If your child entered the United States on an IR-3 or IH-3 visa, then your child is a U.S. citizen. In this case, a "Foreign Adoption Decree Recognition" or a "Re-adoption", while not a must, is how the U.S. courts can formally recognize your child's foreign adoption decree, thus creating a U.S. legal paper trail of your adoption. Through this process, you can do a legal name change (necessary for children adopted from Taiwan) and obtain a U.S. state issued birth certificate for your child.
However, if your child traveled to the U.S. on an IR-4 visa, re-adoption is a MUST! For families who adopted from China and Taiwan - this would most likely be the case if only one parent (in the case of a married couple) travelled overseas for the adoption. If you are a Gladney family and are concerned this might describe your child, please look at your child's U.S. visa that was placed in his or her passport to discern whether you have an IR-3 or IR-4 visa. Contact Camille Adams in Gladney's International Family Services/Postadoption Department at camille.adams@gladney.org if you have any questions.
All Gladney families, regardless of state of residence, may hire a Texas attorney for the re-adoption process. Gladney recommends: Susan I. Paquet of Brown, Pruitt, Peterson, and Wambsganss, P.C. (Fort Worth, TX / Phone: 817-338-4888, Email: spaquet@brownpruittlaw.com, Website: www.brownpruittlaw.com).Susan has been working in adoption law for over twenty years and has helped hundreds of families through this process. Completing a re-adoption in Texas is an efficient process that does not require a court appearance.
Families living outside of Texas may also choose to hire a local attorney to do the re-adoption or recognition in their local county court. If you prefer to complete the re-adoption in your home state, contact a local attorney for specific state and county requirements regarding re-adoption. We recommend that you select an attorney who is experienced in handling inter-country adoption so that you may obtain proper education about the process and feel confident that the individual you choose is handling the issues appropriately. An easy way to access adoption attorneys with the requisite experience, is by going to the on-line membership directory of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys.
For helpful information about automatic U.S. citizenship for internationally adopted children, read more about the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 click here.
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