Stepparent adoption and US birthcertificate

[gazgazain 5]

Hello All,

my family started our journey 6 years ago and we are almost crossing the finish line (we might already have depending on the answers I might receive :)).

 

We went through all the steps and both my wife and step child are now US citizens. We decided to also go through the stepparent adoption here in Florida and that was completed as well and now I am the boys legal parent.

 

After the completion of the adoption I read that a US birth certificate could be issued for the child, but then read that this was for non US citizen children in the state of Florida (which is not our situation). I contacted the vital statistic bureau of Florida and they recommended me to contact the Department of State in Washington DC. 

 

Now before I go down this path I would really appreciate any help in this matter. Specifically if someone else have done this and if this applies to our case. If it is possible, then what forms do I need to submit and where to send them. I am ok if the answer is that we have to keep his foreign birth certificate, but it would be much easier if we could get him a US one. 

The child is now 9 years, has Thai birth certificate, and is US citizen.  

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Jonny

[Mike E 11,741]

https://www.floridahealth.gov/certificates/certificates/amendments-corrections/index.html
 

Vital Statistics is able to file Certificates of Foreign Birth for children born in foreign countries to non-US citizens, based on orders of adoption whose judgment occurs in the State of Florida . The court reports a foreign born adoption on the same form, Certified Statement Of Final Decree Of Adoption DH Form 527  as used to report an adoption for a child born in Florida.

 

The Certificate of Foreign Birth shows the adoptive name, the adoptive parents, and will show the true country of birth.  The record also bears information regarding the court order, and has a disclaimer regarding the record not being proof of citizenship.

 

Certificates of Foreign Birth are not filed for Canadian born children as by mutual agreement those orders are forwarded onto the Vital Statistics office in the province in which the child was born.  The fee for filing a Certificate of Foreign Birth is $20.00. A second copy of the record is $9.00, and any subsequent copies requested at the same time is $4.00 each.

Edited January 23, 2023 by Mike E

[Mike E 11,741]

Not sure what use this birth certificate is.  Does your child have U.S. passport, passport card, and certificate of citizenship?

[gazgazain 5]

Hello Mike,

Yes. My child has a US passport. Both his birth mother and I are US citizens (naturalized). Are we still eligible to send DH527

 

Currently, when we apply a US passport for him we have to send the following documents: Thai Birth certificate, English translation, name change that was done in Thailand (with English translation), consent from the father that lives in Thailand (well now I adopted him this will be replaced with court order).  and another court order that his name was legal changed in the USA. I was hoping that if I could use the certificate and the court order instead of all these other documents it would make life little easier. But maybe the DH527 cannot be used to apply for passport. 

[jan22 3,056]

Don't know why Florida would refer you to the State Departnent.  No branch of the US government has anything to do with issuing US birth certificates, including the State Department.  (In fact, there is no such thing as a US birth certificate -- they are state isssued,)  Perhaps they were thinking of the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA).  However, that document is not a birth certificate -- it is a citizenship document, i.e., it documents that the child was a US citizen from birth.  Your child does not qualify for that docunent.  Save yourself time and trouble -- don't contact the State Department about a birth certificate. 

 

I don't know the adootion laws in the state of Florida. Unless they include a provision for the issuance of a new birth certificate to reflect the new parent(s) -- which many states do -- there is no way to get a state birth certificate.  You may have asked the wrong question.   if you did not ask about a new birth certificate for an adopted child to document parentage, you should do so. Note, however, that if you wish to have this birth certificate serve as proof of US citizenship, it will not do that. It will still reflect the birth in Thailand. The only documentation you will be able to get for your child's US citizenship is either a US passport and/or a certificate of citizenship from USCIS.

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by jan22

[gazgazain 5]

Hello,

thank you for your reply. I also thought that was very strange to refer me to the state department.

 

The idea is to show that we are the parents of the child and no involvement is needed from the biological father when applying. As I stated previously we could send all the documents (and pray nothing is lost, as getting original birth certificates and and name changes in Thailand is a nightmare) and go that route until the child is 18, and then he can renew the passport without any additional supporting papers. I guess I just wanted to make life little bit easier for the next 10 years.

