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How to Adopt from Cote d'Ivoire Part 3

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This page is for step 5 and 6 of How to Adopt from Cote d'Ivoire. For steps 1-3 please read How to Adopt from Cote d'Ivoire; for steps 4-5 please read How to Adopt from Cote d'Ivoire Part 2.


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


After you finalize the adoption (or gain legal custody) in Côte d’Ivoire, 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 Côte d’Ivoire you will first need to apply for a new birth certificate for your child. Your name will be added to the new birth certificate. If you have been granted custody for the purpose of adopting the child in the United States, the birth certificate you obtain will, in most cases, not yet include your name. Birth certificates are issued by the Civil Registry (Mairie) having jurisdiction over the child’s place of birth. The adoptive parent(s) will take a copy of the full adoption judgment to the civil registry officer who will amend the initial birth certificate to add the adoptive parent(s) surname on the document.


2. Côte d’Ivoire Passport


Your child is not yet a U.S. citizen, so he/she will need a travel document or passport from Côte d’Ivoire. Caution: Please note that only a citizen of Côte d’Ivoire is entitled to an Ivoirian passport. It is advisable to apply for the passport using the original birth certificate of the child because once the name of the foreign adoptive parent appears on the birth certificate as the child’s parent, the child is no longer considered an Ivoirian citizen but rather as a child of a U.S. citizen and ineligible for an Ivoirian passport.


To apply for an Ivoirian passport, you should follow the steps below:


1. Download the form from: Snedai (or obtain it directly from the passport agencies);


2. Pay the $75 application fee at the following bank agencies in Abidjan: Cobaci or Ecobank;


3. Get the receipt of payment;


4. Gather the required documents below:


5. Take the above documents to one of the passport agencies listed below, all located in Abidjan:
a. Plateau, Police Headquarters
b. Cocody, Boulevard Latrille coming from Cocody, 200 m after Sococé on the left side, before the DUNCAN intersection.
c. Marcory, GFCI, 100 m from the new market, going to Anoumambo.
d. Yopougon, Selmer Sicogi, 100 m from the City Hall, going to William Ponty High School.


6. A registration receipt will be given. This receipt must be presented to pick up the passport when ready.


7. Processing time is approximately one week.


NOTE: More information may be obtained on the website.


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 from the U.S. Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. 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. Embassy Abidjan's website.


Child Citizenship Act


For adoptions finalized abroad prior to the child’s entry into the United States: A child will acquire U.S. citizenship upon entry into the United States if the adoption was finalized prior to entry and the child otherwise meets the requirements of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.

For adoptions finalized after the child’s entry into the United States: An adoption will need to be completed following your child’s entry into the United States for the child to acquire U.S. citizenship.


Please be aware that if your child did not qualify to become a citizen upon entry to the United States, it is very important that you take the steps necessary so that your child does qualify as soon as possible. Failure to obtain citizenship for your child can impact many areas of his/her life including family travel, eligibility for education and education grants, and voting.


Read more about the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.


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