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If you adopted from a non-Hague country and have an approved I-600 from the USCIS, your child will come home to the United States on either an IR-3 or IR-4 visa, as long as he/she meets the definition of an "eligible orphan" under U.S. immigration law. The IR-3 visa is used when both spouses travel to see the child before the final decree of adoption is issued, and the adoption is finalized overseas. The IR-4 visa is used if neither spouse or only one spouse sees the child prior to the issuance of the final decree, or if the child will be traveling on a decree of guardianship, for adoption in the U.S. If you adopted from a country that has ratified the Hague Convention on international adoption and have an approved I-800 from the USCIS, your child will come home on an IH-3 or IH-4 visa, as long as he/she meets the definition of an “eligible orphan” under U.S. law. If you are not eligible to file the I-600 or I-800 – for example, because neither spouse is a U.S. citizen by birth or naturalization – you will not be able to obtain an adoption visa for your child. You may wind up having to give up your own visas and live overseas with your child for two years, then apply for new visas for yourself and a dependent visa for your child. And if your child does not meet the definition of an eligible orphan, the only way to bring him/her to the U.S. will be to live overseas with him/her for two years, and then apply for a dependent visa for the child. Always remember that international adoption has two components – adoption and immigration. You should never undertake an international adoption before you have considered whether you will be able to immigrate the child. Otherwise, you may find yourself in the position of either giving up all you hold dear in the U.S. to live overseas for two years, or overturning your adoption and returning the child to an orphanage or foster home. Sharon
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