Adoption STAR, Inc. A NYS authorized non-profit adoption agency and Hague accredited adoption service provider.
Adoption STAR, Inc. Is pleased to announce the opening of 4 new international adoption programs in:
Hungary, Bulgaria, Haiti and Jamaica
Interested parties should contact them directly at
Adoption STAR, Inc. 47 Plaza Drive Williamsville, NY 14221
Main Office 716-639-3900
Website www.adoptionstar.com
New Forms and Centralized Review for Intercountry Adoptions
Background
The Hague Adoption Convention is a treaty, which enters into force with respect to the United States on April 1, 2008. The Hague Adoption Convention strengthens protections for children, birthparents and prospective adoptive parent(s), and establishes internationally agreed upon rules and procedures for adoptions between countries that have a treaty relationship under the Hague Adoption Convention (Convention countries). It ultimately provides a framework for member countries to work together to ensure that children are provided with permanent, loving homes, that adoptions take place in the best interests of a child, and that the abduction, sale or traffic in children is prevented.
Forms I-800A and I-800
Two new USCIS forms are introduced for use in a Hague Adoption Convention adoption: Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, and Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative. These forms and the instructions to the forms are available on the Internet at www.uscis.gov.
A prospective adoptive parent files Form I-800A to initiate the immigration process when the prospective adoptive parent is a U.S. citizen and intends to adopt a child who habitually resides in a Hague Adoption Convention country. Form I-800A and supporting evidence are required for USCIS to determine the eligibility and suitability of the prospective adoptive parent(s) to adopt a Convention child.
After approval of Form I-800A, and after an adoption placement has been proposed, the prospective adoptive parent files Form I-800. In adjudicating the I-800 form, USCIS assesses the eligibility of a child who habitually resides in a Hague Convention country as a Convention adoptee prior to adoption by a U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parent. Form I-800 and supporting evidence are required for USCIS to determine the child’s eligibility for classification as a Convention adoptee.
Centralization
USCIS will launch a new business process to streamline the adjudication of Form I-800A and Form I-800 under the Hague Adoption Convention. Effective April 1, 2008, USCIS will establish a special unit that will process all Hague intercountry adoption applications and petitions at the USCIS National Benefits Center (NBC). This special unit will also provide customer service support to prospective adoptive parents who have filed Form I-800A or Form I-800. The new centralized business process does not apply to Form I-600A, Application for
February 29, 2008 Office of Communications
Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, or Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.
General Filing Instructions
Form I-800A: On April 1, 2008, there will be an interim filing procedure in anticipation of a future direct mail program. In late 2008, USCIS will announce the effective date and mailing address for the future direct mail program. Until that time, the following filing instructions should be followed:
If the child being adopted is from a non-Convention country, then the Hague Convention does not apply to the case. The adoption will therefore be processed under existing U.S. immigration regulations governing orphan adoptions.
The Guatemala National Council for Adoptions ended the registration period for transition adoption cases on February 12, 2008. There were close to 3,000 cases were registered under the ‘new’ system. It is believed that the 3,000 registrations include most of all the adoptions initiated under the Notarial system.
An individual adoption case is considered registered provided the aviso filed with the National Council for Adoptions (CNA), has been stamped (with a number) and signed. The CNA is currently developing a database of all registered cases. Once completed, the CNA will provide the database to PGN. It is believed that PGN will begin processing cases upon their receipt of the CNA database
Since May 2007, the Guatemalan Solicitor General’s office (PGN) has requested that notaries notify the office within 10 days of initiating a new adoption case. This notification is a 42-field information form called an “Aviso,” and it is filed together with a copy of the notary’s initial legal document linking the adoptive parents, the child to be adopted, the and relinquishing birth mother. While failure to submit the notification does not legally jeopardize the adoption, it can slow down case processing if not submitted before the case is formally filed with the PGN.
The adoption law passed by Guatemala’s congress on December 11, 2007 permits adoption cases initiated before its effective date of December 31, 2007 to be completed under the current notarial process, if those cases are “registered” with the new Central Authority for adoptions within 30 business days after the effective date of the law. At this time, the Government of Guatemala has not formally defined what will be required to “register” a pending adoption case. U.S. Embassy Guatemala has learned that the Government of Guatemala may consider the filing of the notification (“Aviso”) with the PGN as the “registration” required by the law. The Embassy, therefore, recommends that prospective adoptive parents confirm with their Guatemalan legal representatives that this “Aviso” has been filed with the PGN for their adoption case. Prospective adoptive parents, however, should be aware that other definitions of “registered case” are under consideration and should remain in direct contact with their adoption service providers to ensure that any requirements set forth by the Government of Guatemala are being met.
What are the steps that need to be followed in order to get certified to adopt.
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