adopting

[love fil-am 1]

Hello again!

I got my conditional GC already. And I want to adopt my nephew back in the Philippines, he is 6yrs old this Nov.2011 and his parents been separated for 5yrs now. The mother has her own family now even if he is not yet legally annuled. But we havent heard from her for straight 4yrs now. My nephew is under the care of his grandparents (my parents) eversince. I always want to adopt him. Now that i am married and have my GC, I plan on adopting my nephew with my husbands approval.

Your advice and reply would mean alot. Thanks!

Edited October 9, 2011 by love fil-am

[Inky 1,111]

You cant bring him to the USA unless both his parents are dead if thats your plan.

[sjr09 155]

The Philippines has specific requirements that a child must meet in order to be eligible for adoption. You cannot adopt a child in The Philippines unless he or she meets the requirements.

In addition to these requirements, a child must meet the definition of an orphan under U.S. law for you to bring him or her home back to the United States.

http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwhadop.html

Relinquishment Requirements: A child is “committed” by way of the “Deed of Voluntary Commitment,” a document used by DSWD asking for signature from the biological parents prior to matching the child with a prospective adoptive parent. The document is essentially the consent of the parent(s), releasing the child to DSWD for subsequent adoption. In the event that the child is abandoned or neglected and no parent is available to sign the “Deed of Voluntary Commitment,” the DSWD instead obtains a commitment order from the court. This endorsement certifies that intercountry adoption is in the best interests of the child.

http://adopt.com/philippines/index.html

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Hello again!

I got my conditional GC already. And I want to adopt my nephew back in the Philippines, he is 6yrs old this Nov.2011 and his parents been separated for 5yrs now. The mother has her own family now even if he is not yet legally annuled. But we havent heard from her for straight 4yrs now. My nephew is under the care of his grandparents (my parents) eversince. I always want to adopt him. Now that i am married and have my GC, I plan on adopting my nephew with my husbands approval.

Your advice and reply would mean alot. Thanks!

This will not work. Even if you could legally adopt your nephew, he cannot immigrate to the US.

A US citizen cannot petition directly for a nephew. It takes a US citizen about 23 years to petition for a sibling and the sibling's unmarried children under 21. The US will not allow you to take a short cut by adopting your nephew when he has two living parents. It is only allow if the child is an orphan as defined by US immigration laws.

If it was possible to adopt nephews and nieces to immediately bring them to the US, I would have adopted every single family member I could so they don't have to wait for years to immigrate to the US.

--------------------

http://asianjournalusa.com/immigration-through-adoption-p8882-154.htm

Immigration through Adoption

We Filipinos are very family-oriented. We migrate to the United States hoping for a brighter future not only for our spouses and children, but also for our extended families. Even from this distant place, we try to help out our relatives in the Philippines. We send them balikbayan boxes and money every so often, especially during Christmas and then before classes open in June. Still, some of us go the extra mile to bring our relatives to the U.S. so they too can live in the land of milk and honey.

Unfortunately, it takes a very long time to bring our relatives to the U.S. For example, at present, your brothers and sisters have to wait for more than 22 years. By that time, their children (your nephews and nieces) will have already aged out (i.e. over 21 years old) and can no longer accompany their parents into the U.S. Worse, your brothers and sisters might feel already too old to start a new life in another country. So, what do you do now?

A favorite option among Filipinos is to adopt a nephew or a niece, or even a grandchild. This is particularly true among childless Filipino couples who had to forego the pleasures of parenthood so they could focus on their work and earn enough money for themselves and their extended families. Adopting a niece or nephew would be like hitting two birds with one stone. You will adopt someone who is as close as possible to your own child and he or she, in return, will hopefully have a brighter future in the U.S. However, the process of adoption is not that simple.

There are two types of adoption in the Philippines. First is the inter-country adoption which is done through the Inter-Country Adoption Board. Second is domestic adoption which is done through the court. Former Filipino citizens have the choice of adopting through the ICAB or through the court. These two types of adoption are governed by different rules and procedure.

In case of domestic adoptions, U.S. immigration laws impose certain strict requirements if the adoptive parents wish to bring the child with them to the United States. In our experience, the most problematic among these requirements is the so-called “two year rule” Firstly, adoptive parents are required to have “legal custody” of the child for at least two years. What this means is that the decision granting the adoption must have been issued at least two years ago. This period may be shorter because the rules of court say that the decision is retroactive to the date when the petition was filed.

