International Adoption, Confirmation/Re-Adoption for a Foreign Adoption, SIJS
Gillespie Law Group, LLC, has experience with all types of adoptions involving other countries, including:
- Assisting with the pre-approval process for adoptions from non-Hague countries
- Completing adoptions from countries which grant guardianships instead of final decrees of adoption
- Handling confirmations (also called re-adoptions) for adoptions completed in another country
- Obtaining predicate orders in adoptions and guardianships in order to assist with applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)
- And more
For all of these types of adoptions, contact Gillespie Law Group, LLC. We would be happy to schedule a free consultation and discuss your adoption.
Confirmations/Re-Adoptions
The majority of international adoptions are finalized in the country where the child is born. Once the adoption is finalized, you have obtained the necessary documents and returned to the United States, a confirmation of the adoption, also called a re-adoption, is often done for several reasons.
For most international adoptions completed in other countries, your adopted child becomes a United States Citizen automatically — as long as all of the proper procedures were followed throughout the process. The primary reasons for doing a confirmation or re-adoption are to obtain an English birth certificate (called a Record of Foreign Birth in Illinois), and to add an additional layer of finality to the adoption. Additionally, if you inadvertently misplace the adoption decree from the other country (or it is destroyed in any way) it will be much easier to get a duplicate of the Judgment Order for Adoption entered in the confirmation adoption, then having to travel back to the other country.
The process for a confirmation/re-adoption in Illinois is really straightforward. Since you are already the legal parent(s) of the child, there is no further investigation required to confirm that adoption. In Illinois, the process involves filing a Petition for Adoption, attaching copies of the adoption documents from the other country, and then appearing in Court one time. In most counties in Illinois, the confirming adoption finalizes on the one and only day you go to Court.
International Adoptions
If you are interested in starting the process for an international adoption, one of the best resources is www.adoption.state.gov, which allows you to search each country to determine the requirements and procedures for adopting from that country. As you can imagine, there is a quite a lot of regulations to follow to adopt a child born in another country. If the country you choose to adopt from is a signatory of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption [Hague Convention, for short], you need to work with a Hauge-accredited agency to complete your adoption. If you choose a non-Hague country, other agencies and attorneys can assist with the process. Please contact us for more information on the international adoption process.
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
Gillespie Law Group, LLC, can also assist you in obtaining the necessary predicate order in a guardianship or adoption to allow a child in your care who is a citizen of a country other than the United States to apply for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). It is always a good idea to contact an immigration attorney first to learn about all the options available, but once you have determined that SIJS may work, we are happy to help.
Contact Us Today
If you have questions about international adoption, adoption confirmation, re-adoption or SIJS, please reach out today. We would be happy to schedule a free consultation to better understand how we can serve your family.