Chapter 6 - Additional Requirements

In addition to meeting general eligibility requirements, the following requirements must also be met:

• The Department of State (DOS) has determined that the United States can partner with the Convention country and is able to issue Hague Certificates for children from the Convention country;^[1]
• There is no improper inducement, fraud, misrepresentation, or non-bona fide intent;
• The child matches the characteristics that the prospective adoptive parent (PAP) has been approved to adopt;
• The PAP met any pre-adoption requirements of the child’s jurisdiction of proposed residence;^[2]
• The petitioner has identified and uses the services of an accredited or approved primary adoption service provider;^[3] and
• There has not been any prohibited contact between the PAP, or any adult member of the household, and the child’s birth parents, legal custodians, or caregivers.

A. No Child-Buying, Fraud, Misrepresentation, or Non-Bona Fide Intent

The officer must determine whether there are allegations or indications of improper inducement, fraud, misrepresentation, or non-bona fide intent that would prevent the child from being classified as a Convention adoptee.

1. Improper Inducement

A petition must be denied or revoked if there is improper inducement or a prohibited payment. A prohibited payment is when the PAP or a person or entity working on their behalf paid, gave, offered to pay or offered to give, receive, or accept money or other consideration, either directly or indirectly, to a child's parent, agent, other person, or entity to induce or influence any decision about:

• The child’s placement for adoption;
• The consent to adoption;
• Relinquishment of the child for the purpose of adoption; or
• The performance of any act that makes the child a Convention adoptee.^[4]

Prohibited payments do not include paying for reasonable costs incurred for permissible services such as administrative, court, legal, translation, or medical services related to the adoption proceedings.^[5]

A payment is not reasonable if it is prohibited under the law of the country in which the payment is made or if the amount of the payment is not commensurate with the costs for professional and other services in the country in which any particular service is provided.

Permissible services are:

• The services of an adoption service provider in connection with an adoption;
• Expenses incurred in locating a child for adoption;
• Medical, hospital, nursing, pharmaceutical, travel, or other similar expenses incurred by a mother or her child in connection with the birth or any illness of the child;
• Counseling services for a parent or a child for a reasonable time before and after the child's placement for adoption;
• Expenses, in an amount commensurate with the living standards in the country of the child's habitual residence, for the care of the birth mother while pregnant and immediately following the birth of the child;
• Expenses incurred in obtaining the home study;
• Expenses incurred in obtaining required reports on the child;^[6]
• Legal services, court costs, and travel or other administrative expenses connected with an adoption, including any legal services performed for a parent who consents to the adoption of a child or relinquishes the child to an agency; and
• Any other service the payment for which the officer finds, on the basis of the facts of the case, was reasonably necessary.

2. Fraud or Misrepresentation

Fraud is the willful misrepresentation of a material fact. In the adoption context, this typically involves concealment of a material fact to obtain an official document or judgment by a court or authorized entity (for example, an adoption decree). To meet the requirement of materiality, evidence of the misrepresentation must be documented and generally relate to the child’s eligibility as a Convention adoptee.

3. Non-Bona Fide Intent

The PAP must establish that the purpose of the adoption (or legal custody for adoption) is for the PAP to form a bona fide parent-child relationship with the child.^[7] The intent to create a legal permanent parent-child relationship requires the intent to raise the child as their own child, with the same mutual rights and obligations that exist between a birth parent and birth child.

Intent in this case implies the provision of care, support, and direction to the Convention adoptee, without the intent to profit financially or otherwise from the presence of the child. The PAP must also establish that the parent-child relationship between the child and the birth or other prior legal parent(s) has been terminated. USCIS evaluates the petition to determine if the intent of the adoption is for the PAP to form a genuine parent-child relationship and not solely for immigration purposes.

USCIS generally does not consider PAPs who intend to terminate the adoption or transfer physical or legal custody of the child after the child enters the United States to meet the bona fide relationship requirement.

B. Child Matches Characteristics that Prospective Adoptive Parent is Approved For

During the suitability and eligibility application process, USCIS determined that the evidence submitted established the PAP was a suitable adoptive parent for a child with specific characteristics.^[8] The child must match the characteristics that the PAP has been approved to adopt (such as age, sex, nationality, special needs, and number of children).

If the child does not match the characteristics for which USCIS has approved the PAP to adopt, then the officer should issue a Request for Evidence (RFE)^[9] for an updated home study, any related documents, and a Form I-800A, Supplement 3, Request for Action on an Approved Form I-800A (Form I-800A, Supplement 3).

1. Special Needs

The officer should review evidence, generally found in the Article 16 report,^[10] to verify whether the child has any significant physical or mental impairment, disability, or condition. The officer should:

• Ensure that the suitability application approval does not exclude any such significant or serious medical condition of the child; and
• Verify that the PAP is aware of and accepts any significant medical, physical, or mental condition.

