Two Identities in Two Different Countries. Which one to use for I-130?

[Ben Dover 6]

Hello all. 

 

I'm a US citizen who adopted my Filipino stepson while living in Nigeria last year. In Nigeria, my son is legally recognized by his new name (my last name) and even obtained Nigerian citizenship, so he has a Nigerian passport with my last name on it. 

 

I have since left Nigeria and moved back to the United States, and my wife and son are now in the Philippines. I plan to start the I-130 process this week so I can bring them over. 

 

The problem is that the Philippines does not automatically recognize adoption decrees from foreign countries. There is a court process for a judge to decide on "recognition of foreign adoption" which, if approved by the judge, would mean that the Philippines recognizes that adoption as valid and my son's name can be changed to my last name in his Filipino passport. Unfortunately, this process takes between 1 year and 1.5 years and I have not started that process yet. So for now he basically has two identities. 

 

Do I have to file the I-130 using the name in his Filipino passport which is the name I plan to change and may have already changed in the middle of the immigration process? Or can he use his Nigerian passport to apply to avoid confusion since this passport already has his new name in it even though he will be residing in, applying in, and coming from the Philippines?

[Timona 4,208]

I thought adoption happens in the country of birth? 

 

I don't understand how Nigerian law applied to this kid. How would Nigerian authorities even decide that?

 

I think you should have first adopted in the Philippines, then apply for Nigerian PP

[Boiler 45,767]

Keep it simple keep it PI

[Family 4,068]

3 hours ago, Ben Dover said:

The problem is that the Philippines does not automatically recognize adoption decrees from foreign countries. There is a court process for a judge to decide on "recognition of foreign adoption" which, if approved by the judge, would mean that the Philippines recognizes that adoption as valid and my son's name can be changed to my last name in his Filipino passport. Unfortunately, this process takes between 1 year and 1.5 years and I have not started that process yet. So for now he basically has two identities. 

Do think Philippine court would legitimize the Nigerian adoption after the fact…? 
Like @Timona, I cannot see how Nigerian Court disposed of input from PI court.
 

[Family 4,068]

3 hours ago, Boiler said:

Keep it simple keep it PI

There is nothing simple here. Child has to disclose both Nigerian and Philippine citizenships , thus adoption will be disclosed and reviewed. 
It could complicate matters big time, as in adoption severed the step parent relationship…BUT adoption won’t meet USCIS standards for immigration benefit.

[Ben Dover 6]

Adoptions do not only take place in the country of birth. They can also take place in a foreign country where residence has been established by the parents and/or the child. This is not uncommon which is the reason the Philippines has a court process to recognize adoptions that take place overseas in the first place. I am not at all concerned about that as this was well-researched in advance and I sought legal counsel on this.

 

I am simply seeking advice regarding which name to use for the application process since I am essentially about to start a long process of a name change. Anyone who may have changed their name during marriage or any other process that can provide input would be appreciated. 

[Ben Dover 6]

12 minutes ago, Family said:

There is nothing simple here. Child has to disclose both Nigerian and Philippine citizenships , thus adoption will be disclosed and reviewed. 
It could complicate matters big time, as in adoption severed the step parent relationship…BUT adoption won’t meet USCIS standards for immigration benefit.

 

There is a whole section on the adoptive step-parent relationship here https://fam.state.gov/FAM/09FAM/09FAM050203.html and no, the adoption did not sever the step-parent relationship for the purposes of immigration. The I-130 can still be used and yes it does meet USCIS standards for immigration once the 2-year legal and physical custody period has been met. We have a whole thread on this and you can check my history if you want to learn more.  

[Boiler 45,767]

You are sponsoring your wife and her child. Adoption was unnecessary, you can sponsor a step child.

[Ben Dover 6]

It might not have been necessary for immigration purposes but I didn't adopt because of immigration the same way you shouldn't only get married for immigration reasons. 

[Family 4,068]

26 minutes ago, Ben Dover said:

 

There is a whole section on the adoptive step-parent relationship here https://fam.state.gov/FAM/09FAM/09FAM050203.html and no, the adoption did not sever the step-parent relationship for the purposes of immigration. The I-130 can still be used and yes it does meet USCIS standards for immigration once the 2-year legal and physical custody period has been met. We have a whole thread on this and you can check my history if you want to learn more.  

As recently as March 2024 , Nigeria has been flagged. 1st link

 

And how a Nigerian court get jurisdiction over a PI child ? 2nd link 

 

I will try searching for your thread.

