Adoption

Dear Gretchen:  My wife and I want to adopt her nephew, who is an 18 year old living in a refugee camp.  Her sister, the young man’s mother, agrees with the adoption.  We have spent a lot of time in the country where she was born and we have known and loved this young man since birth, but he has no prospects if he stays there.  We want to adopt him and bring him back to the U.S.  He’s like a son to us already.  We very much want to help him.  How can we do this?  What are the adoptions forms we will have to fill out and what are the immigration forms we will need? 

Answer:  I’m so sorry to have to tell you that at the moment, there is no way to do what you would like to do.  If your reason for adopting him is to bring him to the U.S., it won't happen.  At the current time, the only adoptions allowed to bring someone to the U.S. are adoptions of children.  If they are children, there are two ways to do it, either through the Hague convention which requires that the adoptee be an orphan (no parents available), or by having an adoption approved through that country and then being that child’s primary parents for years before bringing the child to the U.S.  I know people who have gone through the second process for the purposes of bringing child to the U.S. and it’s not an easy choice to make.  Essentially you have to live in the country where the child is from for those years after the adoption to prove that your intention is to be their primary parent.

The Hague convention information can be found here:   http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextoid=7b500c5a5d068110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

If you choose to adopt a non-orphan and go through the other process, please retain an attorney for help with this process.  It is not the type of thing to try to handle on your own.

But considering the adoption of an adult, simply put, the current U.S. immigration laws do not allow what you are looking for.  Even if the laws of the country where your nephew is located or the state where you live, would allow adult adoption, the U.S. Immigration Service does not give family preference for immigration to adult adoptees.  However, these laws change every day so it’s worth checking with an attorney from time to time to see if this has changed.  Because it is currently not possible to do what you are asking to do, there are no forms available for the process.

BUT ALL IS NOT LOST.  There may be several other ways to bring this young man into the country.  Check with an immigration lawyer for more help.  The analysis of the possibilities is not something I can give to you online, but you will want to ask about and explore the possibility of finding an employer for this young man who might be able to bring him to the U.S. on a work visa, or perhaps get a student visa for him.  Or if his life is truly in danger in his country of origin, check to see whether he might be able to seek asylum here.  This will all depend upon what are his interests, talents, and circumstances.