Stepchild Adoption

[renovatio_007 7]

Hi All,

My oldest daughter who became a PR along with my wife on May 2013 has asked if I could adopt her so that she can bear my last name, which both my wife and youngest daughter have. In the spirit of DIY I have done a lot of research on the subject, but I keep coming up unclear with what an adoption will do for her immigration status. As I mentioned earlier she is already a PR and would derive citizenship from my wife after she becomes a citizen herself (if all goes well by May/June 2016.) To clarify I am a USC.

If anyone has previous experiences in the same situation as I am in, I would love some feedback on the following questions:

After adoption would my daughter derive citizenship from me?

Adoption says she would get a new birth certificate, would this certificate cause any issues with citizenship derivation from my wife if she cannot derive it from me?

Is the adoption of my daughter now that she is a PR a good idea or should I wait until she becomes a citizen?

Thank you all in advance for any and all assistance on this matter.

Edited July 21, 2014 by renovatio_007

[Hypnos 6,576]

On the day the adoption became final, your stepdaughter would likely become a US citizen under the Child Citizenship Act (2000) if she was under 18 on that day.

It can be slightly trickier with adoptions under the CCA, so you may wish to consult with a lawyer to double-check.

You can read up on the CCA here: http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/english/legal-considerations/us-citizenship-laws-policies/child-citizenship-act.html

Edited July 21, 2014 by Hypnos

[renovatio_007 7]

On the day the adoption became final, your stepdaughter would likely become a US citizen under the Child Citizenship Act (2000) if she was under 18 on that day.

It can be slightly trickier with adoptions under the CCA, so you may wish to consult with a lawyer to double-check.

You can read up on the CCA here: http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/english/legal-considerations/us-citizenship-laws-policies/child-citizenship-act.html

Thanks Hypnos,

See this is what confuses me of the CCA, it only states adoption of orphans and makes me think that in the best interest of my daughter (immigration wise) would be to wait until her mom becomes a USC. My daughter is 13 and my wife would be come eligible to file for USC in Feb of 2016 so she would be 15 by then.

With all the legal issues being so expensive I wanted to see if I could do it my self, yes this is important for the whole family, but as I am the head of the house hold I must also look out for her other necessitates and well budget can only stretch so much. This is what made me wonder if anyone has been in this situation where they adopted their Permanent Resident stepchild, and if it affected their immigration status?

Section 320: Automatic Acquisition of U.S. Citizenship for Children Born Outside of the United States and Residing Permanently in the United States

The child must meet the following requirements:

• Have at least one U.S. citizen parent by birth or naturalization;
• Be under 18 years of age;
• Live in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent;
• Be admitted as an immigrant for lawful permanent residence; and

If the child is an orphan, the adoption must be final. If the adoption must be finalized in the United States, citizenship is acquired when the adoption is finalized.

[Hypnos 6,576]

Even an uncontested stepchild adoption is going to cost around $2,000 in attorney's fees and filing costs. You can attempt to do it yourself, but it's far from simple.

I am fairly confident that your stepdaughter would automatically acquire citizenship through you via the CCA if you adopted her. You can ask an attorney for free on http://www.avvo.com if you want to be certain.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Hypnos