But it is even harder to comply with the second part of the two-year rule, which requires the adoptive parents to also have two years of “physical custody” of the child. In addition, the adopting parents must have exercised primary parental control over the child. This is really difficult because usually the adopting parents are in the U.S. and the child is in the Philippines, so they must come to the Philippines to physically reside with the child and wrest primary control from the biological parents. Proof of primary control may consist of the child’s school, medical and health insurance records which indicate the names of the adopting parents.

Even if the adoptive parents are able to spend two years with the child, the situation is still very difficult if the natural parents live in the same house as the child and the adoptive parents. This usually happens when it is the grandparents who adopt the child. In their desire to bring the child to the U.S., the natural parents allow their own parents (the child’s grandparents) to adopt the child. But owing to the Filipino tradition of letting the children stay with their parents even when they are already grown-ups, especially if they cannot stand on their own, the resulting scenario is that the grandparents, the natural parents and the child all live together in the same house. Now, how would you show that it is the grandparents who are exercising primary parental authority over the child, to the exclusion of the parents? It is imperative that the grandparents present convincing evidence to the USCIS that they, and not the natural parents, are the ones exercising primary parental authority. Affidavits may not be enough. The USCIS usually looks for primary evidence such as the vaccination, medical and school records of the child, and expect the grandparents’ name to appear there as the guardian of the child.

Inter-country adoption will do away with the two-year requirement. Instead, several agencies will work together to review and hopefully grant the adoption. They include the ICAB, the USCIS, the NVC and the US Consulate in Manila. One good thing about inter-country adoption is that once granted, an immigrant visa will be forthwith issued to enable the child to migrate to the United States. The biggest disincentive of inter-country adoption is the much higher expense involved.

Adoption laws in the Philippines, coupled with the U.S. immigration law requirements, are complicated. We suggest that you consult an attorney who is knowledgeable in both areas before you seriously consider adopting a child in the Philippines and bringing him to the United States.

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag , Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continuously been a trial and appellate attorney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 10717 Camino Ruiz, Suite 131, San Diego, CA 92126. He also has an office in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Manila, Philippines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475 or email him at rkaragdag@attyimmigration.com for your free consultation. He speaks Tagalog fluently. Articles written in this column are not legal advice but are hypotheticals intended as general, non-specific legal information.

[love fil-am 1]

The Philippines has specific requirements that a child must meet in order to be eligible for adoption. You cannot adopt a child in The Philippines unless he or she meets the requirements.

In addition to these requirements, a child must meet the definition of an orphan under U.S. law for you to bring him or her home back to the United States.

http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwhadop.html

Relinquishment Requirements: A child is “committed” by way of the “Deed of Voluntary Commitment,” a document used by DSWD asking for signature from the biological parents prior to matching the child with a prospective adoptive parent. The document is essentially the consent of the parent(s), releasing the child to DSWD for subsequent adoption. In the event that the child is abandoned or neglected and no parent is available to sign the “Deed of Voluntary Commitment,” the DSWD instead obtains a commitment order from the court. This endorsement certifies that intercountry adoption is in the best interests of the child.

http://adopt.com/philippines/index.html

Oh You gave me hope on this response sjr09..I will try to work on this as soon as possible, and hopefully even if it will take a while to get things together, i will give it a try.

[love fil-am 1]

This will not work. Even if you could legally adopt your nephew, he cannot immigrate to the US.

A US citizen cannot petition directly for a nephew. It takes a US citizen about 23 years to petition for a sibling and the sibling's unmarried children under 21. The US will not allow you to take a short cut by adopting your nephew when he has two living parents. It is only allow if the child is an orphan as defined by US immigration laws.

If it was possible to adopt nephews and nieces to immediately bring them to the US, I would have adopted every single family member I could so they don't have to wait for years to immigrate to the US.

--------------------

http://asianjournalusa.com/immigration-through-adoption-p8882-154.htm

Immigration through Adoption

We Filipinos are very family-oriented. We migrate to the United States hoping for a brighter future not only for our spouses and children, but also for our extended families. Even from this distant place, we try to help out our relatives in the Philippines. We send them balikbayan boxes and money every so often, especially during Christmas and then before classes open in June. Still, some of us go the extra mile to bring our relatives to the U.S. so they too can live in the land of milk and honey.

