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Sharon - your long reply defending the current immigration system shows that you try very hard to defend something which you know is not rightfully defendable. Your answer is well rehearsed and well formulated but the message sounds cold hearted and lacking empathy.
The current immigration laws do not address adoption properly and need to be amended. And yes, despite your claims, the current laws do discriminate between biological and adopted children. You can twist and turn it as you wish, claiming that the deal is the status of the parents and not the child, I don't care - what we have here is discrimination of the adopted child vs the biological one and that is against the Hague agreements. And I hope somebody will notice this and do something about it.
I do not care if "Virtually ALL countries make distinctions between citizens and non-citizens". What I care about is what is appropriate, not what the others do. And if we must compare ourselves to others, then please: As I happen to be also Swiss citizen, I checked out the Swiss immigration laws. Permanent residents can adopt there and the child gets the immigration status of the parents, as should be. So if the Swiss can do it, so can the United States. End of it. Done.
The you give me this "Citizens are people who have, either officially or through birth, committed themselves to living in a country" etc. etc. So I take it from there that you have been born the United States and have not been an immigrant in your life. Humbly keep in mind that your forefathers were immigrants just like me and without them you would not be here. You were born where you were born, raised where you were raised and the current adoption constellation works in your favor so you justify it. If you would have been born where I was born and raised where I was raised, then your opinions would be different.
Then you tell me that as a permanent resident I can adopt domestically. Oh yeah. Great. Let me give you a reality check on that one because I have been there and done that.
Public adoption was out of question because I had an H1B visa at the time (do you know what an H1B visa is?) and the foster care system would not work with me. So it had to be private domestic adoption, that was the only choice. I am a Jew and also an active member of a Hindu temple. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get chosen by a birthmother?! Now just imagine what e.g. a Hindu couple would face, namely finding a birthmother who chooses to place her baby with Hindus. From experience I can tell you, it's hell. My heart goes out to people who face what I faced, it really does.
Do you understand better now why domestic adoption is, although legally possible, an almost impossible option? Your answer is well rehearsed, of the hand waving "problem solved" style but there is a reality out here. Go out, get educated, learn what reality is about. Not the nicely packaged words. The reality.
The rest of your lengthy answer seems as if it was copied from some USCIS source and I won't go into it.
And then you actually write "If you truly desire to adopt a child, you can adopt. You can go home to your country of origin and adopt there. You can then choose to stay there or reapply to come to the U.S. with your family."
I would never be able to write such a cold blooded sentence. Seriously, I mean, I just could not. My fingers would refuse to type it. Dear Sharon, you do not have the slightest idea what we talk about here. I am electrical engineer and I got my H1B visa by sheer luck. After September 11, less and less employers deal with immigration visas. To make things worse, the number of H1B visas is capped unless you are a student in a U.S. university and the competition is hard.
After the H1B visa is in place, you can eventually apply for a green card. Depending on the USCIS backlog, it takes a long time until you become permanent resident (typically 2-5 years) and then it takes 5 years until you can apply for citizenship.
If I adopted a child from India and went to live with it for two years abroad, I would lose my green card and would have to start applying for an H1B visa again. My chances of getting a second H1B visa these days are slim and I would probably not be able to get another one. I would have to give up my existence here in the U.S., all that I have built up painstakingly. Do you understand that point? Can you imagine how that feels like? Ever gave up your existence?
So no, your answer doesn't do it for me. The current immigration laws do not address the issues properly. I buy that citizens and non-citizens should be treated differently but I don't buy that we permanent residents should not be able to adopt internationally.
As I said - the law should allow us to adopt an eligible orphan (yes, I buy this definition) via certain accredited agencies. Second, the adopted child should get the immigration status that a biological child is entitled to so e.g. if the parents are on an H1B status, the child should get an H4 status. That's all. (And by the way, I do not think that the fact that the U.S. grants automatic citizenship to a U.S. born child is a good thing, personally, I am not in favor of this). I hope the current immigration laws regarding adoption will change but since there is no electoral gain attached, I am not too optimistic that this will happen any when soon.