If an officer discovers that the child has a significant medical condition that the PAP is not aware of, the officer must:

• Provide the PAP with all available pertinent details concerning the impairment, disability, or condition; and
• Halt adjudication of the case until the PAP submits a notarized statement indicating awareness of the child's impaired health or disability and a willingness to proceed and an updated home study addressing the PAP’s ability to provide proper care for such child.^[11]

2. Age

The child must meet the age range listed on the suitability application approval at the time the referral or match was accepted by the PAP, or if the accepted referral or match date cannot be established, the filing date of the petition.^[12] If the child does not match the age range for which USCIS has approved the PAP to adopt, then the officer should issue an RFE for an updated home study.

C. Primary Provider

The PAP must use an authorized adoption service provider for the provision of adoption services and identify on the petition which accredited or approved adoption service provider is the primary provider if using multiple accredited or approved adoption service providers.^[13] If the officer determines that the PAP has not sufficiently identified a primary adoption service provider on the petition, the officer may issue an RFE.^[14]

If an officer learns that the PAP's primary adoption service provider has withdrawn from the PAP’s case, is no longer providing any remaining adoption services, or has lost accreditation or approval, the officer should issue an RFE requesting evidence that either the current primary adoption service provider remains as such, or the PAP has identified a new primary adoption service provider.^[15]

Reporting Adoption Service Provider Concerns to Department of State

If the officer uncovers information that suggests the primary provider is failing to comply with DOS accreditation regulations, the officer can report the adoption service provider through the DOS complaint registry or to DOS.^[16] If an officer suspects adoption service provider misconduct, the officer should consult with their supervisor before making a report.

D. No Prohibited Contact

The PAP, and any adult member of the household, must not have had any prior contact with a child’s birth parent, legal custodian, or caregiver (including an entity) unless contact is permitted because: ^[17]

• The first contact occurred after USCIS approved the suitability application, and after the Central Authority of the child’s country of origin determined that the child is eligible for intercountry adoption and that the required consents to the adoption were given;
• The Central Authority of the child’s country of origin permitted earlier contact, either in the particular instance or through laws or rules of general application, and the contact occurred in compliance with the authorization or generally applicable laws or rules;^[18] or
• The PAP was related to the child before the adoption through certain familial relationships.^[19]

Footnotes

[^ 1] If DOS has determined the United States cannot process Convention cases from a certain country, USCIS publishes this information on the USCIS Country-Specific Processing webpage.

[^ 2] See INA 101(b)(1)(G)(i)(V)(bb).

[^ 3] See 22 CFR 96.2 and 22 CFR 96.14.

[^ 4] See 8 CFR 204.304.

[^ 5] DOS works closely with foreign governments to identify all costs related to intercountry adoption in particular countries. DOS posts general information about adoption-related costs on DOS’s Country Information webpage.

[^ 6] See the reports described in 8 CFR 204.313(d)(3) and 8 CFR 204.313(d)(4).

[^ 7] See INA 101(b)(1)(G)(i)IV).

[^ 8] See Part B, Adoptive Parent Suitability Determinations [5 USCIS-PM B].

[^ 9] For more information on RFEs, see Chapter 9, Adjudication, Section D, Decisions and Actions [5 USCIS-PM D.9(D)].

[^ 10] An Article 16 report is an official report on the child. For more information on the Article 16 report, see Chapter 8, Documentation and Evidence, Section B, Required Evidence, Subsection 2, Article 16 Report and Accompanying Evidence [5 USCIS-PM D.8(B)(2)].

[^ 11] See Part B, Adoptive Parent Suitability Determinations, Chapter 5, Action on Pending or Approved Suitability Determinations [5 USCIS-PM B.5].

[^ 12] For example, if a suitability determination states that the PAP is approved to adopt a child aged 0-4 years old, then a child who is 4 years old but not yet 5 would meet this age range. This is true even if the child has turned 5 by the time the officer is adjudicating the application.

[^ 13] See Part A, Adoptions Overview, Chapter 5, Authorized Adoption Service Providers [5 USCIS-PM A.5]. See 22 CFR 96.2 definition of adoption services.

[^ 14] For more information on RFEs, see Chapter 9, Adjudication, Section D, Decisions and Actions [5 USCIS-PM D.9(D)].

[^ 15] An adoption service provider is not allowed to act as a primary provider if it loses its accreditation or approval or allows its accreditation or approval to lapse. For more information, see the If Your Adoption Service Provider is No Longer Accredited or Approved webpage.

[^ 16] See DOS’s Complaint Registry webpage.

[^ 17] See 8 CFR 204.309(b)(2).

[^ 18] If the PAP first adopted the child without complying with the Hague Adoption Convention, the competent authority's decision to permit the adoption to be vacated, and to allow the petitioner to adopt the child again after complying with the Hague Adoption Convention, also constitutes approval of any prior contact. See 8 CFR 204.309(b)(2)(ii).

[^ 19] For information on qualifying relationships, see 8 CFR 204.309(b)(2)(iii).