Visiting the US before obtaining citizenship

Today I received an e-mail from the US Embassy in Chile stating that since there are no US based adoption agencies currently approved in Chile, we can not follow the i-800a/i-800 process. We would have to use the i-130 procedure after 2 years custody of the child and in the meantime request a tourist visa if we want to visit family and friends. My only concern is that this contradicts what I read on the London US embassy website, that if there is a rightful claim to US citizenship, the child MUST enter with a US passport. I wrote back and am awaiting a reply.

I would think that your daughter does not YET have a rightful claim to US citizenship. That scenario would occur if you lived in Chile with her for the two years, did not get her citizenship, and then wanted to visit the US. After living 2 years as your daughter she'd have a claim to US citizenship, but right now she does not.

First off, expats cannot use the Child Citizenship Act in the same way as Americans living in the U.S., when obtaining citizenship for their adopted child. With Americans living in the U.S., if you go through the Hague adoption visa process (I-800), you will get a Hague visa (IH) in your child's Chilean passport. You then travel to the U.S. with her and she becomes a citizen the moment she passes through Immigration at the airport of entry. A Certificate of Citizenship would be sent to her automatically within the next 1-3 months. If you were living in the U.S. and adopting from a non-Hague country, using the adoption visa process, the same would be true if both parents saw the child prior to the issuance of a final decree of adoption. Your child would get an IR-3 visa in her Chilean passport and would become a citizen immediately upon entering the U.S. and receive a CoC in the mail thereafter. However, if only one spouse or neither spouse saw the child prior to the issuance of the adoption decree, the child would travel to the U.S. on an IR-4 visa, and you would have to readopt/do a recognition of the adoption in your home state before she became a citizen automatically, and you would have to request and pay for a CoC afterwards. There is a process for people who do NOT live in the U.S., but who use the I-600 or I-800 adoption visa approach. Basically, your child would get a visa in her Chilean passport that would allow her to travel to the U.S. You would make a trip to one of the states that has experience doing expedited citizenship -- Hawaii is the one that is used by a lot of people living in Asia -- and complete citizenship processing there. However, if the U.S. does not recognize the I-800 process for Chile because there are no Hague accredited agencies accredited by the Chilean government, you won't be able to use this approach to obtaining citizenship for your child. You will have to go through the 2 years custody process. Your child will not fall under the provisions of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, and will not qualify for automatic citizenship upon entering the U.S. You will have to naturalize her.

In this case (Chile) the problem is not the lack of a Hague approved agency here. The Chilean government agency SENAME is charged with the adoption process among other youth/minors issues (and there are also a few foundations which coordinate adoptions but through the gov't/SENAME agency). The reason we can't follow the i-800 process, according to the US Embassy e-mails, is that Chile hasn't approved any US based adoption agencies.(My reading of the relevant CFR's suggests that this shouldn't be a problem and our Chilean home visit and approval process should be sufficient once certified and translated.)As long as we can visit the US for several weeks with a tourist visa in our adopted child's Chilean passport and then after 2 years as physical custodians and parents we can apply for her citizenship under the i-130 process that is really what we are hoping for.The latest reply from the US Embassy states that this is in fact the only way we can proceed and that entering the US as a tourist before the 2 year waiting period would not put at risk our adopted child's future claim to citizenship.They wrote, "If your child enters the U.S. with a tourist visa and then comes back to Chile for example, and then before he/she turns 18 years old, you file an immigrant visa petition and enters the U.S. on a resident visa, your child will get U.S. citizenship automatically."Does anyone see any problems with this logic?And if there are future questions, do you think that this "legal advice" issued by a state department employee would hold water?It's unfortunate that a process which is so personal and emotionally charged has to be so legislative and bureaucratic. I understand why, but it certainly distracts us all from where we want to be focused -- on our children and family.

Coming to the U.S. on a tourist visa, whether you are talking about a non-citizen child or a non-citizen adult, will not make it difficult to immigrate or get citizenship later, as long as there is no attempt to overstay the tourist visa or remain in the U.S. Plenty of non-adopted children and adults visit the U.S. from overseas, go back home, and then move to the U.S. at some future date. The problem will be that the USCIS may not grant your child a tourist visa, since there may be a suspicion that you are using it as a way to circumvent the I-130 process and bring her to the U.S. for permanent residence before she is legally allowed to be here. When a foreigner applies for any type of non-permanent resident visa, the USCIS usually wants to be sure that there's no incentive for the individual to stay on. As an example, kids on student visas usually have to have parents overseas, property or bank accounts overseas, etc. And the fact is that many people DO overstay their visitor, student, or work visas, and remain in the U.S. illegally. I remember one case, discussed some years ago on these boards, where a child was brought to the U.S. on a tourist visa by his biological parent, who then left him with a U.S. citizen relative here and went back home. The relatives told the boy that they had adopted him, and perhaps they did, but the adoption was probably irregular. He grew up assuming that he was in the U.S. legally, and was a citizen. Unfortunately, when he applied for college, he was asked to produce proof of citizenship or permanent residence. He then found out that, not only was he not a citizen; he was eligible for deportation to the country he hadn't seen since he was a baby, since he had overstayed his tourist visa. I wouldn't worry about the State Department's logic; it is correct, and if you get everything in writing, it should be no big deal. However, I would definitely talk with the USCIS about whether your child could be granted a tourist visa, given that there could be suspicion of your intentions in bringing the child to the U.S. Sharon

