Adoption/petition niece frm philippines!!!!!

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

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.

If you remove the :for immigration purposes" then I'd agree with you wholeheartedly but that is what it is.

The presumption is that a US Citizen simply isn't going to move the Philippines for over 2 years just to help their spouse skirt US Immigration Laws. and in reality you very rarely hear of this happening. It is an awful lot to go through just to help immigrate someone.

So in summary, Yes is is illegal (and specifically a violation of INA) to adopt a non-orphan related child to bestow immigration benefits on them.

If someone does actually move to their home country and adopt the child there, meeting residency requirements etc then the presumption of adoption for immigration benefits is removed from the equation.

So my statement stands, your situation is simply proof that INA allows for there being circumstances where such an adoption may happen and then later the whole family might decide to move to the US.

[rpworldwide1 0]

Okay I think I get what you're trying to say-if I moved to the Philippines to adopt a non-orphan relative of my wife but had no intention of ever applying for immigration benefits for the child, then that would be perfectly legal. But if I moved there with the intention of later applying for said benefits, that would be illegal because it's skirting the INA. However, if I move there without the intention of applying for said benefits, but after the adoption was finished later decided to apply for said benefits, that would also be okay.

What I'm confused about then is how would the USCIS ever be able to make a determination on intentions and enforce a law like this. Also, I just can't find in the INA where doing what we did is illegal. Is there some part of the INA that specifically states this? Just curious.

If you remove the :for immigration purposes" then I'd agree with you wholeheartedly but that is what it is.

The presumption is that a US Citizen simply isn't going to move the Philippines for over 2 years just to help their spouse skirt US Immigration Laws. and in reality you very rarely hear of this happening. It is an awful lot to go through just to help immigrate someone.

So in summary, Yes is is illegal (and specifically a violation of INA) to adopt a non-orphan related child to bestow immigration benefits on them.

If someone does actually move to their home country and adopt the child there, meeting residency requirements etc then the presumption of adoption for immigration benefits is removed from the equation.

So my statement stands, your situation is simply proof that INA allows for there being circumstances where such an adoption may happen and then later the whole family might decide to move to the US.

[cerebus407 16]

It is possible to adopt a relative and it happens often in Manila. The adoption must be final before the child's 16th birthday and the adopting parent must have physical and legal custody for two years prior to visa issuance. Once the child is adopted, the legal relationship between the child and their biological parents is severed meaning that the adopted child cannot petition for his biological parents in the future. It may be possible to petition siblings who were not adopted, an interesting question to research, but those petitions take 20 years anyway.