Stepchildren Adoption

[MrsChinita 1]

Hi, I am a 10 year Green Card holder and so are my 3 children. One is 15, 14 and 12 years old born outside the US. In other words, they are non-US Citizen.

I am married to a US Citizen here in AZ and I am filing US Citizenship soon and them as my dependents.

Here is the situation:

My children wanted to be adopted by their step father. The dad, as they call him, love them so much. He is giving them all the love and care that the absentee biological father never have given the kids in years. My marriage to my ex-husband had ended in 2008 because he had an affair in Riyadh and ended up converting himself to Muslim. The judge in the Philippines gave me a sole custody to the children. My children have never seen their biological father since 2005. He was in the Middle East while the annulment was on process. The annulment was finalized with me having the sole custody of the children. Then we moved in the US in 2008 and he ended up moving in Qatar, not seeing his children before leaving Riyadh. He is now residing with his own family in Qatar and haven't talked to the kids in years. I tried letting him know of what's going-on with the kids' life but I get no response from him. I asked him if he could send money to help raise the kids but he flatly said no, he couldn't afford it. So in other words, he never sent the kids any child support or anything like that for years.

Now that the children are getting older and more matured, they really wanted to change their last name and wanted nothing to do with their biological father since he doesn't make any effort in talking to them. I consider that abandonment on my part.

Is it possible that he can adopt them legally? Is there a way or procedure we can do to let my husband adopt the kids without hiring a lawyer? My husband is just willing to do this for the sake of the kids. Someone they really can call a "dad". A real dad. He dearly loves them so much. If you can help us direct where to start, I will very much appreciate it.

And YES, their biological father's name is in their birth certificates. Do I need to ask for his consent so my husband can adopt the children? I really don't know where he lives in Qatar but that's I think where he lives now.

Any reply is appreciated. Please help me direct where or how to start. Is it really complicated to do all of these?

[JimmyHou 611]

Hi, I am a 10 year Green Card holder and so are my 3 children. One is 15, 14 and 12 years old born outside the US. In other words, they are non-US Citizen.

I am married to a US Citizen here in AZ and I am filing US Citizenship soon and them as my dependents.

Here is the situation:

My children wanted to be adopted by their step father. The dad, as they call him, love them so much. He is giving them all the love and care that the absentee biological father never have given the kids in years. My marriage to my ex-husband had ended in 2008 because he had an affair in Riyadh and ended up converting himself to Muslim. The judge in the Philippines gave me a sole custody to the children. My children have never seen their biological father since 2005. He was in the Middle East while the annulment was on process. The annulment was finalized with me having the sole custody of the children. Then we moved in the US in 2008 and he ended up moving in Qatar, not seeing his children before leaving Riyadh. He is now residing with his own family in Qatar and haven't talked to the kids in years. I tried letting him know of what's going-on with the kids' life but I get no response from him. I asked him if he could send money to help raise the kids but he flatly said no, he couldn't afford it. So in other words, he never sent the kids any child support or anything like that for years.

Now that the children are getting older and more matured, they really wanted to change their last name and wanted nothing to do with their biological father since he doesn't make any effort in talking to them. I consider that abandonment on my part.

Is it possible that he can adopt them legally? Is there a way or procedure we can do to let my husband adopt the kids without hiring a lawyer? My husband is just willing to do this for the sake of the kids. Someone they really can call a "dad". A real dad. He dearly loves them so much. If you can help us direct where to start, I will very much appreciate it.

And YES, their biological father's name is in their birth certificates. Do I need to ask for his consent so my husband can adopt the children? I really don't know where he lives in Qatar but that's I think where he lives now.

Any reply is appreciated. Please help me direct where or how to start. Is it really complicated to do all of these?

This really isn't a citizenship issue, and I think you'll get much better replies if you post on a website dedicated to adoption law. I doubt that you will be able to finish this process without the help of a lawyer. What I can tell you is that once the adoption is completed, the children can obtain citizenship through their step-father. However, that is not necessary, because you can obtain citizenship through your husband and then pass it on to them.

Regarding the adoption issue, adoption laws differ from state to state and you'll have to consult someone who understands your local laws. If you do a simple Google search, you'll find that consent of both biological parents makes things a lot easier, but is not 100% necessary. Here is something that may be of interest from the website below:

"If the other birth parent refuses to consent, the adoption will not be allowed unless that parent's rights are terminated for some other reason -- abandonment, unfitness, or failure to support the child, for example." (from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/stepparent-adoptions-29643.html)

I have no idea if the full custody granted to you by the court in the Philippines is sufficient or if you would have to prove abandonment in an American court.

My advice is that you consult a family lawyer in your area... most will give your case an initial review for a reasonable fee... and then you can decide how to proceed. I also advice you to see if you can find a family law or adoption website that has forums like this one.

Good luck.