Intercountry Adoption of a Child from the Philippines

The United States is now a full member of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption. The Convention governs all adoptions between the United States and the nearly 75 countries party to the Convention, including The Philippines.

The Hague Convention seeks to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children.  It establishes international norms and procedures for processing inter-country adoption cases involving other Convention members, and protects the rights of children, birth parents, and adoptive parents while promoting transparency, accountability, and ethical practices among adoption service providers. For more information about the Convention, please click here.

The Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(b)(1)(G), in part, defines "child”as:

1. The child is under the age of 16 on the filing date of the petition.
2. The child habitually resides in a Convention country.
3. The U.S. citizen habitually resides in the U.S. and either adopts child in a Convention country or brings the child to a Convention country for adoption.
4. Adoption abroad or custody abroad for U.S. adoption must be by the U.S. citizen and spouse jointly, or an unmarried U.S. citizen at least 25 years old as of the filing date of the petition.
5. The child's natural parents (or parent, in the case of a child who has one sole or   surviving parent because of the death, disappearance, abandonment, or desertion by the other parent), or other persons or institutions that retain legal custody of the child, have freely given their written irrevocable consent to the termination of their legal relationship with the child and to the child's emigration and adoption.
6. If a child has two living natural parents, the natural parents are incapable of providing proper care for the child.
7. The purpose of the adoption is to form a bona fide parent-child relationship; the child’s relationship with the natural parents has been terminated.
8. In the case of a child who has not been adopted, the prospective adoptive parents must ensure that: (i) the competent authority of the foreign state has approved the child's emigration to the United States for the purpose of adoption, (ii) the prospective adoptive parents have complied with the pre-adoption requirements of the child's proposed residence, if any, and (iii) no natural parent or prior adoptive parent of the child retains, by virtue of such parentage, any right, privilege, or status in connection with the child.
9. Release must be freely given and verified by the Central Authority of the child's country.

The following procedures for inter-country adoptions now apply to any citizen or couples residing in the United States who wish to adopt a child in the Philippines:

•  Adoption cases must be handled by federally accredited adoption service providers (ASP).  For a list of accredited service providers, click here.

• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rules require prospective adoptive parents to identify in their initial application the country from which they plan to adopt a child.
• Form I-800A must be filed prior to Form I-800.
• The matching of the child to the parents must be made by the Central Authority of the country where the child resides.
• A consular officer must determine whether the child meets the criteria of visa eligibility before the adoption is finalized or custody is granted in the country of origin.  In cases where the adoption or grant of custody has met the requirements of the Convention and the Inter-country Adoption Act, consular officers in Convention countries will issue a Hague Adoption Certificate or Hague Custody Certificate and grant a visa.  New visa categories, IH-3 and IH-4, will be used in Convention adoption cases.

If you have general questions on inter-country adoption or how current adoption procedures have changed under the Convention, call the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the United States at 202-736-9130.  Or you may fax questions to 202-736-9080.

Steps Required to Adopt a Child Under the Hague Convention

Step 1

The prospective adoptive parents must file an Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country (I-800A) with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) office having jurisdiction over their usual place of residence (see www.uscis.gov).  Adoptive parents must also submit the completed I-800A form, Supplement 1 (listing all adult members of the household), and related supplements and forms.


The filing fee is $670. An additional biometrics fingerprint fee of $80 must be paid for each person residing in the household who is 18 or older.

 
All Hague Convention adoption cases are processed by the USCIS National Benefits Center at the following address:


U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

P.O. Box 805695

Chicago, IL 60680-4118


If the adoptive parents consent for USCIS to disclose information about their case to their Adoption Service Provider (ASP), they should complete Form I-800A, Supplement 2, Consent to Disclose Information.  The adoptive parents may also arrange for the ASP to submit the approval notice, the accompanying home study, and other supporting evidence to the Central Authority in the Convention country in which the parents plan to adopt.

Note:  Some states require a review of the home study by state authorities prior to submission to USCIS (e.g., Alabama, Colorado, Guam, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).  In such cases, the adoptive parents may file the Form I-800A without the home study, which can be forwarded to USCIS later.

 
Step 2

The Convention country’s Central Authority matches the prospective adoptive parents with a child. The Central Authority prepares a report that determines that: the child is adoptable, the envisaged placement is in the best interest of the child, the birth parent or legal custodian has freely consented in writing to the adoption, and no payment has been made to obtain the consent necessary for the adoption to be completed.


Step 3

The adoptive parents file the Form I-800 petition with USCIS, including the Central Authority’s report on the child.  Form I-800 is used to determine whether the child qualifies as a Convention adoptee. The petition is provisionally approved in accordance with USCIS regulations and forwarded to the respective U.S. Embassy/Consulate via the National Visa Center (NVC) for further processing.


