top of page

Adopting a Child Born in a Foreign Country

tim61214

Interested in adopting a foreign-born child?

If the child has a United States State Department Certificate of Birth Abroad, then that is no problem. Paternity aside, the only significant difference is that after the adoption is done, you will get a new birth certificate from the State Department rather than from Utah Vital Records, for example.

But what if the child was born abroad to a parents who are citizens of a foreign country? Can you adopt a child born in a foreign country? Yes, if the child has been "admitted into the United States for permanent residence." (Utah Code 78B-6-108) Here's an example of how it works:

Birth Mother (let's call her Maria) is a Filippino citizen. She gives birth in the Philippines and the unmarried birth father is unknown. Maria signs an affidavit saying the putative father did not provide for her or the baby and she has not heard from the unmarried birth father for several years. Meanwhile, the child begins to grow up and Maria meets and marries a soldier in the U.S. Army. They and the child now reside in Utah, and they want to do a stepchild adoption.

There are two special issues here:

First, Maria and the child need to be U.S. permanent residents; they need to have green cards.

Second, the UALC attorney will ask the Utah judge to sign an Order Establishing Facts of Birth. Some birth certificates, obviously, are not in English. Utah Vital Records does not interpret foreign documents; rather, Vital Records relies on the Court's Order Establishing Facts of Birth which is essentially an English translation of the facts on the foreign birth certificate. After the hearing, we get a certified copy of this order and submit it to Utah Vital Records. Then, Vital Records will create a Utah birth certificate, which is very interesting: A child born in the Philippines can have a Utah birth certificate.

Frankly, these are really fun cases, usually because the child has come out of a difficult situation in the foreign country and is now thriving in his/her new home.

Note: Utah Adoption Law Center does not handle international adoptions. If you have questions about adopting a child born abroad and who has a green card, please contact the Utah Adoption Law Center. We'd love to help you get the child adopted.


Adopting a child born outside the United States
Adopting a Foreign-Born Child

4 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


Utah Adoption Law Center

Northern / Central Utah: 385.200.1972

Southern Utah: 435.592.1235

Addresses - North to South:

11075 S State St, Suite 12-A, Sandy, UT 84070

865 S 500 W, Payson, UT 84651

51 E 400 N Ste 1, Cedar City UT 84720

312 N Mall Dr, Bldg R, St George UT 84790

Service Areas - North to South:

Davis County

Tooele County

Salt Lake County

Utah County

Juab County

Carbon County

Sevier County

Beaver County

Iron County

Washington County

Cities:

American Fork

Beaver

Bluffdale

Brigham City

Cedar City

Fillmore

Heber

Herriman

Hurricane

Lehi

Lindon

Logan

Manti

Milford

Moab

Murray

Nephi

Ogden

Orem

Park City

Payson

Pleasant Grove

Price

Provo

Richfield

Sandy

Santaquin

Saratoga Springs

South Jordan

Springville

Spanish Fork

St George

Taylorsville

Tooele

Washington

West Jordan

West Valley City

© 2023 by Utah Adoption Law Center

bottom of page