2016 New York re-adoption question

May 25, 2016

Hi all,

i am in the almost final stage of adopting 2 girls from Jamaica. I am now awaiting the final i600 approval, i got the i600a approval and have been waiting about 2 weeks now then i will get the interview for the Ja Embassy. i understand that i have to re-adopt the children when they come to the USA. i have spent over 12,000 so far (all with USA expenses, the actual cost of adoption licenses in Jamaica was minimal , and i now want to do the re-adoption when the time comes but i want to do this myself. i believe i can but the agency is advising me against this and say i should pay an attorney which is around 1500 to do this.

can anyone tell me if this can be done without an attorney. and if so can you at least put me in the right direction. also i anticipate getting the interview appt by mid june i hope , has anyone gone thru this and can you let me know. how long this will take.

thanks

Sharon Kaufman

August 2, 2016

As we discussed by email, please remember that you will NOT be "readopting" in New York. You will be doing a full domestic adoption.. With Jamaica, unless you are a citizen of that country, you do NOT finalize an adoption there. You bring your child home under a license, which is simply a guardianship agreement. The child is NOT legally yours until you do a full domestic adoption.

While readoption used to be a fairly complex process in New York, I understand that it has now been simplified. However, you cannot take advantage of that. You will be adopting, which means a new or updated homestudy, several post placement visits, new medical and other paperwork, and so on.

Remember that your child will NOT become a U.S. citizen until after you do the domestic adoption. As a result, you will not receive a Certificate of Citizenship for your child without charge. Once you adopt in your state, you can apply for a Certificate of Citizenship for your child, and pay the full price. Although that price is high, be aware that the prices have been rising steadily. If you don't obtain one soon after you finalize in New York, the price is bound to be much higher when you actually decide to get one.

Sharon