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Hello everyone! I'm not sure if anybody will really have an answer to my question, but I figured I would try anyway..
My husband is Ukrainian. He was born and raised there, moved to the US with his family when he was 14. He is currently a dual citizen of both Ukraine and the US. He has both a Ukrainian and US passport.
I am German, raised by Russian-speaking parents.. in case that is of any relevance.
We are very interested in adopting from Ukraine. Gender doesn't matter, but we would like a child/children under 3, because we think it would just be a lot easier for a baby/toddler to integrate into the family. We have an 11-month-old son and another baby due in March.
My question is whether my husband, as a Ukrainian citizen, would get the "benefit" of choosing from children who are normally not available for international adoption. Obviously, we are planning on bringing the child/children to the US.. but could his nationality give us a bit of an advantage?
I plan on contacting facilitators and asking them this question, but I haven't received any good leads on facilitators yet, so I thought I'd try and ask here on this forum.
If you have any advice or information, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!:thanks:
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Frankly, I doubt that it will give you much of an advantage. Very few children under five, without significant special needs, are available in Ukraine. Most are adopted quickly, by families living there.
Also, Ukraine really has a commitment to advocating for the hardest to place children -- for example, teens, school age boys, children with significant special needs. You are likely to be shown books with profiles of these children first, and you may or may not be shown any other children. The U.S. is known for having good resources for children with special needs, so you might actually get pressured to accept a child with such needs.
Sharon
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Hi MsK,
I am in a similar situation. We are starting adoption from Ukraine, I was born in Ukraine but recently became a US citizen. I am still working through the details, but here is the summary so far:
Actually, Ukraine does not allow dual citizenship. So technically, once they find out that your husband has American citizenship (which will be stated in the dossier), he can no longer be considered a Ukrainian citizen.
There is more on that in the actual [URL="http://zakon2.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2235-14"]text of the law, here[/URL].
Main points from that law:
1. Ukraine only allows single citizenship.
2. A person who acquires Ukrainian citizenship has to renounce their other citizenships within two years.
3. A Ukrainian citizen that acquires citizenship of another country will be treated as a Ukrainian. [I personally would prefer to be protected by the American government while in Ukraine than be treated as a Ukrainian].
4. Elsewhere I read that there could be potential charges and/or imprisonment for people who try to pull of dual citizenship [in other words, it is a crime].
5. There is no process outlined for denouncing citizenship.
6. I know people who did not denounce their Ukrainian citizenship. They use their US passport to enter the country, but switch to their Ukrainian passport to travel inside - fewer questions and safer that way.
Conclusion: I think it would be safer and simpler for me to go as a US citizen. I may or may not denounce my Ukrainian citizenship by that time.
Let me know if you have other thoughts/questions/considerations about this issue. It's not that many of us :)