Dear Atty. Lou,
The biological mother of my three nieces and nephew was my oldest sister. The latter died in January 2007 and their biological father died in March 2008. Since her death, we decided to pursue legal custody of the children since they are full orphans. We, my wife and I, were awarded custody on August 2008 through Philippine Court RTC 89, so we can cover their medical/dental insurance and to be their legal custodian.
We were not aware that when we decided to adopt these children, one of the requirement is that if we had current legal custody and not vacated/annul, we cannot apply I800, therefore will not be able to adopt and petition the children. This is based on Question 19 on I800 form. We need your help to annul/vacate/terminate our legal custody at this point so we can complete our adoption. Please advice on how to annul/vacate our legal custody of our three nieces and nephew who currently live in the Philippines, for the purpose of International Adoption through ICAB Philippines and to meet the requirement of filing I800 question 19.
Adopting Parents
Dear Adopting Parent,
Last year, the US ratified the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Convention). The regulations on intercountry adoptions became effective on April 1, 2008. Philippines is one of the Hague Convention countries
According to the new regulations, those wishing to adopt from the convention country must course it through an accredited adoption service. The US Department of State website contains information on who the accredited adoption service providers.
A Central Authority or its designee is located in its Hague Convention country to determine whether the adoptive parent is qualified to adopt and whether the child to be adopted meets the definition of an eligible child. The Intercountry Adoption Board (ICAB) is the Central Authority in the Philippines,
Under the new procedure, the Immigration Forms I-800A and I-800 are filed first to start the process and if it is approvable that is the only time the adoptive parent may file the adoption petition with the court. The regulations maintain also restrictions that prohibit the birth parents, orphanage from contacting each other before the approval of the petition.
The Form I-800 will be denied if the children are already legally adopted before filing the I-800. To comply with the law, the regulations provide a way to have this adoption terminated or annulled before the form I-800 may be approved.
To annul or rescind an adoption decree from the Philippine Court, you should follow the process provided for in Republic Act 8552. Under the Philippine Law, the rescission of the adoption decree may only be initiated by the adoptee through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). This may not be initiated by the adoptive parent. To start the process of filing rescission, you should contact the DSWD and asked for the department in charge of adoption.
The petition for rescission shall be filed with the Regional Trial Court and as soon as the rescission decree on adoption is entered, a Form I-800 may then be filed with the US Citizenship and Immigration Service. The USCIS will thereafter ask you to re-adopt the children. There are more technical requirements to be considered prior to these children completing the immigration petitions. It may be advisable to seek professional assistance.
Atty. Lou
(Lourdes Santos Tancinco, Esq is a partner at the Tancinco Law Offices, a Professional Law Corp. Her office is located at One Hallidie Plaza, Ste 818, San Francisco CA 94102 and may be reached at 415.397.0808; email at law@tancinco.com or check their website at tancinco.weareph.com/old. The content provided in this column is solely for informational purpose only and do not create a lawyer-client relationship. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. This column does not disclose any confidential or classified information acquired in her capacity as legal counsel. Consult with an attorney before deciding on a course of action. You can submit questions to law@tancinco.com)
