INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


TAJIKISTAN

May 2006


DISCLAIMER:  The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in country in general; and 2) U.S. Federal immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States.

The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth 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. 

IMPORTANT NOTES:  On May 3, 2006, Tajikistan changed its Family Code to prohibit intercountry adoption of Tajik orphans.  While couples which consist of at least one Tajik citizen will still be allowed to adopt according to the below procedures, all other adoptions by non-Tajik citizens are expressly forbidden by Tajik law.

ADOPTION AUTHORITY:  The Department of Care and Guardianship (under the Tajik Ministry of Education) and the district education committee covering the child’s place of residence (under the local mayor’s office) both play important roles in identifying children as adoptable orphans and evaluating the appropriateness of prospective adoptive parents.  Final adoption decisions are made in courts. 

AGE, CIVIL STATUS AND RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS:  At least one prospective adoptive parent must be Tajik citizen.  Single parents may adopt but there must be at least 16 years’ difference between the adoptive parent and adoptive child.  However, Tajik authorities will allow adoption by a single parent only if they are fully convinced that the adoptive parent’s age, health condition and financial status will enable him/her to provide adequate support and education for the child until adulthood. 

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS:  There are no recognized adoption agencies in Tajikistan and there are few attorneys who will agree to even take on adoption cases, although there are several who have experience.

FEES:  Tajikistan ranks among the most corrupt countries in the world.  There are no set official fees for adoption and unofficial fees are rumored to vary widely, from $500 to $20,000.

ADOPTION PROCEDURES:  For the reasons outlined in the “Important Notes” section above, the following adoption procedures are related to the domestic Tajik adoption process, and are not always applied to (or successful in) intercountry adoption cases.

Applications for adoption should be filed with district or city courts having jurisdiction over the child’s or the adoptive parents’ place of residence in Tajikistan.  Before the application is filed, the child must be registered as an orphan with both the Department of Care and Guardianship (under the Tajik Ministry of Education) and the district education committee covering the child’s place of residence (under the local mayor’s office).  These departments review the child’s and prospective parents’ living conditions, ensure that the prospective adoptive parents met the Tajik requirement of meeting with the adoptive child in person, determine whether there are claims against the adoption (e.g., from other family members), and find out the child’s attitude towards the adoption.   (Children over age 10 cannot be adopted without their permission.) 

All adoptive parents are required to meet with the child in person before the court hearing and to be personally present at the court hearing.  Representatives of the Care and Guardianship district committee, the prosecutor, and the orphanage must also be present at the hearing, and a failure by any of these to be present may later be used to invalidate the court decision.  Tajik authorities believe that birth parents’ rights always have priority and birth parents may withdraw their permission for the child’s adoption at any time before the court decision is made.  If the child’s birth parents are known and alive, the judge may invite them to the court hearing. 

Any person or entity who believes that his/her rights were violated by the adoption may file an appeal to have the adoption declared void.  Not only the birth parents, but also other heirs of the adoptive parents, the prosecutor, or other Tajik government offices (Care and Guardianship Departments) may file such an appeal.  Even the child him/herself, once having reached the age of majority, may request that the adoption be voided.  If the court declares the adoption void, it can return the child to the birth parents or to the Tajik Care and Guardianship Departments.

If there are no challenges to the adoption and the court approves the adoption, the adoptive parents can obtain the adoption certificate and the new birth certificate (showing the child’s new name and the adoptive parents’ names) from the Tajik civil registration office (ZAGS).  Please note that in cases of issuance of a child’s birth certificate to a single mother, ZAGS frequently writes a fictitious father’s name in the birth certificate.  A single adoptive mother should either ask ZAGS officials not to do this or should keep the court decision or statement from ZAGS to confirm that a single mother adopted the child.  In the case of an adoption by a single, U.S. citizen mother, she will need these documents at the immigrant visa interview and also later when applying for a U.S. passport for the child. 

After the adoption certificate and the new birth certificate have been obtained, the adoptive parent(s) can apply for the child’s Tajik international passport.  This is done at the Visa and Registration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (OVIR).  Please note that OVIR requires that adoptive parents apply for their children’s Tajik international passports in person.   (Note: the child’s passport will be issued in the child’s new name, which will appear both in Cyrillic characters and in English.  However, the Tajik officials will transliterate the name from Cyrillic into English and the result usually will not be spelled as your family spells it.  For example, Smith will be Smit (there is no “th” in Russian); Callaghan will be Kalahan, etc.   The fact that the child’s name is “misspelled” in the passport will NOT cause a problem when you travel and should not be a cause for concern.)   

