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How to Adopt from Djibouti Part 3
Source: Wikipedia.org.
This page is for step 6 of How to Adopt from Djibouti. To learn about steps 1-3 please read How to Adopt from Djibouti. For steps 4-5 please read How to Adopt from Djibouti Part 2.
6. Bring Your Child Home
Once your adoption is complete (or you have obtained legal custody of the child), you need to apply for several documents for your child before you can apply for a U.S. immigrant visa to bring your child home to the United States:
- 1. Birth Certificate
If you have finalized the adoption in Djibouti you will first need to apply for a new birth certificate for your child. Your name will be added to the new birth certificate. If you have been granted custody for the purpose of adopting the child in the United States, the birth certificate you obtain will, in most cases, not yet include your name. Adoptive parents must go to the Djiboutian Office of Vital Records (Bureau d'Etat Civile) to apply for a new birth certificate.
- 2. Djibouti Passport
Your child is not yet a U.S. citizen, so he/she will need a travel document or passport from Djibouti. Adoptive parents who are not also Djiboutian citizens cannot apply for Djiboutian passports for their adoptive children. The biological parents will need to apply for the passport, or in the cases of abandoned and orphaned children, the U.S. Consular Officer processing the Immigrant Visa must request authorization for a passport waiver or travel letter from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
- 3. U.S. Immigrant Visa
After you obtain the new birth certificate and passport for your child and you have filed Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, you then need to apply for a U.S. immigrant visa for your child from the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti City. This immigrant visa allows your child to travel home with you. As part of this process, the Consular Officer must be provided the Panel Physician’s medical report on the child.
NOTE: Because a passport waiver must be obtained from DHS, immigrant visas for children without Djiboutian passports may take up to six weeks to issue.
To schedule an immigrant visa appointment with the Embassy, please call +(253) 35-39-95. You can find instructions for applying for an immigrant visa on the U.S. Embassy in Djibouti City’s website.
Child Citizenship Act
For adoptions finalized abroad prior to the child’s entry into the United States: A child will acquire U.S. citizenship upon entry into the United States if the adoption was finalized prior to entry and the child otherwise meets the requirements of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.
For adoptions finalized after the child’s entry into the United States: An adoption will need to be completed following your child’s entry into the United States for the child to acquire U.S. citizenship.
Please be aware that if your child did not qualify to become a citizen upon entry to the United States, it is very important that you take the steps necessary so that your child does qualify as soon as possible. Failure to obtain citizenship for your child can impact many areas of his/her life including family travel, eligibility for education and education grants, and voting.
Read more about the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.
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