April 2006

Disclaimer: The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States . Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in country in general; and 2) U.S. Federal immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States .

The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services.  For U.S.-based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and/or the licensing office of the appropriate state government agency in the U.S. state where the agency is located or licensed. 

PLEASE NOTE:  Please plan to stay a minimum of three business days in Moscow to obtain documents and complete the medical exams necessary for the immigrant visa interview.  Parents should calculate a five-day "cushion time" in the validity dates they request when applying for a Russian visa.  The U.S. Embassy recommends that flight arrangements for departing Russia not be finalized until the immigrant visa is issued.

PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION:   Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Russian orphans:

ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN RUSSIA :  The Russian government office responsible for intercountry adoptions is the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation .

Ministry of Education and Science
#11 Tverskaya Street
Moscow, Russia 125993 GSP 3
Tel: 011-7-095-629-6610

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS:  Married couples may adopt. Single persons may adopt but there must be at least a 16-year age difference between the prospective parent and the prospective adoptive child.  Russia also has medical requirements for adoptive parents.  Persons considering adoption in Russia should consult their adoption agency about medical conditions that may disqualify them. These include TB, active and chronic; illness of internal organs and nervous system; dysfunction of the limbs; infectious diseases; drug and alcohol addictions; psychiatric disorders; and, any disability which prevents the person from working.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS:  There are no residency requirements for prospective adoptive parents.  However, prospective adoptive parents will have to travel to Russia twice during the adoption process.

TIME FRAME: The average time for the adoption process is 6-12 months from the time the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) approves the I-600A petition to the date of the immigrant visa interview.  (Please see below for further information on the various steps in the intercountry adoption process.)

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS:  Adoptive parents who work through an adoption agency must use an agency that the Russian Government has accredited to provide adoption services.  The U.S. Embassy discourages intercountry adoptions conducted independently without the assistance of an accredited agency.  A list of accredited adoption agencies is available at the adoptions page of the U.S. Embassy's Web site at http://moscow.usembassy.gov/consular/consular.php?record_id=adoptions and on the Web site for the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington, D.C. at http://www.russianembassy.org/.

Neither the U.S. Embassy nor the Department of State can vouch for the effectiveness or professionalism of any agency or facilitator.  Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services.  For U.S.-based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adopting parents contact the Better Business Bureau and the state adoption agency-licensing office in the state where the agency is located.  Please see Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site travel.state.gov.

ADOPTION FEES IN RUSSIA :  U.S. citizens who have adopted from Russia report an average total cost of approximately US$20,000 - $30,000 (including travel, lodging and fees).

ADOPTION PROCEDURES:  The Russian government maintains a database of children without parental care.  Russian law requires that a child be registered first on a local databank for one month and a regional data bank for a month plus six months on the federal databank.  Therefore, the total amount of time before a child is released for international adoption is usually eight months.

1.  With the assistance of an adoption agency accredited by the Russian Government, prospective adoptive parents first apply to a regional Ministry of Education office for permission to adopt in that region.   The prospective adoptive parent(s) does not travel to Russia at this stage.  The agency obtains the referral without the presence of the parents. 

2.  The Ministry of Education, upon approving the application, directs the prospective parents to an orphanage. 

3.  Adoptive parents must travel to Russia to meet prospective adoptive children. 
[Note:  See http://www.russianembassy.org/ under Consular Division regarding the requirements for obtaining a Russian visa.  Russian immigration laws are strict and must be carefully obeyed in order to avoid difficulties.  The U.S. Embassy and Consulates General in Russia have only a very limited ability to assist U.S. citizens who encounter immigration problems.]

4.  Prospective adoptive parents travel to Russia , and with the assistance of their accredited adoption agency, make arrangements to visit the identified orphanage.  There they may select a child and apply to the court to get a court date. 

Note:  Prospective adoptive parent(s) cannot pick any child from the orphanage.  A child is pre-selected by the agency in cooperation with the local MinEd and according to the parameters the PAPs specified in the I-600A.  If the PAP does not bond with that child they can ask for another referral.  The PAPs receive whatever information the orphanage has about the orphan’s medical condition and his/her biological parents.  Sometimes there is no information available.  The prospective adoptive parent can review the medical information on the orphan at the orphanage at the time of the first meeting. 

5.  After prospective parents identify the child, they should fill out an adoption application (a court document), which can be obtained at the Russian court where the adoption hearings will take place.

6.  Prospective adoptive parents may return to the United States after applying for a court date. However, the prospective adoptive child must remain in Russia during this time.Prospective adoptive parents may stay in country but the wait for the court date can be 4-6 weeks and often the PAP is not allowed to spend time with the orphan prior to the court decision.  It is expensive to wait in country and there can be problems with visa validity so it is advised that the prospective adoptive parents return to the U.S. and make a second trip once the court date is established.

