How to Adopt from Morocco

The Moroccan Sahara.
Source: Wikipedia.org.

Adoption Authority

Morocco’s Adoption Authority

Ministry of Justice (Le Ministère de la Justice et des Libertés, Place el Mamounia, Rabat, Morocco)

The Process

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

1. Choose an adoption service provider
2. Apply to be found eligible to obtain legal guardianship
3. Be matched with a child
4. Obtain legal and physical custody of the child in Morocco
5. Apply for the child to be found eligible for orphan status
6. Bring your child home

1. Choose an Adoption Service Provider

The recommended first step in adopting a child from Morocco 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. Be Matched with a Child

In order to adopt a child from Morocco, you will need to meet the requirements of the Government of Morocco and U.S. immigration law. You must submit an application with the Moroccan Ministry of Justice to be found eligible to obtain Kafala guardianship in Morocco. More information can be found at the Ministry’s website at: www.justice.gov.ma. The website is currently available in Arabic only.

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 eligible to adopt, and a child is available for intercountry adoption, the central adoption authority or other authorized entity in Morocco will provide you with a referral. Each family must decide for itself whether it will be able to meet the needs of and provide a permanent home for a particular child.

The child must be eligible for guardianship according to Morocco’s 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. Obtain Legal and Physical Custody of the Child in Morocco

The process for obtaining legal and physical custody of the child in Morocco generally includes the following:

• Role of Adoption Authority: The Ministry of Justice is the decision making authority in legal custody/guardianship cases.

• Role of the Court: Reviews applications and grants or denies Kafala guardianship. If Kafala guardianship is granted, the court issues all related documents such as enforcement of a Kafala order, an authorization to apply for a child’s passport, and an authorization to take the child outside of Morocco to reside with the child in a foreign country.

• Role of Adoption Agencies: There are no adoption agencies that currently operate in Morocco.

• Time Frame: The process can take from three months to two years.

• Adoption Fees: There is no adoption fee per se. Prospective adoptive parents customarily make donations to orphanages to benefit other children who are not adopted. Since these are donations, they may be given at any stage but are typically given at the end of the Kafala process. They range from $500 to a few thousand U.S. dollars. Some orphanages, at no charge, help the PAPs with paperwork and through the Kafala process, and the donation amount may reflect the role the orphanage played in helping the PAPs through the process. PAPs may also need to engage local legal counsel, or spend a significant amount of time in Morocco.

• Documents Required: Valid home study and other documents as required by a Kafala court. NOTE: Additional documents may be requested.

• Authentication of Documents: You may be asked to provide proof that a document from the United States is authentic. If so, the Department of State, Authentications Office may be able to assist.

5. Apply for the Child to be Found Eligible for Orphan Status

After you gain legal custody in Morocco, 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 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 obtained a Kafala guardianship certificate in Morocco for the purpose of adopting your child in the United States, you will first need to apply for a new birth certificate for your child. Your name will be added to the new birth certificate.

How to obtain a new birth certificate for the child in Morocco

• A court issued abandonment order is required to apply for the child’s local birth certificate at a local administrative office.

How to obtain a Passport for your child in Morocco

• Your child is not yet a U.S. citizen, so he/she will need a travel document or passport from Morocco. Once the prospective adoptive parents receive a court-issued abandonment order, and obtain an authorization to apply for the child’s Moroccan passport, they may apply for the child’s passport at a local administrative office. Obtaining a passport takes anywhere from two days to two weeks.

2. 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. Consulate General in Casablanca. 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.

You can find instructions for applying for an immigrant visa on the U.S. Consulate Casablanca’s website. If you have questions about the process or documents needed, please contact the Consulate via email at ivcasablanca@state.gov.

Visa issuance after the final interview generally takes 24 hours. It is not possible to provide the visa to adoptive parents on the same day as the immigrant visa interview. Prospective adoptive parents should verify current processing times with the U.S. Consulate in Casablanca before making final travel arrangements.

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

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