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My wife want to adop her neices (3 and 4 years old) from Thailand but don't know where to star. Can anyone give us advise of what to do and where to star or where to find information. Thank you
I am a little concerned when you say that your wife wants to adopt the girls. Married couples MUST adopt as a couple, so you must be as willing to be the father of the children as she is to be the mother. You will both have legal and moral responsibility for them. As an example, if your wife should pass away while the children are minors, you will be responsible for them.
Second, three sets of laws apply in your case. In terms of the actual adoption, Thailand's adoption laws will apply. You and your wife will have to meet all age and other requirements established by the Thai government, and the children will also have to be viewed as adoptable under Thailand's laws. As an example, one of Thailand's laws says that a husband and wife must be married for at least three years before adopting. You can find out whether you, your wife, and the children meet the requirements of Thai law by talking to a Thai adoption attorney or to an American adoption agency or adoption/immigration attorney. If you meet all the requirements, you will actually go through the adoption process in Thailand. But do NOT go through it until you are sure that you and the children also satisfy U.S. immigration requirements, or you will be their parents but unable to bring them into the U.S.
Another set of laws that you must consider pertains to the U.S. side of things and, in particular, to immigration. You will need to have an approved homestudy in your state of residence, and apply for USCIS permission to bring the children to the U.S., using the new I-800 process. Be aware that, to bring a child to the U.S. on an adoption visa, at least one of the adoptive parents MUST be a U.S. citizen; unfortunately, if both parents are on green cards or work visas, they will not qualify to immigrate a child unless they live overseas with the child for at least two years after the adoption.
Both you and the children to be adopted will need to meet the requirements set forth in the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, with regard to getting an adoption visa for them, assuming that at least one parent is a citizen. The requirements for parents cover things like whether you have a criminal or child abuse/neglect record, whether you have enough money to support two children, whether you have a substance abuse problem, etc. One of the requirements for children relates to whether they can be considered "orphans" under the definition in the law; you cannot get a visa for children who have been living with both parents prior to adoption, even if you are related to them. You can find out more information about the process on the U.S. end from a qualified immigration/adoption attorney, or from an adoption agency.
And finally, you must meet Hague requirements. Both Thailand and the U.S. have ratified the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption, which requires them to adhere to certain rules, designed to protect children, birthparents, and adoptive families. Be advised that these requirements tend to make the adoption process a little longer and more complex than it might have been in the past. You will actually have to use a Hague-accredited agency for at least some parts of the process.
I must warn you that relative adoptions are given careful scrutiny during the entire process, to be sure that they are not fraudulent. Adoption, as it is practiced in the West, involves the complete termination of the birthparents' rights, and the assumption by the adoptive parents of all the rights and responsibilities that a person would have if she gave birth to the children. There have been cases where families have attempted to use the process to get foreign-born relatives' children to the U.S., without actually taking on the responsibilities of parenthood; that is not allowed.
I hope this helps.
Sharon
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