 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/country-information/adoption-information-nigeria

Adoption Information: Nigeria

In a March 13, 2024, adoption notice, the Department of State (DOS) Continues to Advise Prospective Adoptive Parents to Reconsider Intercountry Adoptions from Nigeria. DOS recommends that prospective adoptive parents reconsider intercountry adoptions from Nigeria due to ongoing concerns about the ability to verify the origins of children being adopted, systemic fraud, and lack of oversight in the adoption process. These concerns may result in difficulty immigrating an adopted child to the United States. For the latest information on adoption from Nigeria, see the DOS’s Intercountry Adoption webpage for Nigeria, which also contains DOS adoption notices for Nigeria.

 

https://fam.state.gov/FAM/09FAM/09FAM050203.html

U) You must accept a foreign adoption decree as valid unless there is credible and probative evidence that:

(1)   (U) The adoption was flawed in its execution (e.g., a court lacked (or other official body) granting the adoption lacked jurisdiction over the adoption or prior parents did not consent to the adoption or were not given proper notice of the termination of parental rights);

[Boiler 45,767]

It may confuse them but not sure how it comes up?

[Family 4,068]

9 minutes ago, Boiler said:

It may confuse them but not sure how it comes up?

Can’t sweep this under the proverbial rug as direct questions on aliases and multiple citizenship questions are asked

[Boiler 45,767]

Whilst I would have recommended to the OP not to do this, I do not see how it will eventually be a block.

[Family 4,068]

Located the thread you mentioned…I do not think anyone realized your stepson was from a different country.

 

 

 

 

 

https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM050203.html

b. (U) Adoptions should permanently sever previous parental ties.  Therefore, a caretaker relationship in which the adopting parents intend to return the child to their natural parents or former guardians in the future would generally not constitute a bona fide parent-child relationship.  Also, as provided in INA 101(b)(1)(F), no natural parent or prior adoptive parent of an orphan may obtain any immigration benefit because of their relationship with an orphan.

[Ben Dover 6]

18 minutes ago, Family said:

As recently as March 2024 , Nigeria has been flagged. 1st link

 

And how a Nigerian court get jurisdiction over a PI child ? 2nd link 

 

I will try searching for your thread.

 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/country-information/adoption-information-nigeria

 

Adoption Information: Nigeria

In a March 13, 2024, adoption notice, the Department of State (DOS) Continues to Advise Prospective Adoptive Parents to Reconsider Intercountry Adoptions from Nigeria. DOS recommends that prospective adoptive parents reconsider intercountry adoptions from Nigeria due to ongoing concerns about the ability to verify the origins of children being adopted, systemic fraud, and lack of oversight in the adoption process. These concerns may result in difficulty immigrating an adopted child to the United States. For the latest information on adoption from Nigeria, see the DOS’s Intercountry Adoption webpage for Nigeria, which also contains DOS adoption notices for Nigeria.

 

https://fam.state.gov/FAM/09FAM/09FAM050203.html

 

U) You must accept a foreign adoption decree as valid unless there is credible and probative evidence that:

(1)   (U) The adoption was flawed in its execution (e.g., a court lacked (or other official body) granting the adoption lacked jurisdiction over the adoption or prior parents did not consent to the adoption or were not given proper notice of the termination of parental rights);

 

The human trafficking concerns are with children of unknown origins from adoptions through the orphan and Hague processes. We went through the third option which is a family-based petition so there is no such concern in our case as I am married to his biological mother, his biological father is deceased and we went through a legitimate process. There is evidence of all of this.   https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/immigration-through-adoption/family-based-petition-process 

 

Also, it's completely legal to adopt a child in a new residence. I.e. a child relocates to the United States and establishes residency there for the required period and is adopted by someone in a New York court. The parent would not have to travel back to the Philippines to adopt that child. All adoptions are not required to take place in the country of birth. Otherwise, the Philippines wouldn't have a process in place and established Supreme Court rulings for acceptance of foreign adoptions of Filipino-born children.

 

But this has turned into a debate about the merits of adoption when I am simply seeking advice about which name to use on an application. I got legal advice from lawyers in all 3 countries prior to filing the adoption so I am not really seeking legal advice about adoption. I really just wanted to know if anyone can advise on the name to use until the name change is finalized in both passports but it seems I'll have to pony up and contact my lawyer for an hour session.