Haiti adoption sponsorship visa ?

It is very difficult to get a visa to enter the U.S. An adoption visa is given ONLY to "eligible orphans" as defined by the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, who have been adopted by a U.S. citizen or who have been placed with a U.S. citizen under a decree of guardianship, for adoption in the U.S. Unfortunately, you will not qualify to adopt the girl you describe, because Haiti expects at least one of the adoptive parents to be at least 35, and to be at least 19 years older than the child. If you cannot adopt the child legally under Haiti's rules, you will not be able to get an adoption visa for her. As far as student visas, they are hard to get. You have to have proof that the child will be admitted to a U.S. school, that the school tuition and fees will be paid, and that there will be someone who will guarantee all the other living expenses associated with having the child in the U.S. Student visas, unlike adoption visas, are not immigrant visas; the child can stay in this country only until he/she stops being an eligible student, at which time, he/she must go home. The U.S. government will try to avoid giving a visa in a case where it suspects that the young person will NOT go home, but will, instead, attempt to remain in the U.S. illegally. Medical visas are given only in cases where a child has a condition that cannot be properly treated in his/her own country. Again, there will need to be proof that the child's medical care in the U.S. will be paid for, and that the other expenses of the child will also be covered. In addition, the USCIS will probably NOT grant a visa if there is any suspicion that the child does not have strong ties in his/her birth country and may be planning to stay in the U.S. People wait years to get regular immigrant visas, which will entitle them to come to the U.S. as permanent residents and then apply for citizenship. It is highly unlikely that you could get an immigrant visa for the child you are describing. Children do not qualify for work-related visas, which are granted to some people who have job skills that are in short supply in the U.S. These visas, in any case, are not immigrant visas. If the person's job situation changes, he/she will have to go back to his/her home country. Tourist visas allow a person to come to this country only for brief periods of time, and they are not given if the USCIS has any reason to believe that the person will not go back home at the end of the visa period. Citizenship is not a visa category. Children coming home on certain adoption visas, which are immigrant visas, do get citizenship automatically. Children coming to the U.S. for medical care or educations are not eligible for citizenship; they are not immigrants, and are expected to go back home to their families after their education or medical treatment is completed. In general, citizenship is conferred by birth in the U.S., by being born to a U.S. citizen living abroad, by adoption by a U.S. citizen parent who brings the child home on an adoption visa, or by application on the part of a legal permanent resident. Overall, I can't think of any way that you will be able to bring the child to the U.S as either your own child or as a child under your guardianship. If the child is an eligible orphan, you might be able to find an American family who is willing to adopt her and who meets Haitian and U.S. requirements for adoptive parents. That family would then become the legal parents of the child and could make her a citizen. If you have the financial resources, you might be able to bring the child to the U.S. on an education visa, but they are hard to get, and if there is any hint that you are trying to keep her in the U.S. permanently, or that she has no relatives or friends in Haiti to whom she will return, she probably will not be granted one. Overall, it may be best to see if you can improve the child's situation in Haiti. Perhaps you can find the girl a domestic family, if she is truly an orphan. Perhaps you can provide financial support to her parents or guardians in Haiti. These options may not be ideal, but they may be the best way to ensure that she gets her needs met. For more information about your options, you should contact a qualified immigration attorney, who is particularly knowledgeable about adoption. Sharon

Thank you very much for your information. And for taking the time to respond. I do have the income and living situations to be able to support her in any school in the area. I also have enough of the right contacts to get her into a good school. You said if she came to the US on a student visa, she would not be eligible for Citizenship. I was under the impression that if anyone was in the US for five years he/she could apply for US citizenship. She is only in 2nd grade and will probably have to start over in kindergarten once she was to be enrolled into school. this would easily take her five years or more to finish school. would this be an option? Also what about sponsorship to become an immigrant?

If you look at the USCIS website, you will see that the five year rule applies ONLY to people on permanent resident visas (green cards), which are IMMIGRANT visas. An education visa is not an immigrant visa or permanent resident visa; it is a temporary visa for someone going to school in the U.S. Getting a green card can take years, and the child you mention does not appear to qualify under any category that would expedite the process. Consult the USCIS website to see the discussion of green cards. All in all, to see if you have ANY chance of bringing this child to the U.S., you should consult a highly qualified immigration attorney. Sharon

Thankyou very much for your advice. I have seen you help many people on this forum. and as an adoption advocate I and my family greatly appreciate you!:wings:

I know how much you want to help this girl. If she does not have a parent who can take care of her, the next best option would be for her to find a family within Haiti, and for you to help out that family, if possible. International adoption would be a good choice if she had no options within Haiti. Unless a good attorney could find a way to get a waiver, if is unlikely that you would be able to adopt her. As a result, it might be a good idea if you could help her find a U.S. family that might qualify to adopt her. This family would have to meet all of Haiti's requirements, have an approved homestudy, and be able to qualify for USCIS approval. And, of course, the girl would need to be considered an "eligible orphan" under the terms of the INA. You could certainly bring the girl here on an education visa, as long as you could find a school to accept her and could pay for the schooling and all of her living expenses. The public schools generally won't accept kids on student visas; you would most likely have to use a private school. Most private schools that are USCIS approved require English proficiency as a condition of admission; does the girl speak English? My daughter has a 14 year old friend who is here from China on an education visa, and this girl goes to a private religious school that is USCIS approved; she lives with a teacher from the school, and her uncle, who lives in the U.S., is her sponsor. This is a girl, of course, who has two fairly well-to-do parents in China, and will go back home eventually; her parents sent her here mainly to perfect her (already decent) English and to become familiar with American culture. Unfortunately, once the girl completes whatever educational program she is in, she would have to return to her homeland, though it wouldn't hurt to work with a highly qualified immigration attorney -- I can recommend someone to contact -- to see if there are any legal loopholes that can be pursued. Also, you have to recognize that, especially since the World Trade Center attack, which showed that at least some terrorists entered the U.S. on student visas, the rules for student visas have been tightened. Especially if this girl is an orphan, there is likely to be a presumption that she will try to stay in the U.S., which could cause her to be rejected. The USCIS does not want people to use non-immigrant visas as a means to come to the U.S. permanently. Once again, I would strongly recommend that you get yourself excellent legal representation, so that you can explore all possible avenues to having the girl come to the U.S., permanently or otherwise. I am not an attorney, though I am a bit familiar with adoption and immigration issues. Sharon