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1. Guam is a territory of the U.S, somewhat like Puerto Rico. The U.S. President is the head of state, there is a Governor, as there is for your state of residence, and so on.
Adoptions from Guam are considered domestic, not international. The Guam foster care agency can be contacted at:
Department of Public Health & Social Services Bureau of Social Services Administration
Phone: 671-475-2653 or 671-475-2672
Address: 194 Hernan Cortez Ave., Suite 309, Hagatna, Guam 96910-5052
If you adopt from Guam by identifying a child who is not in foster care, you would have to go through ICPC, just as you would if you adopt from a state other than the one in which you reside, to ensure that the adoption conformed to the adoption laws of both your home state and the territory of Guam.
2. There is a good discussion of adoption from Palau on the website of the U.S. State Department at [url=http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/country-information/learn-about-a-country/palau.html]Palau | Intercountry Adoption[/url].
Basically, while there is a "Compact of Free Association" between the U.S. and Palau, which allows citizens of Palau to travel freely between the two countries without a visa for specific short-term purposes, the Compact does NOT apply to children being adopted by Americans who will bring the children to live with them permanently in the U.S. Palau is a non-Hague country, so you will have to go through the I-600A/I-600 USCIS process to secure an adoption visa for the child, once you complete an adoption in Palau.
Remember that it is ILLEGAL and UNETHICAL to bring a pregnant woman from Palau to the U.S. under the Compact of Free Association, so that she can deliver and relinquish her baby. This is true under both U.S. and Palau law; it is considered visa fraud, a felony, in the U.S. Adoption authorities agree that such an action makes exploitation of the pregnant woman possible. Many women decide not to relinquish once they see the beautiful baby they have created, yet in a strange country, where they do not speak the language and have accepted a great deal of hospitality from a prospective adoptive family, they may feel that they have no alternative but to give up their baby. They also may be coerced into giving up the newborn by facilitators who take away the woman's passport and leave them stranded in the U.S. with no money or documents until they agree to relinquish.
It is also illegal and highly unethical to mislead a pregnant woman by saying that her child will be taken to the U.S. for medical care and education, but will someday return to their families in Palau, yet that is what some unethical facilitators do. If you try to adopt from Palau, make sure that the agency has taken steps to ensure that birthmothers know about the finality of adoption, which severs parental rights of the birth family and grants them to the adoptive family.
Be aware that NO adoptions have occurred from Palau in the past few years. This often suggests that a country has a tradition of "taking care of its own", that the adoption process is complicated and neither timetable nor costs can be predicted well, that agencies find the adoption climate unfavorable because of corruption, etc.
3. The Marshall Islands also are a party to the Compact of Free Association. Again, while a person from the islands can make a short trip to the U.S. without a visa, children being adopted by Americans MUST enter the U.S. on permanent resident visas. For adoptive families, that means using the I-600A/I-600 process, since the Marshall Islands are not Hague-compliant.
Several years ago, the U.S. and Marshallese governments cracked down on unscrupulous facilitators and agencies that brought pregnant women to the U.S. to deliver and relinquish their babies. There were some really horrible incidents of coercion of these Marshallese women, who were generally uneducated, poor, and unfamiliar with either English or customs and laws in the U.S. Some facilitators would tell the women that if they called the police because they wanted to keep their babies, they'd be thrown in jail. Some facilitators basically kicked them out of their hotels, leaving them with no passports, money, or contacts who could help them get home, if they declined to relinquish, once their child was born. In addition, it is believed that many birthmothers were told lies about the finality of adoption; they did not understand that they were forever giving up their right to parent their children.
As a result, both the Marshallese government and the U.S. government tightened oversight of adoptions from the Islands.
Today, only a few agencies work with the Marshall Islands. However, adoption is possible, and the Marshalls are one country where it is common for Americans to meet the birthmother of their child during the adoption process and, often, to have a semi-open adoption afterwards. If you like the idea of getting to know your child's birth family, this may be a good choice for you.
On the other hand, no adoptions from the Marshalls by Americans occurred during 2013, suggesting that few children are available for legitimate adoption, that the process is long or uncertain, that there is too much corruption, etc.
Do read the information at [url=http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/country-information/learn-about-a-country/marshall-islands.html]Marshall Islands | Intercountry Adoption[/url] for authoritative information on adopting from the Marshall Islands.
