How to Adopt from Samoa

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Adoption Authority

Samoan Adoption Authority

The government offices responsible for adoptions in Samoa are the Ministry of Justice & Courts Administration, and the Office of the Attorney General.

The Process

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

Choose an Adoption Service Provider
Apply to be Found Eligible to Adopt
Be Matched with a Child
Adopt the Child (or Gain Legal Custody) in Samoa
Apply for the Child to be Found Eligible for Adoption
Bring Your Child Home

1. Choose an Adoption Service Provider

The first step in adopting a child from Samoa is usually to select a licensed agency in the United States that can help with your adoption. Adoption service providers must be licensed by the U.S. state in which they operate. Learn more about choosing the right adoption service provider.

Samoan law requires that adoption agencies, prior to facilitating adoptions in or from Samoa, must be registered with the Samoan Government and have the prior written authorization from the Attorney General.

The U.S. Embassy in Apia maintains a list of attorneys at this website.

2. Apply to be Found Eligible to Adopt

To bring an adopted child from Samoa to the United States, you must apply to be found eligible to adopt (Form I-600A) by the U.S. Government, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Learn how.

In addition to meeting the U.S. requirements for adoptive parents, you need to meet the requirements of Samoa as described in the Who Can Adopt section.

3. Be Matched with a Child

If you are eligible to adopt, and a child is available for intercountry adoption, the central adoption authority in Samoa will provide you with a referral to a child. Each family must decide for itself whether or not it will be able to meet the needs of a particular child and provide a permanent family placement for the referred child.

The child must be eligible to be adopted according to Samoan requirements, as described in the Who Can be Adopted section. The child must also meet the definition of an orphan under U.S. law. Learn more.

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

The process for finalizing the adoption (or gaining legal custody) in Samoa generally includes the following: ROLE OF THE ADOPTION AUTHORITY: The Attorney General must certify that the child has no family or other possibilities within Samoa before an adoption degree may be granted.

ROLE OF THE COURT: Adoption applications must be made to the District Court.

ROLE OF ADOPTION AGENCIES: To facilitate the adoption of a child.

ADOPTION APPLICATION: Prepared by law firm who is also an adoption agency.

TIME FRAME: The adoption process may take from several months to a year or more .

ADOPTION FEES: Attorneys' fees range from ST$900- ST$3000. In addition, prospective adoptive parents should expect to pay approximately ST$300 for justice and court administration fees.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: Documents required include:

1. Original Birth Certificates for adoptive parents;

2. Original Marriage Certificate for adoptive parents;

3. Proof of Citizenship - Naturalization Certificates/Passports;

4. Original birth certificate for adopted child;

5. Proof of ownership of home from adoptive parents - proof of adequate space in the home to accommodate an additional household member. NOTE: Additional documents may be requested. If you are asked to provide proof that a document from the United States is authentic, we can help. Learn how.

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

After you finalize the adoption (or gain legal custody) in Samoa, the U.S Government, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) MUST determine whether the child is eligible under U.S. law to be adopted (Form I-600). Learn how.

6. Bring Your Child Home

Now that your adoption is complete (or you have obtained legal custody of the child), there are a few more steps to take before you can head home. Specifically, you need to apply for several documents for your child before he or she can travel to the United States:

1. Birth Certificate

You will first need to apply for a new birth certificate for your child, so that you can later apply for a passport. Your name will be added to the new birth certificate.

2. Samoan Passport

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

3. U.S. Immigrant Visa

After you obtain the new birth certificate and passport for your child, you also need to apply for an U.S. visa from the Consulate General in Auckland for your child. After the adoption (or custody for purpose of adoption) is granted, visit the U.S. Consulate General for final review and approval of the child's I-600 petition and to obtain a visa for the child. 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 if it was not provided during the provisional approval stage. [https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/Intercountry-Adoption/Adoption-Process/how-to-adopt/medical-examination.html Learn more].

The U.S. Embassy in Apia, Samoa does not handle immigrant visa applications or issue immigrant visas. Immigrant visa applications for Samoan citizens are handled at the U.S. Consulate General in Auckland, New Zealand. Processing an immigrant visa may require both the adoptive parent(s) and the child to travel to Auckland for the formal interview after all documentation is in order. Adoptive or prospective adoptive parents of Samoan children should contact the U.S. Embassy in Apia for additional information and guidance as soon as possible after locating a child. This is particularly true if it appears that the Samoan court is expected to act favorably on the adoption application. The U.S. Embassy in Apia will then notify the Immigrant Visa Section at Consulate General in Auckland of the prospective case, so that the adoptive parents can be provided with the visa forms and medical examination instructions.

Once a Samoan court has approved an application for adoption by American prospective adoptive parents, those parents must file a Form I-600, Petition for Orphan Classification, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) division of the Department of Homeland Security. If the adoptive parents already have an approved Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition , from USCIS, they may file the I-600 either in the United States or in person at the Consulate General in Auckland at the same time as the visa application on behalf of the adopted child. If the I-600 is filed in Auckland, generally both parents must be present. If one parent cannot be present, then the non-traveling parent must sign the I-600 before a U.S. notary public, and then the traveling parent will file the I-600 in Auckland. Please see the "Additional Information" section below for links to USCIS web pages where additional important guidance is available. Please note: once a visa application has been lodged in Auckland, the applicant may need to wait up to 3 months until a consular officer has the opportunity to visit Samoa in order to conduct any necessary interviews with the adopted child's birth parents, and conduct any necessary investigations before USCIS can approve the I-600 petition.

NOTE: Once the I-600 is approved and on file, and all documents are in order, the immigrant visa process in Auckland should take approximately 1-2 days.

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

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