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How to Adopt from St. Vincent and the Grenedines
Source: Wikipedia.org.
Adoption Authority
St. Vincent and the Grenadines's Adoption Authority
The Adoption Board
The Process
The process for adopting a child from St. Vincent and the Grenadines 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 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- 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 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 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.
2. Apply to be Found Eligible to Adopt
To bring an adopted child from St. Vincent and the Grenadines 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 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 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 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 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 St. Vincent and the Grenadines' 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-country
The process for finalizing the adoption (or gaining legal custody) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines generally includes the following:
- ROLE OF THE ADOPTION AUTHORITY: The authority responsible for adoptions in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the Adoption Board. The Adoption Board can be reached at:
- The Adoption Board
- c/o the Labor Department
- Murrays Road
- Kingstown
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Tel: 1 (784) 456-1111
- ADOPTION APPLICATION: All adoptions begin with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Adoption Board. The Adoption Board of St. Vincent and the Grenadines handles many international adoptions and will "walk you through" the adoption on a case-by-case basis.
- TIME FRAME: The process takes about three to six months on average.
- ADOPTION FEES: Adoption fees vary; prospective parents should contact the Adoption Board to inquire about fees.
- DOCUMENTS REQUIRED: Contact the Adoption Board for a complete list of documents requested. The Board will require originals of all requested documents. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is not a party of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, so the Legalization Convention "apostille" certificate should not be used for documents to be presented in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Instead, the "chain authentication method" will be used to authenticate documents for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This process involves seeking the proper authorities to attest to the validity of a succession of seals or signatures beginning with the seal on your document, proceeding to the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office and ending with the seal of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Embassy or Consulate in the United States. 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 St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 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. St. Vincent and the Grenadines Passport
Your child is not yet a U.S. citizen, so he/she will need a travel document or Passport from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
- 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 United States Embassy for your child. After the adoption (or custody for purpose of adoption) is granted, visit the U.S. Embassy 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. Learn more.
Please note: St. Vincent and the Grenadines is not a visa issuing post. The post responsible for visa issuance is Barbados. The U.S. Embassy in Barbados requests that perspective adoptive parents contact them directly for specifics on visa issuance. Visa issuance after the final interview now generally takes 24 hours and it will not normally be possible to provide the visa to adoptive parents on the day of the interview.
To learn more about the Child Citizenship Act please read The Child Citizenship Act of 2000.