Sharon
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1. Guam is a territory of the U.S, somewhat like Puerto Rico. The U.S. President is the head of state, there is a Governor, as there is for your state of residence, and so on.
Adoptions from Guam are considered domestic, not international. The Guam foster care agency can be contacted at:
Department of Public Health & Social Services Bureau of Social Services Administration
Phone: 671-475-2653 or 671-475-2672
Address: 194 Hernan Cortez Ave., Suite 309, Hagatna, Guam 96910-5052
If you adopt from Guam by identifying a child who is not in foster care, you would have to go through ICPC, just as you would if you adopt from a state other than the one in which you reside, to ensure that the adoption conformed to the adoption laws of both your home state and the territory of Guam.
2. There is a good discussion of adoption from Palau on the website of the U.S. State Department at [url=http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/country-information/learn-about-a-country/palau.html]Palau | Intercountry Adoption[/url].
Basically, while there is a "Compact of Free Association" between the U.S. and Palau, which allows citizens of Palau to travel freely between the two countries without a visa for specific short-term purposes, the Compact does NOT apply to children being adopted by Americans who will bring the children to live with them permanently in the U.S. Palau is a non-Hague country, so you will have to go through the I-600A/I-600 USCIS process to secure an adoption visa for the child, once you complete an adoption in Palau.
Remember that it is ILLEGAL and UNETHICAL to bring a pregnant woman from Palau to the U.S. under the Compact of Free Association, so that she can deliver and relinquish her baby. This is true under both U.S. and Palau law; it is considered visa fraud, a felony, in the U.S. Adoption authorities agree that such an action makes exploitation of the pregnant woman possible. Many women decide not to relinquish once they see the beautiful baby they have created, yet in a strange country, where they do not speak the language and have accepted a great deal of hospitality from a prospective adoptive family, they may feel that they have no alternative but to give up their baby. They also may be coerced into giving up the newborn by facilitators who take away the woman's passport and leave them stranded in the U.S. with no money or documents until they agree to relinquish.
It is also illegal and highly unethical to mislead a pregnant woman by saying that her child will be taken to the U.S. for medical care and education, but will someday return to their families in Palau, yet that is what some unethical facilitators do. If you try to adopt from Palau, make sure that the agency has taken steps to ensure that birthmothers know about the finality of adoption, which severs parental rights of the birth family and grants them to the adoptive family.
Be aware that NO adoptions have occurred from Palau in the past few years. This often suggests that a country has a tradition of "taking care of its own", that the adoption process is complicated and neither timetable nor costs can be predicted well, that agencies find the adoption climate unfavorable because of corruption, etc.
3. The Marshall Islands also are a party to the Compact of Free Association. Again, while a person from the islands can make a short trip to the U.S. without a visa, children being adopted by Americans MUST enter the U.S. on permanent resident visas. For adoptive families, that means using the I-600A/I-600 process, since the Marshall Islands are not Hague-compliant.
Several years ago, the U.S. and Marshallese governments cracked down on unscrupulous facilitators and agencies that brought pregnant women to the U.S. to deliver and relinquish their babies. There were some really horrible incidents of coercion of these Marshallese women, who were generally uneducated, poor, and unfamiliar with either English or customs and laws in the U.S. Some facilitators would tell the women that if they called the police because they wanted to keep their babies, they'd be thrown in jail. Some facilitators basically kicked them out of their hotels, leaving them with no passports, money, or contacts who could help them get home, if they declined to relinquish, once their child was born. In addition, it is believed that many birthmothers were told lies about the finality of adoption; they did not understand that they were forever giving up their right to parent their children.
As a result, both the Marshallese government and the U.S. government tightened oversight of adoptions from the Islands.
Today, only a few agencies work with the Marshall Islands. However, adoption is possible, and the Marshalls are one country where it is common for Americans to meet the birthmother of their child during the adoption process and, often, to have a semi-open adoption afterwards. If you like the idea of getting to know your child's birth family, this may be a good choice for you.
On the other hand, no adoptions from the Marshalls by Americans occurred during 2013, suggesting that few children are available for legitimate adoption, that the process is long or uncertain, that there is too much corruption, etc.
Do read the information at [url=http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/country-information/learn-about-a-country/marshall-islands.html]Marshall Islands | Intercountry Adoption[/url] for authoritative information on adopting from the Marshall Islands.
Sharon
Like
Share