Once the adoption is finalized, the birth certificate has been reissued, and the child’s passport is in hand, the parents can contact the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan to make an appointment for an interview with a U.S. consular officer.  The purpose of this interview is so that the consular officer can completed the Report on Overseas Orphan Investigation (Form I-604).  When this report is completed, the parents can then contact the U.S. Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan, to arrange to apply for the immigrant visa for the adopted child.

DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS:  The adoption application to the Tajik court should include (but is not limited to):  

  1. Home Study Report prepared by a competent authority of the prospective adoptive parents’ country of residence (the report should be approved by the Tajik Care and Guardianship Department)
  2. Written recommendation of the Tajik Care and Guardianship Department (including confirmation that the child is registered as an orphan and has met in person with the prospective adoptive parents)
  3. Approval from the prospective adoptive parents’ country of residence that they may apply to adopt a child internationally (proof of USCIS-approved I-600A).
  4. Copies of prospective adoptive parents’ passports
  5.  Prospective adoptive parents’ marriage certificate/divorce certificate (if applicable)
  6.  Police certificate for the adoptive parents, detailing any criminal history
  7.  Medical examination report describing the prospective adoptive parents’ health condition
  8.  Financial documents showing prospective adoptive parents’ salary and income: employment verification letter, bank statements, tax forms
  9. Evidence of prospective adoptive parents’ place of residence
  10. Certificate showing how many people there are in the prospective adoptive parents’ family, including all dependents, to assess financial means
  11. Notarized agreement of biological parents (if they are known and alive) or guardians for adoption of the child
  12. Written permission from the head of the orphanage or hospital where the child resides (if applicable)
  13. Original birth certificate of the adoptive child
  14. Child’s statement agreeing to be adopted (if s/he is over ten years old).
  15. Medical report on the child’s health condition and physical and mental development

All of these documents must be translated into Tajik or Russian, notarized and authenticated.

AUTHENTICATION PROCESS:  The language describing the process of authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad is currently under review.  Please click on the following link for more information until the new language is finalized:  http://travel.state.gov/law/abroad_legal.html

EMBASSY OF TAJIKISTAN IN THE UNITED STATES:

Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan
1005 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20037 

Phone: (202) 223-6090; Fax: (202) 223-6091

E-mail: tajikistan@verizon.net; Website: http://www.tjus.org

U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS:  Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult U.S. CSI publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. The U.S. CSI publication is available at the U.S. CSI Web site. The Department of State publication International Adoptions can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, http://travel.state.gov, under “International Adoptions.”

Before completing an adoption abroad, prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the requirements for filing Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.  Please see the flyer “ How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States” at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site travel.state.gov.

U.S. EMBASSY IN TAJIKISTAN:  Americans living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov/, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the country of travel.  Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.  By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.  The Consular Section is located at:

 10 Pavlov Street
Dushanbe, Tajikistan 734003
Tel. (92-372) 21-03-48, 21-03-52, 24-15-60, 21-20-57
Fax: (92-372) 21-03-62 or 51-00-29
E-mail: DushanbeConsular@state.gov
Website: http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov

APPLYING FOR A U.S. IMMIGRANT VISA FOR AN ADOPTED TAJIK CHILD:

The U.S. Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan processes immigrant visas for children from Tajikistan.  More information about immigrant visa processing requirements, including the processing of the I-600 in Almaty, is available at http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_408.html.  Prospective adoptive parents may also write, call or e-mail the U.S. Embassy in Almaty as follows:

U. S. Embassy in Almaty, Kazakhstan
ATTN: Consular Section, Adoptions
Embassy of the United States of America
97 Zholdasbekova
Almaty, Kazakhstan 480099
Tel: 7-3272-50-48-02
Fax: 7-3272-50-48-84

Website: http://www.usembassy.kz

Adoption E-Mail: AdoptionsAlmaty@state.gov
General Consular E-mail: ConsularAlmaty@state.gov

Note:  Visa issuance after the final interview now generally takes 24 hours and it will not normally be possible to provide the visa to adoptive parents on the day of the interview.

 ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP: The language describing the acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children is currently under review. Until the new language is finalized, please click on the following link for further information: http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_457.html.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific questions about adoption in Tajikistan may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe. General questions regarding intercountry adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children’s Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.

Useful information is also available from several other sources:

 

Telephone:

  • Toll Free - For information on intercountry adoption and international parental child abduction, call Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.
  • U.S. Department of State Visa Office - recorded information concerning immigrant visas for adopting children, (202) 663-1225.
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).

Internet :

  • Adoption Information Flyers: The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains intercountry adoption information flyers like this one and the International Adoptions brochure.
  • Country Specific Information: The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flier. In addition, the State Department publishes Country Specific Information for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that is not addressed in the CSI for that country, the State Department may issue a Travel Alert alerting U.S. citizens to local security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet at: http://travel.state.gov/ or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services Toll Free at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.
  • USCIS web site - http://uscis.gov/.