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I am hoping someone here can help me out a bit. We did an adoption over 11 years ago and we did not finalize in the state of Texas because 1) it wasn't required and 2) we didn't have the funds at the time and 3) about that time they passed that child foreign adoption act that granted citizenship to kids adopted by american citizens anyway and that's all we needed anyway. We adopted a set of twins from Haiti and they came in on an IR-4 because of emergency medical issues. They have permanent resident alien cards. We got a final Haitian birth certif after we entered the states with them that would have made the IR-4 and resident alien status moot had we had it up front. They have had SS#'s for forever. As they've gotten older, we realized that we need something a bit more tangible around here to use to prove citizenship for things like voting and getting their driver's license. We consulted an attorney who specializes in this sort of stuff and she looked at all our documents and she told us the easiest thing to do to get an easy proof of citizenship is file for a passport. Well, now we are going round and round with the state dept. I honestly just can't figure out what they want. I sent them the haitian birth certif with our names on them and their original haitian passports. Now they send me two different letters - one for each twin and we can't figure out what they want even after talking to them. We think they want translations of the Haitian birth certificate (which is what the SS office required, but insisted on doing it in=house). They also say they want the Haitian final adoption decree (translated of course). Then they send me a document for the other twin asking for none of this, but for the final adoption decree from Texas or a court order recognizing the adoption, neither of which we have or some document as follows "a statement from a competent authority (such as a court or state agency that oversees international adoptions) certifying that the child's state of residence does not allow re-adoption. A letter from an attorney citing the statute is also acceptable." Does anyone have any idea what the state dept really wants to prove their citizenship? We don't want to be forking over $$$ for translations or going to the hassle of re-adoption when not necessary. Attorney says re-adoption is not necessary - that they are citizens and everything I know and research confirms this. We just need documentation in english to prove it and it seemed passport was the easiest and cheapest route.
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Wish I could help you more. I do know that if you are IR-4 you do not get an automatic C of C. You have to file for that after coming home. Only IR-3 visas are automatic citizens. I'd also call and check the status of your SS#'s to be sure they are listed as citizens and not legal aliens. SS would have required a C of C as proof of citizenship. You will absolutly need that C of C, so I would continue your quest.
Good Luck!
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I agree with Kelly. With an IR4 visa, even since the Child Citizenship Act, the child is NOT a citizen. They are a legal resident and readoption (or whatever the process is in your state) is required to establish citizenship. At that point you need to apply for a COC as proof of that citizenship. A passport is not a definitive proof of citizenship in all cases and is issued by the State Dept. (as you know) not USCIS, which is in charge of citizenship status.
As far as the - to use my state as an example . . . Michigan does not have any provision for readoption. So in the case of an IR4 visa you can provide documentation as such when filing the N600 for a COC.
I am not by any means an expert but if they came to the US on IR4 visas and have Permanant Resident cards, I do not believe they are citizens and you will need to readopt (or whatever the process is in your state/county) to establish citizenship.
Good luck!
'or some document as follows "a statement from a competent authority (such as a court or state agency that oversees international adoptions) certifying that the child's state of residence does not allow re-adoption'
If your twins came home on an IR-4 and you did not readopt or do a "recognition" in your home state, your children are NOT citizens, and you won't be able to get them a passport or a certificate of citizenship, since they are not citizens.
Under USCIS rules, if both spouses in a married couple, or the person adopting as a single, traveled and saw the child prior to the issuance of a final decree of adoption abroad, an IR-3 visa is issued.
The IR-3 visa means that the USCIS recognizes your adoption as "full and final". Doing a readoption or recognition in your state is not required unless your state has specific requirements for it.
With an IR-3, your child becomes a U.S. citizen automatically upon entering the U.S., and, nowadays, a certificate of citizenship is sent automatically. If you adopted before the decision to send certificates automatically, then you simply file the N-600 to get a certificate, though you will have to pay the fee. You can also apply for a U.S. passport right away.
HOWEVER, an IR-4 visa is granted in situations where either:
a) Only one spouse in a two-parent family saw the child before a final decree of adoption was granted overseas.
b) No parent saw the child before a final decree of adoption was granted overseas; there was a proxy adoption.
c) The child was brought to the U.S. under a decree of guardianship for adoption in the parents' home state (a model used in Korea and a few other countries, but not in China).
If a child comes home on an IR-4 visa, then the USCIS does NOT consider the adoption to be "full and final", even if a decree of adoption was issued overseas. When a child does not have a full and final adoption, he/she cannot become a U.S. citizen unless either:
1. You readopt him/her in your home state, assuming that readoption is allowed by your state law.
2. You do a "recognition" of the adoption in your home state, assuming that it has a process for recognitions.
Some states have processes for readoption and recognition, while other states have processes only for one of these options.
Readoption is a legal process -- a sort of "adoption lite" if you will -- that actually involves a judge issuing an order declaring you to be the legal parent(s) of the child. You can use readoption to do a legal name change, if the child's American name is not on any of the foreign paperwork.
In some states, readoption is fairly easy, and you can do it without a lawyer; in others, use of a lawyer is mandatory or strongly recommended. In some states, you may need such things as an updated homestudy, some post-placement visits, and new police clearances and medical clearances.
Readoption tends to be more expensive and time consuming than recognition, but it offers a bit more protection in situations related to inheritance rights and such. It provides an adoption decree that may be more acceptable in cases where you are asked to provide one. In some states, you can't get a state birth certificate without it.
Recognition is an administrative process, whereby a government office issues a document indicating that your state accepts the validity of your foreign adoption. Because it is not a legal process, it cannot be used to do a legal name change.
Obtaining a recognition is usually very easy and cheap, and no lawyer is required. You go to a government office, fill out a form, and provide some simple paperwork. A recognition document will be sent to you. Since it is not an adoption decree, you will have to show BOTH the recognition statement and your foreign adoption decree, if someone wants to see proof of a legal adoption.
Once you receive a readoption decree or recognition statement, your child is automatically a U.S. citizen. You can then file the N-600 to obtain a certificate of citizenship for him/her. You can also obtain a U.S. passport for your child. You will simply submit the readoption decree or the recognition statement with the rest of the required paperwork.
I hope this clears up the matter for you, and that you take action quickly to make your kids citizens and obtain proof of their citizenship.
Sharon
So, evidently, by reading the law online, you can petition for recognition of a foreign adoption in Texas and petition for a name change at the same time. Fairly simple process it seems. Anyone have a clue who is the entity in the state of Texas that you petition to...? Our situation was weird in that they normally would have come in on an IR-3 visa, but because there was a rush due to their medical issues, there was no time to wait for everything to be done for an IR-3.Thanks for all your great answers. I think you have cleared some of our mud. Mimi
Last update on February 25, 5:22 am by Sachin Gupta.
Generally readoption is done through your county court. Sometimes it is through probate and sometimes through circuit. So I would start with some phone calls.
I did some searches here and am not finding anything terribly specific for you, but you might post on the Guat forum asking for info. A lot of people there readopt (either because of an IR4 or to get a US adoption decree) so I bet you could find someone to give you specifics for you county. From what I did read here, TX seems to offer both recognition of foreign adoption as well as readoption. Just so you make sure exactly what the difference is in TX and which you need to proceed with.
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I am looking for a referal to an Attorney that has experience with completing Readoptions in Texas for a child on an IR-4 Visa - preferably someone that you have used successfully for an IR-4 Readoption in Texas.
I have searched the forums and found several people who have posted that they have used attorneys. I have emailed/PM'd them but have not heard back. Thought I'd post in one of the relevant threads to see if someone can help with a referal.
Thanks!