Intercountry adoption of a relative/child who is already in the US - URGENT!!

Unfortunately, you have gone about this adoption in a completely improper manner. Right now, the best thing you can do is to retain a good immigration/adoption attorney. There actually are such people in the U.S. I will PM you with the name of one. If she can't help you, I doubt that anyone can. She has years of experience with difficult situations involving the immigration of adopted children. I have no personal or professional ties to her, but I am very familiar with her work. 1. The first thing you must understand is that children must be adopted under the laws of their country of citizenship. What you should have done was file the appropriate paperwork with the foreign government to adopt the child. If you did not qualify to adopt the child under the laws of the child's country, or if the country did not allow adoptions by foreigners, even if related, then you could NOT simply bring the child to the U.S. and adopt him/her here. The parents would have to seek other options for their child. Now, there are a few countries that grant decrees of guardianship to prospective parents, enabling the child to come to the U.S. for adoption, but they are fairly rare; most require you to obtain a final decree of adoption where the child lives. 2. Before completing an adoption of the child under the laws of his/her birth country, you would need to determine whether he/she was eligible for an adoption visa to enter the U.S. If you adopt a child who is not eligible for an adoption visa, which gives the child either permanent resident status or automatic citizenship when entering the U.S., the only things you can do are either: a) Live overseas with the child for two years and then apply for a regular dependent visa for him/her; or, b) Undo the adoption and return the child to his biological parents. You really don't have another option, even as a relative of the child. I am a little worried that the child might NOT qualify for an adoption visa, since you referred to the child's "parents", suggesting that he/she has been living with and/or supported by two biological parents or a parent and a stepparent. The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act specifies that a child qualifying for an adoption visa must be either: a) living with a single parent who cannot support him/her according to the standards of his/her country (not U.S. standards); or b) a child whose parents are deceased; or c) a child who has been abandoned by his/her birthparents, whose whereabouts are unknown; or d) a child who has been legally relinquished by the birthparents and has been living in an orphanage, foster home, or other situation with no contact with the birthparents; or e) a child who was removed from his/her birthparents by actions of a lawful authority, for reasons such as abuse or neglect. 3. It is totally against U.S. law to bring a child to the U.S. on a temporary visa of any sort, with the intent of keeping him/her here and having him/her adopted by someone. Technically, the parents of the child could be prosecuted for visa fraud, which is a felony in the U.S., and you could be prosecuted for assisting in this process. Now, the U.S. government is not some sort of monster, and you and the chld's parents probably won't be prosecuted. But unless a good lawyer can convince the USCIS to let the child stay in the U.S., it is likely that he/she will have to return to his/her home country once his/her visa expires. 4. The two years rule does not really apply, as I understand it. You would have to be living overseas with a child you adopt in his/her country for two years, before getting him/her an "immediate relative" visa that would allow him/her to enter the U.S. with permanent resident status. This is what some families do when they adopt a child overseas but the child does not qualify for an adoption visa (IR-3 or IR-4 or IH). Please get competent counsel as quickly as you can. For the sake of the child, I do hope you can get the mess straightened out. Sharon