Adoption/petition niece frm philippines!!!!!

[jimmy_lizzy4ever 0]

Hello ALL!

Just want to share this post for a friend.If anyone here has an insight about inter-country adoption of a relative :

She is a filipina,married now a US citizen about 52 yrs old, has multiple medical problems.REcently she plan to adopt her niece from Philippines that

will turn 16 this DEC 2012.Given her age and medical history and the age of the her niece she found out from a circle of friends that she will not be

qualified to adopt/petition her niece.But she doesnt want to give up and later seek an immigration lawyer help.The lawyers fee worth $10,000. She is willing

to pay as long the lawyer could get her niece here but still she want to make sure what are her chances....

Thanks!

[aaron2020 11,651]

A lawyer is not going to get around the prohibition on adopting a non-orphan relative to give him/her an immigration benefit.

Better to use the money for the child in the Philippines than to waste it on the adoption and lawyer.

[jimmy_lizzy4ever 0]

A lawyer is not going to get around the prohibition on adopting a non-orphan relative to give him/her an immigration benefit.

Better to use the money for the child in the Philippines than to waste it on the adoption and lawyer.

[jimmy_lizzy4ever 0]

her niece parents s willing to terminate their legal custody because they are both sick and cant take care of the

their child.

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

The law is the law, a lawyer cannot help her get around it, please make sure she doesn't waste so much money, that would be better spent on the niece having a good life in the Philippines, or maybe even a few years on a F1 student visa in the USA.

[aaron2020 11,651]

A lawyer is not going to get around the prohibition on adopting a non-orphan relative to give him/her an immigration benefit.

Better to use the money for the child in the Philippines than to waste it on the adoption and lawyer.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Niece is 16 ,spend the money wisley and educate her in the Phil so she can become self sufficiant,then she can help her parents.

[sara..... 371]

also there is an age limit even if the parents abandon here i believe the child can not be over 14 years old if you are to adopt them and bring them to the states

just my opinion

sara

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

her niece parents s willing to terminate their legal custody because they are both sick and cant take care of their child.

First, the adoption should happen before the child turns 16, there is one exception to this and that is if a younger sibling is also being adopted and the child is under 18.

Second, adoption of a non-orphan relative for immigration purposes is illegal.

No lawyer in the world can overcome these two issues.

As others have said, the money she is willing to spend will go a very long way in the Philippines like putting her into the best school until she graduates and paying for her daily needs. Then maybe she can come here on a Student Visa for college which can open the door for her to immigrate later.

Edited March 6, 2012 by Bob 4 Anna

[jimmy_lizzy4ever 0]

Thanks for all your opinion.We have the same thought about this . Some lawyers just want to make money.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Here are some articles for your friend. Many Filipinos have adopt non-orphan relatives only to find out the adopted child cannot immigrate to the US.

http://www.immigration-professor.com/tag/adopting-niece

http://www.rreeves.com/publications_detail.php?newsId=158

http://deborjalaw.com/2009/02/17/adoption-in-the-philippines/

http://www.alanoimmigrationlaw.com/can-i-adopt

[rpworldwide1 0]

"Second, adoption of a non-orphan relative for immigration purposes is illegal."

I have to take issue with this statement. My wife and I adopted her non-orphan relative and our I-130 petition was just approved last month. In fact, yesterday the child just completed her medical at St Luke's. Her final appointment is scheduled for March 19.

Our situation is different, of course. The child we adopted is now only 9 years old. I actually moved to and lived in the Philippines for 3 years to satisfy Philippine law, we then adopted the child in local Philippine court (this completed August 2011). After getting her updated birth certificate and passport, we filed the I-130 on November 28. The approval letter arrived Feb 12. Oh, and while we were living here, we gained legal guardianship through the local court to satisfy the U.S. requirement that you must live outside the U.S. and have legal custody of the child for at least 2 years to qualify for an immigrant visa.

So I'm not sure where in the law it says adopting a non-orphan relative for immigration purposes is illegal, but we did it, and they approved it. We do have one more step-final interview, but assuming they approve her (and I have no reason to think she wont be), then we'll have done what is stated here is illegal.

First, the adoption should happen before the child turns 16, there is one exception to this and that is if a younger sibling is also being adopted and the child is under 18.

Second, adoption of a non-orphan relative for immigration purposes is illegal.

No lawyer in the world can overcome these two issues.

As others have said, the money she is willing to spend will go a very long way in the Philippines like putting her into the best school until she graduates and paying for her daily needs. Then maybe she can come here on a Student Visa for college which can open the door for her to immigrate later.

[calibob 73]

We are in the exact same situation as the OP, but have long since given up on the idea of adoption. First you need a minimum two years legal and two years physical custody before USCIS will think of your case. That would have put our niece at 18 and too old, plus I couldn't leave the US for two years do to my job. We're very sad but promised to send our niece to the best college she wanted to go to and cover her expenses. We're treating her as our own, just don't have the adoption. It is sad but reality. Save your money for the child as others have recommended. Bless you and your wife for your intentions.

Bob

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

"Second, adoption of a non-orphan relative for immigration purposes is illegal."

I have to take issue with this statement. My wife and I adopted her non-orphan relative and our I-130 petition was just approved last month. In fact, yesterday the child just completed her medical at St Luke's. Her final appointment is scheduled for March 19.

Our situation is different, of course. The child we adopted is now only 9 years old. I actually moved to and lived in the Philippines for 3 years to satisfy Philippine law, we then adopted the child in local Philippine court (this completed August 2011). After getting her updated birth certificate and passport, we filed the I-130 on November 28. The approval letter arrived Feb 12. Oh, and while we were living here, we gained legal guardianship through the local court to satisfy the U.S. requirement that you must live outside the U.S. and have legal custody of the child for at least 2 years to qualify for an immigrant visa.

So I'm not sure where in the law it says adopting a non-orphan relative for immigration purposes is illegal, but we did it, and they approved it. We do have one more step-final interview, but assuming they approve her (and I have no reason to think she wont be), then we'll have done what is stated here is illegal.

Of course there are always limited circumstances where the "greater truth" doesn't hold but in general my statement still stands. Your situation is not the same as the OP's by a long shot.

[rpworldwide1 0]

I fully agree that the OP's situation is different from ours and there is really no way for them to pull off an adoption. But the only reason that is the case is because of the age of the child. If their niece was younger, there would be nothing to stop them (except maybe their own personal circumstances) from doing exactly the same thing we did. Also, you stated that adopting a non-orphan relative for immigration purposes was "illegal." That is not a statement of a "greater truth" or "general rule of thumb", it's a statement that implies that there is some law somewhere that prevents this from happening. I know you probably think I'm harping too much on this, but I just don't want people to get the impression that it's not possible to adopt a non-orphan relative from the Philippines. It absolutely is, as long as the child in question is not close to age 16.

Of course there are always limited circumstances where the "greater truth" doesn't hold but in general my statement still stands. Your situation is not the same as the OP's by a long shot.