INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


ST. LUCIA
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.

PLEASE NOTE: In order to adopt St. Lucian children, persons who are not citizens of St. Lucia must reside in St. Lucia for at least six continuous months immediately prior to the adoption.

PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans

Fiscal Year

Number of Immigrant Visas Issued

 FY 2004

 2

 FY 2003

 1

 FY 2002

 4

 FY 2001

 1

 FY 2000

 2

ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN St. Lucia:   The adoption authority responsible for adoptions in St. Lucia is the Ministry of Health in the Division of Human Services and Gender Affairs (the Division). They can be reached by phone at: (1) 758-452-7204.  Contact Antonette Joseph at that office for more information.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: You must be at least 25 years old and be at least 21 years older than the minor. You do not need to be married.

RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: You must have resided in St. Lucia for at least six consecutive months prior to the date of the application unless you are a St. Lucian citizen.

TIME FRAME: The adoption process takes approximately six months, but can take longer.

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS:  There are no official adoption agencies in St. Lucia, however the Division of Human Services and Family affairs facilitates and oversees many adoptions, local and international.  The adoption legislation does not require intervention by the Division, therefore some adoptions are processed privately by various attorneys. 

There are no specialized adoption attorneys.  If there is an international request regarding adoption, the Division will be asked for assistance.

All adoptions must be finalized through the office of the Attorney General and by the High Court.

Prospective adopting parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services.  For U.S.- based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adopting parents contact the Better Business Bureau and licensing office of the Department of Health and Family Services in the state where the agency is located. 

Please see Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators at our Web site (http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_454.html).

ADOPTION FEES IN St. Lucia:  Please note that prospective adoptive parents are required under St. Lucian law to retain an attorney for adoption proceedings.  Adoption fees paid to the attorney vary depending on the attorney.  A list of attorney’s can be obtained from the U.S. Embassy website at: http://bridgetown.usembassy.gov/.  

ADOPTION PROCEDURES:  A judge in the high court makes adoption orders in St. Lucia.  The Adoption Ordinance of 1954 governs all adoptions in St. Lucia.  An “infant” under the ordinance is a person under the age of 18 who has never been married.  The attorney makes an application for a license to remove the child from St. Lucia for the purposes of overseas adoption.   The court requires a home study report from the United States.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN St. Lucia:  Original documents are required from all parties involved, that is, the original passports of all individuals involved in the adoption as well as original birth certificates and, when applicable, marriage/death/divorce certificates.

AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD:  All U.S. documents submitted to the St. Lucia government/court must be authenticated. St. Lucia is a party to the Hague Legalization Convention.  Generally, U.S. civil records, such as birth, death, and marriage certificates, must bear the seal of the issuing office and an apostille affixed by the state's Secretary of State (an apostille is a special seal applied to a document to certify that a document is a true copy of an original).  Documents must be apostilled in the state where they are issued.  Tax returns, medical reports and police clearances should likewise be authenticated.  Prospective adopting parents should contact the Secretary of State of the state where documents originated from for instructions and fees for authenticating documents.

Documents issued by a federal agency must be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office, 518 23rd St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520, (202) 647-5002 Fee: $6.00. For additional information, call the Federal Information Center: 1-800-688-9889, and choose option 6 after you press 1 for touch-tone phones. Walk-in service is available from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 am Monday-Friday, except holidays and is limited to 15 documents per person per day (documents can be multiple pages).  Processing time for authentication requests sent by mail is 5 working days or less.

Please visit our Web site at travel.state.gov for additional information about authentication procedures.

ST. LUCIA EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES :

The Embassy of St. Lucia
3216 New Mexico Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016
Telephone: (202) 364-6792                                               

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.”

 Adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the flyer the requirements for filing I-600 petitions for orphans adopted by U.S. citizens before completing an adoption abroad. Please see our flyer How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States at our Web site http://travel.state.gov/.

APPLYING FOR A VISA FOR YOUR CHILD AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN ST. LUCIA:  St. Lucia is not a visa issuing post.  The post responsible for visa issuance for St. Lucia is Barbados.  The U.S. Embassy in Barbados requests that perspective adoptive parents contact them directly for specifics on visa issuance.   

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.

U.S. Embassy In Barbados:

As soon as prospective adoptive parents arrive in St. Lucia they should contact the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Barbados in order to register their presence in St. Lucia.  The Consular Section is located at: The ALICO Building in Cheapside. Telephone (1) 246-431-0225 email: consularbridge2@state.gov.

NATURALIZATION: Under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which became effective on February 27, 2001, orphans adopted by U.S. citizens acquire U.S. citizenship automatically when all of the following requirements have been met:

  • at least one parent is a U.S. citizen;
  • the child is under 18 years of age;
  • there is a full and final adoption of the child; and, the child is admitted to the United States as an immigrant.

A foreign–born adopted orphan who enters the United States on an Immediate Relative (IR) –3 visa is eligible to receive a Certificate of Citizenship upon admission. It is important that both parents (if married) or one parent if single have seen the child prior to or during the adoption in order to qualify for U.S. Certificate of Citizenship review.  A foreign-born orphan, who enters the United States on an IR-4 visa and is adopted in a U.S. court, will be eligible to receive Legal Permanent Resident status until a final, legal adoption is granted in the state of residence, at which time they are eligible for U.S. citizenship.   For further information, please consult with the consular section at the U.S. Embassy or the nearest office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.  Additional information is available at: http://travel.state.gov/family/childcitfaq.html or   http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific questions about adoption in St. Lucia may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in St. Lucia. General questions regarding international 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 international adoption of children 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.
    • DHS Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).
  • Internet:
    • Adoption Information Flyers:  the Consular Affairs web site at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains international country 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/