Thanks Sharon, I get the idea that USCIS will ask to show that our adopted infant owns a house, has a well paying job, and a bank account!

1. Your child does not have a rightful claim to citizenship just because she was adopted by a U.S. citizen. Even children coming to the U.S. on adoption visas, with parents who live in the U.S., don't have a rightful claim to citizenship. They travel to the U.S. on their foreign passports with an IR-3, IR-4, IH-3, or IH-4 visa. When they enter the U.S. on an IR-3 or any IH visa, they acquire a rightful claim to citizenship at the point where they pass through Customs and Immigration. The U.S. government will then review their adoptions and, in almost all cases, issue a Certificate of Citizenship automatically. Their parents can also get them a U.S. passport at that point. When they enter the U.S. on an IR-4 visa, they do not acquire a rightful claim to citizenship until they both pass through Customs and Immigration AND do a readoption or recognition of the foreign adoption in the U.S. At that point, they can APPLY for a Certificate of Citizenship and/or a U.S. passport. A child who was adopted by an American living permanently overseas, AND who was not adopted under Hague rules, certainly does not achieve a rightful claim to citizenship automatically. My understanding is that the Child Citizenship Act does not apply, and that you will need to naturalize your child. In any case, you will NOT be able to get a U.S. passport for your child until he/she is a citizen and can prove it with a CoC. The standard U.S. passport -- that is, not a diplomatic passport or some other highly specialized kind -- cannot be issued to non-citizens. And you cannot get your child a CoC until you go through the naturalization process. 2. I must say that I did not appreciate your sarcasm. I am trying to be helpful. Your child won't have to prove that she has a house, a job, and a bank account. YOU, however, will have to prove that you intend to live overseas with her permanently, if you want to get her a tourist visa stamped in her foreign passport so she can come to the U.S. to visit before she becomes a citizen . YOU will actually have to prove that you have a home, job, bank account, relatives, etc. in Chile, and that you completed the adoption with the intent of raising her in Chile as your child -- not giving her to some relative to adopt in the U.S. If you can do these things, you should be able to get her a tourist visa. And if you all go home to Chile before her visa expires, there should be no problem in further dealings with the USCIS about her status. But as I said previously, any questions about eligibility for citizenship, a visa, etc. should be addressed with a highly experienced American immigration/adoption attorney. You will get accurate information, not speculation, and will have an ally in dealing with the USCIS. If you need the names of a few, I'll be glad to PM you. Sharon

We are in a very similar situation and have exactly the same questions.Very curious to hear what you find out about the chances of visiting the States before the two years is up!

nizinadan, Did you ever get any more information?

hi cnhutch, we are still waiting in the chilean adoption system, and while we have been called with one false alarm, our child hasn't arrived. So, no, we haven't learned anything new on the topic. I assume that as an expat, you know that the system isn't always clear and there can even be conflicting information available from official and non-official sources. We don't have the luxury of an international agency to help with our questions. In our case we're not even attempting an international adoption...this is a domestic adoption here in Chile. I regret that my sarcastic remark about the US border entry process offended anyone, it was clearly not pointed at anyone on this board and comes from real experiences asking for entry at various ports of entry. The system is designed for the vast majority, and when one lives and raises a family outside of the country the bureaucracy can make your head spin (and that applies not only to adoption and crossing the border, but also to taxes and the affordable care act.) Good luck and please keep us updated if you are actually able to visit the US with your child under similar circumstances. --dan

Ah okay, for some reason I thought you already had your child and had already gone through the domestic adoption process in Chile.We are in the same situation - going through the domestic adoption process here in our country. So it technically isn't an international adoption and we aren't using an international agency. For us the domestic process is very straight forward and clear (an amazing thing in this country!! :)), but like you, I have some questions about being able to visit the US in the future.Good luck and hope you get your child soon!!

Dan,We just had a consultation with an immigration lawyer. She told us that it totally depends on the embassy in the country you are living in whether they grant your child a tourist visa or not. She did say if you have good "proof" that you are settled and planning on returning to your country (as opposed to staying in the US), then you have a pretty good chance of getting the tourist visa. Of course she couldn't guarantee anything as it completely depends on each individual embassy.Hope that helps a little bit!