How to Adopt from Afghanistan Part 2

Nowruz
Source: wikipedia.org.

This page is for steps 5-6 of How to Adopt from Afghanistan. To learn about steps 1-4 please go to How to Adopt from Afghanistan.

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

After you finalize the adoption (or gain legal custody) in Afghanistan, 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 been granted custody for the purpose of adopting the child in the United States, a new Afghan birth certificate will not be issued, even after you obtain legal guardianship of the child. The original Afghan tazkera will remain valid and will permanently list the biological father’s name. The guardianship decree should be used in tandem with the Afghan tazkera for any legal matters where a birth certificate and evidence of legal custody are required.

2. Afghan Passport

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

You can obtain an Afghan passport for your child at the Passport Office in Kabul or at the office in your or the child’s home province. You should submit the child’s original Afghan ‘tazkera’ and the guardianship decree with the passport application. The fee for a five year validity passport is approximately USD $100 and it takes approximately one to two weeks to process.

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 Kabul. 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 in Kabul’s website.

The prospective adoptive child must be the beneficiary of an approved Form I-600 petition before an immigrant visa may be issued. Prospective adoptive parents who have a valid, approved Form I-600A may file their Form I-600 either in the United States with USCIS’s National Benefits Center or in person at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Contact the Embassy in Kabul at KabulIV@state.gov to schedule an immigrant visa interview for your prospective adoptive child.

A Form I-604 Determination on Child for Adoption (sometimes informally referred to as an orphan investigation) is required in all orphan adoption cases, even if a Form I-600 petition has been approved, and serves to verify that the child is an orphan as defined by U.S. immigration law. Generally, the Form I-604 is initiated after the prospective adoptive parent(s) file their Form I-600 petition. Depending upon the circumstances of the case, it can take several months for the I-604 to be completed. Adoptive parents are advised to have flexible travel plans while awaiting the results of the I-604 investigation.

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

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