Foreign Adoption and US Citizenship

[lsymmonds]

My ex and I adopted our son from Russia in 1993 when we were living in CT. I submitted his Russian birth certificate and Russian adoption certificate both with English translations, to the CT State Dept, Office of Vital Records and asked for a certification of the adoption. We received back a small yellow card with notary seal embossed which was issued from the Vital Records office. We took that to be the form required to prove our son was now a US citizen. I just recently applied for a US Passport for my son in preparation for a cruise (paid for) to the Bahamas. I received a letter today from the US Passport office asking for the US certification of adoption for him. Can you please tell me if the yellow card mentioned above is this form they should accept or if there is something else I should have done. I now live in Florida and my ex still lives in CT. Can I reapply for a adoption certification in Florida now some 13 years after the fact?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[IsabellaSoriano]

Originally Posted by lsymmonds

My ex and I adopted our son from Russia in 1993 when we were living in CT. I submitted his Russian birth certificate and Russian adoption certificate both with English translations, to the CT State Dept, Office of Vital Records and asked for a certification of the adoption. We received back a small yellow card with notary seal embossed which was issued from the Vital Records office. We took that to be the form required to prove our son was now a US citizen. I just recently applied for a US Passport for my son in preparation for a cruise (paid for) to the Bahamas. I received a letter today from the US Passport office asking for the US certification of adoption for him. Can you please tell me if the yellow card mentioned above is this form they should accept or if there is something else I should have done. I now live in Florida and my ex still lives in CT. Can I reapply for a adoption certification in Florida now some 13 years after the fact?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

when you called the US passport office, what did they tell you?

[nextwife]

Originally Posted by lsymmonds

My ex and I adopted our son from Russia in 1993 when we were living in CT. I submitted his Russian birth certificate and Russian adoption certificate both with English translations, to the CT State Dept, Office of Vital Records and asked for a certification of the adoption. We received back a small yellow card with notary seal embossed which was issued from the Vital Records office. We took that to be the form required to prove our son was now a US citizen. I just recently applied for a US Passport for my son in preparation for a cruise (paid for) to the Bahamas. I received a letter today from the US Passport office asking for the US certification of adoption for him. Can you please tell me if the yellow card mentioned above is this form they should accept or if there is something else I should have done. I now live in Florida and my ex still lives in CT. Can I reapply for a adoption certification in Florida now some 13 years after the fact?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

The issuance of a Vital Records birth record is NOT citizenship! I, too, have an official state issued birth record for my daughter, born in eastern Europe(which we obtained following readoption in our state) but it does NOT create citizenship.

Your foreign born adopted child is a US Citizen if one of the following applies:

• You applied for and received a Certificate of Citizenship and naturalized your child
  
• or
  
• Your child is eligible for instant citizenship due to meeting the requirements under the Adopted Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which can be found here:
  
• [url]http://adoption.state.gov/pdf/FAQs_Child%20Citizenship%20Act%20of%202000.pdf[/url]

[/list]
IF your child qualifies under the act, you must apply for a passport by bringing the required documents to a passport issuing office, such as a post office, and completing the application, passport fee etc.

[lsymmonds]

Thanks for your reply nextwife. I have always believed that my son does qualify as both myself and his father are US Citizens and he was issued a Green Card upon return to the US, and was issued an I-551 stamp on his passport. You mentioned in your post that if he does qualify that I just need to submit the paperwork, and after reading the description of the law and what is required to apply for a passport, I have done that; I have submitted his Russian birth cert, his Russian Adoption decree, both translated and certified, his Russian passport, his Green Card, and proof of my and his father's US Citizenship, along with the CT certified and notarized card from the Vital Records Dept. I don't know what else I could provide, especially as the description of the law specifically states I am not required to request a certificate of citizenship for him under the Adoption Act. The letter from the State Department said that I have to provide the following: a certified copy of the full and final adoption decree granted in the US; or a court order issued in the child's state of residence recognizing the foreign adoptoin; or a statement from a competent authority (such as a court or state agency that oversees international adoptions) certifying that the child's state of residence does not allow re-adoption (whatever that is). All this is pursuant to the relevant provisions of Part 51 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Can anyone help me understand what this regulation is and how it relates to the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.
Obviously the intake officers in Jacksonville, FL don't get too many people who fall under this act as the woman I talked with at the Post Office appeard clueless that there was even such a law. The post office asked for a US certification of the foreign adoption which is what I thought I had given them. When they called back, the screener simply restated what the requirements for a foreign adoptee are and was not able to tell me if the form I had submitted qualified as she was not the Passport officer who is processing my son's file. I am waiting for a call back from that person.
I have since done some more research on the Connecticut Vital Records office and have discovered that the card they gave me may in fact be what they call a wallet birth certificate card which does cannot be used to apply for a passport, and I have requested a full birth cert thru Vitalchek (for $50).
My experience with the Passport process has been less than stellar. I had applied for myself and both my two children. They sent my passport back (it was just a renewal) along with my original docs plus someone else's Alien Registration Card. Some poor guy from the Congo. I called them and they sent me an overnight envelope to return it in. Then I got a letter for both my daughter's and son's case on the same day. You know the issue with my son. For my daughter they demanded a form be completed by her father giving permission for her to travel outside the country. They didn't even look at her birth certificate or they would have seen that my name is the only name on her birth cert (her father denied paternity). I pointed that out to the screener that returned my call and received a voice mail on my phone today from the agency saying they agreed they had messed up, that I could ignore the letter they sent to me for her, and they would continue to process her app (after loosing two weeks).