How to Adopt from Marshall Islands

A U.S. Serviceman with children.
Source: flickr.com.

Adoption Authority

Marshall Islands’ Adoption Authority

Central Adoption Authority (“CAA”)

The Process

The process for adopting a child from Marshall Islands generally includes the following steps:

Choose an Adoption Service Provider
Apply to be Found Eligible to Adopt
Be Matched with a Child
Adopt or gain custody of the child in Marshall Islands
Apply for the child to be found eligible for orphan status
Bring Your Child Home

Marshall Islands also requires post-adoption reports. See the "After Adoption" section of this Country Information Sheet for more details.

1. Choose an Adoption Service Provider

The recommended first step in adopting a child from Marshall Islands is to decide whether or not to use a licensed adoption service provider in the United States that can help you with your adoption. Adoption service providers must be licensed by the U.S. state in which they operate. The Department of State provides information on selecting an adoption service provider on its website.

2. Apply to be Found Eligible to Adopt

In order to adopt a child from Marshall Islands, you will need to meet the requirements of the Government of Marshall Islands and U.S. immigration law. You must submit an application to be found eligible to adopt with the CAA.

To meet U.S. immigration requirements, you may also file an I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition with U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to be found eligible and suitable to adopt.

3. Be Matched with a Child

If you are found eligible to adopt, and a child is available for intercountry adoption, the CAA in the Marshall Islands will provide you with a referral. Each family must decide for itself whether or not it will be able to meet the needs of and provide a permanent home for a particular child.

The child must be eligible to be adopted according to Marshall Islands’ requirements, as described in the Who Can Be Adopted section. The child must also meet the definition of orphan under U.S. immigration law.

4. Adopt the Child (or Gain Legal Custody) in Marshall Islands

The process for finalizing the adoption in Marshall Islands generally includes the following:

Role of Adoption Authority: The CAA was established through the Adoptions Act of 2002. The CAA is in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and is responsible for the supervision of all adoption proceedings in the Marshall Islands. The duties of the CAA include:

1. Serving as a central receiving point for all referrals of children to be adopted;

2. Conducting background investigations of the birth parents.

3. Providing case management services to birth parents and children, including:

4. Birth parent counseling on options for effective parenting, including the possibility of traditional or intercountry adoption;

5. Pre-natal nutrition and medical referral services to the birth mother in cooperation with other government agencies, departments, or ministries, as appropriate;

6. Coordinating with licensed agencies to monitor the quality of applications, and providing a recommendation to the Court on individual applications;

7. For children whose consent to adoption is required, providing counseling to the child and providing a recommendation to the Court regarding the child’s wishes regarding adoption;

8. Monitoring post-adoption progress in coordination with the foreign agencies; and

9. Providing a resource to adoptive parents for post-adoption consultation on issues related to the adoption.

Role of the Court: The High Court determines the eligibility of prospective adoptive parents based on submitted evidence required by the Adoptions Act of 2002 and issues the decree of final adoption. Prospective adoptive parents must petition the High Court for adoption. There is a hearing at which the prospective adoptive parent(s) must appear in person. If a husband and wife are adopting, both must appear.

Role of Adoption Agencies: Adoption agencies interact with the CAA to match children with prospective adoptive parent(s). Adoption agencies must be licensed by a state or government licensing board and must be represented by a locally licensed lawyer to appear before the Court.

Adoption Application: Prospective adoptive parents must petition the Court for adoption through referral from CAA.

Time Frame: The U.S. Embassy in Majuro has indicated that Marshallese adoptions generally take four to five weeks to complete, from the parents’ arrival on the island to receipt of the child’s immigrant visa.

Adoption Fees: Court costs are approximately $500. Certified copies of court documents are $5 and certified copies of birth certificates are $1. Expedited passport issuance costs $85. U.S. adoption service provider and local attorney fees vary. The U.S. Embassy in Majuro discourages the payment of any fees that are not properly receipted, including “donations” or “expediting” fees requested from prospective adoptive parents or their agents. Such fees may have the appearance of “buying” a baby and put all future adoptions in Marshall Islands at risk. Similarly, prospective adoptive parents and their agents should be mindful of whether any official, required fee has been exempted, and if so, who exempted the fees, and for what reason.

Documents Required: The High Court requires the following in order to determine the eligibility and suitability of prospective adoptive parent(s) and issue a final adoption decree:

1. In cases where birth parent(s) can be located, their Affidavit of Relinquishment;

2. Certified copy of petitioner’s marriage certificate;

3. Certified copy of birth certificate of each petitioner;

4. Photocopy of each petitioner’s passport;

6. Doctor’s statement attesting to the physical and mental capability of the petitioners to adopt. NOTE: Additional documents may be requested.

Authentication of Documents: The United States and the Marshall Islands are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. U.S. public documents may be authenticated with apostilles by the appropriate U.S. Competent Authority.

5. Apply for the Child to be Found Eligible for Adoption

After you finalize the adoption (or gain [[Legal Custody|legal custody][1]) in Marshall Islands, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services must determine whether the child meets the definition of orphan under U.S. immigration law. You will need to file a Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.

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 Marshall Islands, you will first need to apply for a new birth certificate for your child. Your name will be added to the new birth certificate.

The adoptive parents take a copy of the adoption decree to the Marshall Islands vital records office at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where the staff produces a new birth certificate within one business day.

2. Marshallese Passport

Your child is not yet a U.S. citizen, so he/she will need a travel document or passport from Marshall Islands.

After the adoptive family receives a new birth certificate listing them as adoptive parents, the adoptive family applies for a Marshall Islands passport for the child at the Attorney General’s office, located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands Capitol building. New passports are usually produced within one business day.

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. This immigrant visa allows your child to travel home with you.

The U.S. Embassy in Majuro does not issue immigrant visas. The closest U.S. Embassy to the Marshall Islands that processes immigrant visas is in Manila, Philippines. The U.S. Embassy in Majuro can accept and review all required paperwork and forward it to the U.S. Embassy in Manila. As part of this process, the panel physician must complete the medical report and forward it to the U.S. Embassy in Majuro and the consular officer must see the child in person before the immigrant visa is issued.

NOTE: The adoptive parents and children do not have to travel to Manila to complete the U.S. immigrant visa application for the child.

Adoptive or prospective adoptive parents of Marshallese children should contact the U.S. Embassy in Majuro once they have completed all of the Marshall Islands’ required adoption procedures in order to process the necessary immigrant visa paperwork. The U.S. Embassy in Majuro will mail all necessary documentation to Manila for final visa adjudication. Please note that processing times for immigrant visas can take two to three weeks due to mailing times. Families need not travel to Manila directly, as petitioners may present all documents to the U.S. Embassy in Majuro, and the consular officer in Majuro may conduct their interviews in Majuro.

Adoptive families should take this into account and thus not make non-refundable travel plans to return to the United States.

You can find instructions for applying for an immigrant visa on the U.S. Embassy in Manila’s website.

To learn about the Child Citizenship Act please read The Child Citizenship Act of 2000,

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