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.

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