7.  For their court date, prospective adoptive parents will be required to produce three additional statements on the issues below.  The prospective parents must sign these statements in front of a Russian notary:

a. Prospective adoptive parents have been informed about the health conditions of the child and they accept them;

b. They will register their adopted child with the MFA [See the “Registration of Russian Orphans” section towards the end of this flyer for additional information.]; and

c. They will provide the Ministry of Education with periodic, required post-placement reports on time.  Post-placement reports are periodic reports on the welfare of the adopted orphan in his American family .The first post-placement report is due six months after the court decision went into effect; the second report is due six months after the first one but not later than 12 months after the court decision went into effect.  The third post-placement report is due at 24 months, and the fourth, at 36 months.  

8.  After the court hearing, the new parents will obtain the adoption certificate and a new birth certificate (showing the child's new name, and the adoptive parents as the parents) from the civil registration office (ZAGS), after which they can obtain the Russian passport for the child from the visa and registration department (OVIR).

(Note: The child's passport will be issued in the child's new name, which will appear in Cyrillic characters and in the Roman alphabet.  However, the Russian officials will transliterate the name from Cyrillic into the Roman alphabet and the result usually will not be spelled as your family spells it.   For example, Smith will be Smit (there is no "th" in Russian); Callaghan will be Kalahan, etc.  The fact that the child's name is "misspelled" in the passport will NOT cause a problem when you travel and should not be a cause for concern.)

9.  Once the new birth certificate and Russian passport have been issued, parents then can contact the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to make an appointment to apply for the child’s immigrant visa.

AUTHENTICATING U.S.  DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD:  The language describing the process of authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad is currently under review. Please click on the following link for more information until the new language is finalized: http://www.travel.state.gov/law/info/judicial/judicial_701.html

RUSSIAN EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES:

Embassy of the Russian Federation
2650 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20007
Tel: 202-298-5700
Fax: 202-298-5735
http://www.russianembassy.org/

The Russian Federation also has consulates in San Francisco, New York, and Seattle.

U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS

Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult USCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. The USCIS publication is available at the USCIS Web site. The Department of State publication International Adoption can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, travel.state.gov, under “International Adoption.”

Before completing an adoption abroad, prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the requirements for filing Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.  Please see the flyer “How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States” at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site travel.state.gov.

APPLYING FOR A VISA FOR YOUR CHILD AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN RUSSIA:  Once the adoption has been completed on the Russian side of the adoption process, the adoptive parents’ adoption agency facilitator can then contact the Embassy to make an appointment to apply for the immigrant visa. Parents are strongly advised to read the instructions found at http://moscow.usembassy.gov/consular/consular.php?record_id=adoptions on how to apply for an immigrant visa for an adopted child. 

Parents are urged to closely coordinate with their adoption agencies to ensure that all documents are in order and valid and that all requirements, including the medical examination, have been met.

REGISTRATION OF RUSSIAN ORPHANS: Adopted Russian children must be registered with the Government of Russia either by registering  with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) before they leave the country or by working with their adoption agency to register their adopted children with the G.O.R. when they return to the U.S.  If registering prior to departing Russia ,.  U.S. citizen families should do this after an adopted child has received an immigrant visa to the United States.

The following documents are needed for registration:

ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP: The language describing the acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children is currently under review. Until the new language is finalized, please click on the following link for further information: http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_457.html.

U.S. Embassy In Russia:  Americans living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov/, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the country of travel. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. The Consular Section is located at:

U.S. Embassy of Russia
#21 Novinsky Blvd.,
Moscow, Russia 123242
Tel: 728-5000 switchboard
728-5567 (orphan visas)
Fax: 728-5247 (orphans only)
Website: http://moscow.usembassy.gov/

The United States also has Consulates General in the cities of St. Petersburg, Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg.  Please note that these are small offices that are able to provide only emergency services to U.S. citizens.  Moreover, they are not directly involved in the U.S. immigrant visa process.  All questions regarding the adoption or immigrant visa processes in Russia should be directed to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  General questions regarding intercountry adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818 , toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.

Useful information is also available from several other sources:

• Telephone:
  • Call Center – Toll Free Hotline - For information on intercountry adoption of children and international parental child abduction, call Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444.
  • U.S. Department of State Visa Office - recorded information concerning immigrant visas for adopting children, (202) 663-1225.
  • DHS Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).
• Internet:
  • Adoption Information Flyers:  The Consular Affairs web site, at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains intercountry adoption information flyers like this one and the International Adoptions brochure.
  • Consular Information Sheets: The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flyer. In addition, the State Department publishes Consular Information Sheets (CISes) for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that is not addressed in the CIS for that country, the State Department may issue a Public Announcement alerting U.S. citizens to local security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services at (202) 647-5225. The recordings are updated as new information becomes available, and are also accessible through the automated fax machine and the Internet web site, as above.
  • CIS web site - http://uscis.gov/