivered, has had a chance to bond with her baby, and then has had a chance to make an informed decision to relinquish. Just because a woman thinks, while pregnant, that she might make an adoption plan does not mean that she will carry out the plan once the child is born, and that is her right. Unfortunately, some of the RMI women were treated in a coercive manner. The women, in at least a few cases, were told that they would be brought to the U.S., housed in nice apartments, taken to places like Disneyland, given good medical care, and so on. They were told that American families would care for their babies afterwards, while they came back to the RMI. At least some of the women did not fully understand that the American families were going to adopt the children permanently. And most of the women did not fully understand that they might possibly be pressured or threatened if they chose NOT to relinquish their babies, once they were born. Unfortunately, there were a few bad facilitators and agencies that DID coerce birthmothers. There were cases in which women, quite naturally, decided not to relinquish once they gave birth to their beautiful sons and daughters. At first, the women were made to feel guilty, as in, "What? We paid all your travel expenses, gave you a wonderful vacation, provided good medical care, and so on, because you said you were going to place your baby for adoption, and now you are changing your mind? What a deceitful, mean person you are!" In some cases, the unethical providers went much further. They threatened to, or actually did, abandon the women, sometimes taking their RMI passports. The women had no money to pay the rent on their apartments, no money for food for themselves and their babies, etc. They did not speak or read English. They did not know anyone in the U.S., and often did not know how to do things like using the telephone. They did not know that there was a RMI Embassy in the U.S. In some cases, they were told that if they went to the police, the police would put them in prison. Is it any wonder that, under the circumstances, some of the women agreed to place their babies? In any case, because the babies were born in the U.S., they automatically became U.S. citizens. However, there are some adoptive families who have to live with the suspicion or knowledge that the biological parents of their babies may have been coerced into relinquishment. Some families have, since, contacted the birthparents and been assured that they did, indeed, relinquish willingly, but this does not excuse the adoption professionals who used this inherently unethical approach to adoption. Today, the U.S. and the RMI have implemented measures to prevent agencies and facilitators from bringing pregnant women to the U.S. for delivery and relinquishment, and the RMI has tightened up its adoption laws. Today, all agencies working in the RMI are supposed to be licensed by the RMI government. There is a central authority in the RMI that is supposed to ensure that pregnant women receive appropriate counseling about their options, such as domestic adoption, and that matches birthmothers with qualified adoptive families. The child cannot be placed with a family until after a waiting period, during which the birthmother can change her mind. American families must travel and stay in the RMI for about a month. They usually meet the birth family, and must complete the adoption there. At one point, families had to travel to Manila, in the Philippines, to get their children's visas, but I believe that this is no longer necessary. Interestingly, the number of agencies and facilitators placing children from the RMI now is way down. It is clear that at least some adoptive families chose RMI adoption in the past, mainly because it was "easy". The babies were very young and often healthy, the families didn't need to travel, and the time frame was very short. Now that RMI adoption is similar to adoption from any other country, and ongoing contact with birthparents is encouraged, many families are not choosing it. People who are interested in RMI adoption can consult the U.S. State Department for the latest information. They can also contact the U.S. Embassy in Majuro, the capital of the RMI. Sharon

Lori,Please contact Ethica info@ethicanet.org for advice/assistance with your situation. They can either help you or point you in the right direction.Gina

Sharon, I'm printing out this info and I'll look into it, as well as passing it on to my attorney. You've gone above and beyond and I cannot thank you enough for taking the time. It means the world. rmprhp, I had no idea that organization exisited, and I will indeed contact them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Best, Lori

Another option is to go through your US Senator or US Representative's offices. Usually the Senators have more power, but it would depend on who represents you. They all have liason offices in their home States, staffed with people to help their constituents through these kinds of problems. And believe me, when Senator So-and-so's office calls USCIS, it's a very different thing from when you or I call. The liason offices like to help out with these kinds of issues - it makes them look good, creates happy constituents who will hopefully continue to vote for their boss! Our daughter's immigration status was a mess - she was brought in on an emergency medical visa and technically wasn't supposed to stay. Dealing with USCIS (then INS) would reduce me to either a screaming maniac or crying puddle. Until I found Jay Cummings at Senator Olympia Snowe's office. I love that man! Anyway, every time something needed to be taken care of I went to see him and he made the calls. Didn't help that Maya's readoption was Sept 10, 2001 or that Cambodia was shut down to all adoptions. Needless to say we were a tad bit nervous about having her legality of being in the US up in the air! She even spent a year as a "Paroled Alien". We had visions of her in a tiny silver suit with a ball and chain around her ankle. It finally got taken care of, but it did take almost 3 years. But now she's now a US citizen! Wahoo! So, my suggestion is to make best friends with someone at one of those offices - buy them candy and flowers if you have to. It's free, too! (well, Your Tax Dollars At Work)