Unfortunately, it takes a very long time to bring our relatives to the U.S. For example, at present, your brothers and sisters have to wait for more than 22 years. By that time, their children (your nephews and nieces) will have already aged out (i.e. over 21 years old) and can no longer accompany their parents into the U.S. Worse, your brothers and sisters might feel already too old to start a new life in another country. So, what do you do now?

A favorite option among Filipinos is to adopt a nephew or a niece, or even a grandchild. This is particularly true among childless Filipino couples who had to forego the pleasures of parenthood so they could focus on their work and earn enough money for themselves and their extended families. Adopting a niece or nephew would be like hitting two birds with one stone. You will adopt someone who is as close as possible to your own child and he or she, in return, will hopefully have a brighter future in the U.S. However, the process of adoption is not that simple.

There are two types of adoption in the Philippines. First is the inter-country adoption which is done through the Inter-Country Adoption Board. Second is domestic adoption which is done through the court. Former Filipino citizens have the choice of adopting through the ICAB or through the court. These two types of adoption are governed by different rules and procedure.

In case of domestic adoptions, U.S. immigration laws impose certain strict requirements if the adoptive parents wish to bring the child with them to the United States. In our experience, the most problematic among these requirements is the so-called “two year rule” Firstly, adoptive parents are required to have “legal custody” of the child for at least two years. What this means is that the decision granting the adoption must have been issued at least two years ago. This period may be shorter because the rules of court say that the decision is retroactive to the date when the petition was filed.

But it is even harder to comply with the second part of the two-year rule, which requires the adoptive parents to also have two years of “physical custody” of the child. In addition, the adopting parents must have exercised primary parental control over the child. This is really difficult because usually the adopting parents are in the U.S. and the child is in the Philippines, so they must come to the Philippines to physically reside with the child and wrest primary control from the biological parents. Proof of primary control may consist of the child’s school, medical and health insurance records which indicate the names of the adopting parents.

Even if the adoptive parents are able to spend two years with the child, the situation is still very difficult if the natural parents live in the same house as the child and the adoptive parents. This usually happens when it is the grandparents who adopt the child. In their desire to bring the child to the U.S., the natural parents allow their own parents (the child’s grandparents) to adopt the child. But owing to the Filipino tradition of letting the children stay with their parents even when they are already grown-ups, especially if they cannot stand on their own, the resulting scenario is that the grandparents, the natural parents and the child all live together in the same house. Now, how would you show that it is the grandparents who are exercising primary parental authority over the child, to the exclusion of the parents? It is imperative that the grandparents present convincing evidence to the USCIS that they, and not the natural parents, are the ones exercising primary parental authority. Affidavits may not be enough. The USCIS usually looks for primary evidence such as the vaccination, medical and school records of the child, and expect the grandparents’ name to appear there as the guardian of the child.

Inter-country adoption will do away with the two-year requirement. Instead, several agencies will work together to review and hopefully grant the adoption. They include the ICAB, the USCIS, the NVC and the US Consulate in Manila. One good thing about inter-country adoption is that once granted, an immigrant visa will be forthwith issued to enable the child to migrate to the United States. The biggest disincentive of inter-country adoption is the much higher expense involved.

Adoption laws in the Philippines, coupled with the U.S. immigration law requirements, are complicated. We suggest that you consult an attorney who is knowledgeable in both areas before you seriously consider adopting a child in the Philippines and bringing him to the United States.

Atty. Rogelio Karagdag , Jr. is licensed to practice law in both California and the Philippines. He practices immigration law in San Diego and has continuously been a trial and appellate attorney in the Philippines since 1989. He travels between San Diego and Manila. His office address is located at 10717 Camino Ruiz, Suite 131, San Diego, CA 92126. He also has an office in the Philippines at 1240 Apacible Street, Paco, Manila, Philippines 1007, with telephone numbers (632)522-1199 and (632)526-0326. Please call (858)348-7475 or email him at rkaragdag@attyimmigration.com for your free consultation. He speaks Tagalog fluently. Articles written in this column are not legal advice but are hypotheticals intended as general, non-specific legal information.

I will Keep this note Jojo92122..Thank you so much for taking your time to really help me out and understand things. My heart is kinda sinking right now....