 

But I do thank you for your inputs, it is really appreciated.

 

Jonny

[jan22 3,056]

OP:  I posted my above response before your response to Mike E and cannot edit it.  As I said in it, your child does not qualify for the CRBA, so there is no reason to file the DS

 

Until the child is 16, you will need to submit all the documentation needed for the first passport. After he/she is 16 -- and receives  a ten-year passport -- it will only require submission of the previous passport. The DH527 is proof of the adoption, but it will never prove US citizenship, as the citizenship was not acquired by birth in the US.  Hope this clarifies things a bit.

[gazgazain 5]

Thank you. It clarifies everything and saved me a lot of headache trying to deal with the state department.

[Mike E 11,741]

17 minutes ago, gazgazain said:

But maybe the DH527 cannot be used to apply for passport. 

No it cannot. 
 

Your son is already a U.S. citizen with a US passport. Why do you need a Florida birth certificate to get him a U.S. passport? 
 

I would apply energy to getting something useful:

 

* a passport card, which is a second proof of U.S. citizen. 
 

* a certificate of citizenship (file N-600). A third proof of citizenship and some have found to be essential in rare situations where a U.S. passport / passport card does not suffice as evidence of citizenship. Or if in the future your son is unable to get a U.S. passport / passport card because of other reasons.  

 

 

[Chancy 6,242]

*** Moved from US Citizenship General Discussion to Passports, etc sub-forum ***

 

[Family 4,065]

Here you go 

https://www.floridahealth.gov/certificates/certificates/_documents/DH527-9-2017-enterable.pdf

 

It will will now reflect you as the father, so worth the effort and it’s only $20. Country of birth will stay the same.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,471]

22 hours ago, gazgazain said:

Hello Mike,

Yes. My child has a US passport. Both his birth mother and I are US citizens (naturalized). Are we still eligible to send DH527

 

Currently, when we apply a US passport for him we have to send the following documents: Thai Birth certificate, English translation, name change that was done in Thailand (with English translation), consent from the father that lives in Thailand (well now I adopted him this will be replaced with court order).  and another court order that his name was legal changed in the USA. I was hoping that if I could use the certificate and the court order instead of all these other documents it would make life little easier. But maybe the DH527 cannot be used to apply for passport. 

 

N600 - Certificate of Citizenship, can be used in place of most of the documents listed above.

 

In the future, if your son allows his passport to expire, the certificate will make things much easier for him.

[gazgazain 5]

Hello All,

just to provide feedback.

 

I think there was confusion on Department of Health's side. They assumed my step child was a US citizen at birth, and that was the reason they told me to contact Department of State to get a birth record. This was not my case. My stepson was not a US citizen at birth so this falls under the department of health of Florida. After this was cleared I was told to file the following documents:

-DH527

-DH1128

-Copy of original birth certificate with original certified translation.

-Copy of name changes done in the birth country with original certified translation. (My son had a name change while he was living in Thailand).

-Certified court order(s) of any name changes done in USA. (My son had a name change in the USA).

-Certified of final court order of the adoption.

-Copy of his passport (US)

-Copy of the parents photo id.

-Statement that says his birth parents were not  US citizens at birth, no other birth certificate filed anywhere else in USA and that he was not previously adopted.

-Check for 20 dollars, and 9 dollars for the first copy total 29 dollars.

 

While I was at the county clerk office, they told me that they do this all the time and will file everything for me. So I provided them with all the documents and check, and they filed it with the Department of health Florida.

Now it is time to wait and cross our fingers everything goes smoothly.

 

The reason we did this is to show that we are now his legal parents (not that he is a US citizen which this would not work for anyways). As you can see we would have to send so many documents every time we have to deal with government (example Passport application) and the risk of us loosing documents is just to great for us. Now we hope that to apply for a passport we would just provide the new birth certificate, plus his old passport (or N600 which we have) and sign the application papers.

 

Thank you all for the help.