Difference between revisions of "How to Adopt from Eritrea Part 3"

Revision as of 04:52, 21 October 2014

The official coat of arms.
Source: Wikipedia.org.

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

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

After you finalize the adoption (or gain legal custody) in Eritrea, 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 Eritrea, you will first need to apply for a new birth certificate for your child. Your name will be added to the new birth certificate. In the case of parents who have been granted custody for the purpose of adopting a child in the United States, the birth child’s certificate may not include the adoptive parents’ names. Adoptive parents may apply for a birth certificate in Eritrea by submitting a request to the Municipality of the child’s residence.

If the request is made within 90 days of the child’s birth, the Municipality will issue the birth certificate automatically.

If the request is made after 90 days, the family must go to the zonal administration of their district with the support of three witnesses to request approval for the issuance of a birth certificate. After approval, the Administration will give applicants a sealed envelope with the biographic information to be delivered to the municipality. Based on the data, the municipality will issue the birth certificate.

2. Eritrea Passport

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

At least one adoptive parent must be of Eritrean origin and hold an Eritrean identity card. If neither adoptive parent meets this requirement, even if a legal adoption has been completed, the local administrative zone will not issue a passport to the child. The biological parents will need to apply for the passport, or in the cases of abandoned and orphaned children, the U.S. Consular Officer processing the Immigrant Visa must request authorization for a passport waiver or travel letter from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

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 United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya (as all visa services are closed in Eritrea). 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 Nairobi, Kenya website. The consular section can also be reached at (254) (020)-3753705 or (020)-363-6492.

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

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