Even when an international adoption is final in the foreign country, many adoptive parents choose to readopt after returning to the United States. Readoption provides the convenience of being able to replace important documents and additional protections for your child.
Benefits of a Re-Adoption
Readoption provides you and your child with an adoption decree in English that can be obtained from a state court where you live. It also makes it possible to obtain a Certificate of Foreign Birth which is like a birth certificate.
How many copies to you have of your child’s foreign adoption decree and birth certificate? Probably not enough to provide one to every school or governmental entity that may require one. Can you imagine trying to obtain a certified copy of a foreign adoption decree and a certified translation or an adoption birth certificate from your child’s county of origin? How much would it cost? Would you have to travel there to obtain it?
Re-Adoption Process In North Carolina
Your child’s visa status will determine whether adoption in the United Sates is required or optional.
IR-3 Visa – This visa is issued when a full and final adoption is completed abroad. This type of visa means that the adoption is final, and the child entered the United States as a US citizen. Readoption is optional and not required. I recommend it so that you and your child will always have access to an adoption decree and certificate of identification.
IR-4 Visa – This type of visa is issued to a child coming into the United States when the adoption was not final in the country of origin and must be finalized in the United States.
Every Country Is Different
Every foreign country has its own adoption procedures and paperwork. Sometimes even the paperwork for the same country changes over time or varies by region. Likewise, each county Clerk of Court in North Carolina may have different requirements. You are busy being a parent. Let us worry about the paperwork.
Experience on Your Side
Although the re-adoption process can be straightforward, the rules and restrictions around international adoptions and visas can be complex, and you should have an experienced adoption attorney on your side. Bobby Mills has over 30 years’ experience in adoption law in North Carolina. Contact us today at 919-306-2899 to schedule a consultation.