Kosovo and the Hague Convention
Kosovo is not party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). Therefore, when the Hague Adoption Convention entered into force for the United States on April 1, 2008, intercountry adoption processing for Kosovo did not change.
PLEASE NOTE: The United States has an Embassy in Pristina that provides limited services to U.S.citizens in Kosovo. Immigrant visa applications for Kosovo citizens are processed at the U.S. Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia.
The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt achild in Kosovo and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States.
Two sets of laws are particularly relevant:
- The laws of Kosovo govern all activity in Kosovo including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in country.
- U.S. federal immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States.
The information in this flier relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign areas is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of Kosovo and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.
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