The adoptive parents must comply with the above procedures and file the Form I-800 before they adopt or obtain legal custody of the child.  Also, Form I-800 must be filed before the expiration of the notice of the approval (or extension of) Form I-800A, and before the child's 16th birthday.

 
Step 4

Following the provisional approval by USCIS, the petition is forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC).  NVC notifies the respective Embassy/Consulate and forwards the Form I-800.  The biographic data form (DS-230) and information regarding required photographs, medical report, birth certificate and visa fees are mailed to the adoptive parents.  The parents, or the ASP acting on their behalf, should bring these documents to the Embassy/Consulate, where the Biographic Data Form DS-230 Part II is signed in the presence of a Consular Officer.  The personal appearance of the child is required.

Step 5

After the Consular Officer reviews the application and determines no ineligibility exists, the Consular Officer issues a letter under Article 5 of the Hague Convention to the parents and the ASP, which must be forwarded to the Convention country's Central Authority. The letter states that the adoptive parents appear to be eligible for the adoption, and the child will most likely be authorized to enter and reside in the United States.  The adoptive parents may now adopt or obtain legal custody of the child.

Step 6

The Intercountry Adoption Board of the PhilippinesICAB) certifies that the adoption or grant of legal custody has occurred in accordance with the Convention.

Step 7

The adoptive parents return to the Embassy/Consulate for the final interview. The child does not need to be present (unless not present at the first interview).  The adoptive parents submit the ICAB certification to the Consular Officer as evidence that the adoption/legal custody has been completed.  After verifying compliance with the Convention and Inter-country Adoption Act (IAA), the Consular Officer grants final approval of Form I-800 and issues a certificate stating that the adoption or the grant of legal custody meets the requirements of the Convention and the IAA.

Finally, an immigrant visa is issued to the child.  At this point, the adoption process is complete and the adoptive parents may return to the U.S. with their adopted child.

 
CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have general questions on inter-country adoption or how current adoption procedures have changed under the Convention, call the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the United States at 202-736-9130.  Or you may fax questions to 202-736-9080.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of Children's Issues, SA-29

Hague Adoption Unit (HAC/HCD)

2100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 4th floor

Washington, D.C. 20037

Email:  AdoptionUSCA@state.gov or AskCI@state.gov

Phone: 202-736-9089

Fax:     202-736-9080

Domestic Adoptions (Not for Immigration Purposes)

U.S. citizens residing in the Philippines who are interested in adopting a Filipino child through the Philippine Courts must meet the following conditions pursuant to Philippine adoption law:

• Be resident in the Philippines for at least three years prior to the filing of the adoption petition and maintain such residence until the adoption decree is entered by the Philippine court.
• Possess a certification of legal capacity to adopt issued by the appropriate government agency from your state of residence.

The Philippines government may waive these requirements in the following cases:

• A former Filipino citizen who seeks to adopt a relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity, as defined under Philippines law; or
• A person who seeks to adopt the legitimate son/daughter of his/her Filipino spouse

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PARENTS ABOUT DOMESTIC ADOPTIONS

U.S immigration law has clear and specific provisions regarding qualifications for immigration. If you are attempting to bring someone who is not your child by birth, the following conditions must be met before that child can be eligible for an immigrant visa:

• The child must have been legally adopted before the age of 16 (or be the sibling of a child who was adopted by the same parents while under the age of 18). The adoption must be legal and final. Simply providing financially for the child does not satisfy the legal adoption requirement. To satisfy U.S. visa requirements, the child must have been legally adopted pursuant to a final decree issued by a court having jurisdiction over the matter.

• In addition to the adoption decree, there are two additional requirements:

• The adoptive parents must have had legal custody of the child for at least two years. “Legal custody” must be awarded by order of a court or recognized government entity. The start of legal custody begins the date the adoptive parents were granted legal custody of the child, or the date the adoption was finalized, which ever comes first. An informal custodial or guardianship document, such as a sworn affidavit signed before a notary public, is insufficient for this purpose.

• The child must have physically resided with the adoptive parents for at least two years prior to immigration. During this time, the adoptive parents must exercise primary parental control. Evidence must be presented to establish that the child and the adoptive parents had a bona fide parent-child relationship during any periods they resided separately.

Finally, the child must satisfy all primary documentary requirements for an immigrant visa, and provide the following documents to establish their legal status as a child of the petitioner:

• A certified copy of the adoption decree,
• A certified copy of the Certificate of Finality of the adoption,
• A certified copy of the child’s original birth certificate before the adoption,
• A certified copy of the child’s birth certificate amended after the adoption,
• The legal custody decree (if custody was awarded before the adoption),
  
• Evidence that the child resided with the adoptive parents for at least two years, during which time they exercised primary parental control, and
• If the child was adopted at age 16 or 17 years, evidence that the child was adopted together with, or subsequent to, the adoption of a natural sibling who was under age 16 by the same adoptive parent(s).