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Who Can Be Adopted from Zambia
Source: Wikipedia.org.
In addition to U.S. immigration requirements, Zambia has specific requirements that a child must meet in order to be eligible for adoption:
Relinquishment: The relinquishing Zambian parent(s) must file a Consent to Adopt form in court. In cases where Zambian authorities have deemed that there is no competent legal guardian of the child, an Affidavit to Dispense with Consent to Adopt form is filed.
Abandonment: None.
Age of Adoptive Child: Zambian children eligible for intercountry adoption must be under 21 years of age, unmarried, and declared a child in need of care by the Department of Social Welfare. Please note that in order for a child to meet the definition of orphan under U.S. immigration law, a Form I-600 petition must be filed while the child is under the age of 16 (or under the age of 18 if adopted, or to be adopted, together with a sibling under the age of 16).
Sibling Adoptions: None.
Special Needs or Medical Conditions: None.
Waiting Period or Foster Care: The prospective adoptive parents (and their lawyer, if applicable) must file a petition for temporary legal guardianship with the local magistrate and bear the responsibility of preparing all court-related documentation. Once approved, the mandatory fostering phase begins. Parents must foster the child in Zambia for a minimum of three months, though the court or the Department of Social Welfare may require a longer fostering period.
Caution: Prospective adoptive parents should be aware that not all children in orphanages or children’s homes are adoptable. In many countries, birth parents place their child(ren) temporarily in an orphanage or children’s home due to financial or other hardship, intending that the child return home when this becomes possible. In such cases, the birth parent(s) have rarely relinquished their parental rights or consented to their child(ren)’s adoption.
NOTE: Prospective adoptive parents considering adoption of a Zambian family member are advised to carefully consider whether that child will meet the definition of orphan under U.S. law, which differs significantly from the criteria for adoption under Zambian law. Zambian authorities may issue an adoption decree based on customary practice of adopting a family member to afford that child better educational opportunities, for instance. Before a consular officer can issue an immigrant visa to an adopted child, however, you must demonstrate that the child’s sole surviving parent is incapable of providing proper care for the child as measured according to local, Zambian, conditions. This fact could result in a situation where your adopted child is unable to immigrate to reside with you in the United States.
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