Re-adopting when you take your child to the US

Is it necessary to re-adopt your child when she finally arrives in the United States?  Many states do not require you to re-adopt your child if the adoption was finalized in Thailand.   However, I recommend you re-adopt or finalize the adoption in your home state, whether it is required or not. 

We took our son back to the states to meet his extended family and during that time we submitted a petition in our county courthouse for the adoption to be finalized in the state of Pennsylvania. 

Re-adoption in a U.S. Federal court is not required for children who entered the country with an IR-3 visa (those whose adoptions were completed overseas). When your child's adoption is finalized in Thailand before returning to the US, he will be issued an IR-3 visa.  International adoptions finalized abroad, in most situations, are legally binding in the United States.  However, some States do not automatically recognize a foreign adoption decree.  If your child was issued an IR-3 immigrant visa, you are not required under Federal law to readopt the child, although your State adoption law may require you to do so.

Re-adoption or adoption (in the case of a child in a guardianship or where both parents have not met the child) is a requirement for all children entering America with an IR-4 visa - where the adoption was not completed overseas. This is the case for parents who do not reside in Thailand and return to the US before completing the required six month waiting period under Thai law.

That said, you may want to do a re-adoption in the U.S. even if you’re not required to by law.  Why?  Simple: Children whose adoptions were completed in a foreign country may benefit from re-adoption in the U.S. because re-adoption enables you to obtain an American birth certificate from your state of residence for your child.  A legal name change can also be completed during re-adoption in the U.S.  Upon completion of the re-adoption in your local court, you will have a U.S. Judgment Order for Adoption and will no longer have to produce the foreign Judgment and translation. You will also receive a birth certificate (or Record of Foreign Birth) from your state that lists you as the birthparent of your child and lists the name you have chosen for your child.

Your child’s foreign birth certificate is legal and binding within the U.S.  However, getting certified copies of your child’s birth certificate will be much easier if you only have to contact your state department of vital records. (Just imagine this future scenario: Your child – now an adult – needs multiple certified copies of his birth certificate – a certificate issued two decades ago in Thailand.  Who should your child contact to get these documents?  Will it be possible to find the original records in Thailand 20 years from now?  How will you provide a translation of the birth certificate?  How will your child get the documents he needs?)  Re-adoption immediately solves this problem, since it takes place in your local county.  Your child will need certified copies of his birth certificate whenever he registers for school, participates in athletics, or if he chooses to adopt in the future.

Re-adoption insures that the legality of your daughter's adoption will never be questioned.  To re-adopt your child in the United States, you’ll need an attorney – but don’t worry, the legal fees charged for a re-adoption are usually quite modest.  It’s important to look for an adoption attorney who specializes in international re-adoptions, and make sure she has handled re-adoption cases from Thailand.  Do not rely on the guy who prepared your will or who handled your divorce to understand how to properly do an international re-adoption.  Our petition in Pennsylvania was very simple.  He accepted our petition to finalize the adoption in Pennsylvania without a court appearance.

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