international adoption

[KentuckyKat]

My DD (now 11) was adopted from Korea as an infant. She does not have a passport. We are cruising to Nassau next week. I just noticed that her "record of foreign birth" from our state office of vital statistics (that looks much like my DS's birth certificates) and is the document we use for school registration, etc. says in small print at the bottom "this is not evidence of US citizenship". The law changed right around the time she was adopted and in early 2001 all foreign born adopted children were given automatic US citizenship - so you don't go through the process to gain their citizenship anymore. But you also don't get any official citizenship documents. It just so happened that in KY they had an event at the capital with a lot of adopted families right after the new law went into effect and I have a VERY formal commendation (with raised seal) from the Kentucky House of Representatives recognizing DD as an "outstanding young citizen" and saying that she was automatically granted American citizenship on 2/27/01. I hope both of those documents together will be enough for our cruise. Has anyone cruised with an internationally adopted child without a passport?

 

P.S. Let's try not to turn this into a "only cruise with passports" thread. We board in 10 days, so that ship has sailed (pun intended).

[Warm Breezes]

Personally I would call Carnival and/or check with the passport office and/or customs to see what is acceptable documentation in this case.

[zqvol]

All I can say is good luck, because even if what you have is OK with CBP, the odds of Carnival understanding it are somewhere south of none, and that is a shame. Hopefully they will be able to get a CBP officer at embarkation to OK you.

[5waldos]

No naturalization papes?

 

I'd also check with Carnival and maybe bring her to your local motor vehicle department and get her an ID. Checking with the passport office or online is a good idea- what do they accept for proof of citizenship.

 

Our 3 have naturalization papers and we used them for passports. But ours were also made citizens pre 2001- didn't even know about the new law. Bring adoption papers- that can help.

 

Bring a copy of the law if you can find it- that can help also. And call your state senator and ask for an official letter explaining it.

[B and C Blake]

All I can say is good luck, because even if what you have is OK with CBP, the odds of Carnival understanding it are somewhere south of none, and that is a shame. Hopefully they will be able to get a CBP officer at embarkation to OK you.

 

Carnival is not the ones checking travel documents. All the cruise lines do is sell you the cruise.

 

OP .. Call CBP and ask if what you have is acceptable.

 

After a quick Google I found this ... http://www.cundyandmartin.com/immigration/family/citizenship-foreign-born-adopted-children.php

[russianmom]

Besides the record of foreign birth from our state I have a citizenship document from USCIS (INS) with his photo and a raised seal.

 

This is what we used to get his passport (which was a requirement by our adoption agency for finalization of our adoption)

[Safetyal]

Do you have your finalization papers? These are the ones that you should have received when you finalized in a US Court. That shows the adoption is final and may help if you bring a copy of the law.

[cyntil8ing]

No, we have a US passport for our internationally adopted son. He came home in 2007 and we received his Certificate of Citizenship automatically. However, adoptions completed before 2004 must apply for (and pay for!) it, which I assume is your situation. The N-600 is the form you'll have to file.

 

N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship

 

I know this is not helpful for your cruise, but please, please get the documentation for your daughter asap. Yes, she is a citizen, but cannot prove it. If for no other reason, what if your daughter wants to adopt some day herself? Think of all the hoops you had to jump through and it will be even worse for her.

 

We used my son's Certificate of Citizenship, state-issued Certificate of Foreign Birth and his readoption decree to get his passport. We readopted in our state because we changed his name. At some point before he turns 18, we'll get a new Certificate of Citizenship with his correct name.

 

Anyway, sorry for the long non-answer. I hope it works out for you.

[mapsmith]

This seems a spectacular case for your local Congressman to get involved in. Contact their local office and explain everything. You will be surprised when you get everything that the Customs Office requires.

 

Also, by going thru the Congressman's Office, IF there is a problem, there will be a phone number and name to call to get it straightened out.

 

(It is amazing how quickly problems can be solved with government lackeys, when they get a call from someone saying, "This is Congressman So-and So's Office and I understand you have a problem with a Constituent's paperwork)

[mykiddiewinks]

If you have a passport office in driveable distance I would check with them. We just became citizens in April, crossed the street applied for our passports and received them within 5 days. Our children automatically became citizens through us and with all paper work in order we were able to apply for theirs too (without their naturalization certificaes, that we still havent applied for).

 

I realize your situation is different, but they maybe able to issue a passport if you have all the documents they require in order - worth a phone call.

[KentuckyKat]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

We have all the documents she would need to get a passport -- the only things required are the adoption decree and the record of foreign birth. But from everything I have read it is too late to get a passport (even expediated) without going to a passport office and the closest passport office is over 8 hours away and requires advance appointment DD leaves Tuesday to go on a school field trip in NY and will not be back home before the cruise, so that is not really an option. And those expediated services scare me because if I send them all her original documents and don't get them (or a passport) back in time then there is no hope.

 

Interestingly, her adoption just fell at the wrong time. Children adopted prior to 2001 were required to apply for citizenship and got a certificaate of citizenship as a result of that application. And children adopted in 2004 or later get a certificate of citizenship automatically following their adoption. But children abopted in 2001-2003 are automatically citizens but without any documentation. When I inquired about documentation at the time of the adoption I was told none was requried and none would be provided. (Evidently, they found this was not the best idea and started providing documentation in 2004.) But for DD to obtain the same certificate of citizenship that other children have we would have to pay $550 and the websites say it could take up to 12 months for the certificate to be issued. :eek:

 

I have contacted my congressman's office just to see what they would say. (They will get back to me.) But the plan for now is to just take a copy of the law and all of her documents and pray that will be enough.

 

Thanks again!

[KentuckyKat]

I spoke with CCL - they were honest enough to admit that they don't know what we need and advised me to call Customs or USCIS. There are no live people at USCIS. So I called the Customs and Boarder Patrol Customer Service Office. The customer service representative who answered the phone there was not sure either - she thought the Kentucky office of Vital Statistics Record of Foreign Birth certificate would be enough. Then she put me on hold and talked to her supervisor and came back and told me that the Kentucky Record of Foreign Birth and the adoption decree together would be sufficient. I made sure I got the representative's name and she told me the official name of the office where she was located. I guess that's all we can do. Still keeping our fingers crossed and waiting to see if Congressman's office has other ideas. (We will not mention this to DD as she would be traumatized.)

 

Lesson learned - we are getting a passport for DD and DS (and getting ours renewed) as soon as we get home!

[Kaboochi]

My DD (now 11) was adopted from Korea as an infant. She does not have a passport. We are cruising to Nassau next week. I just noticed that her "record of foreign birth" from our state office of vital statistics (that looks much like my DS's birth certificates) and is the document we use for school registration, etc. says in small print at the bottom "this is not evidence of US citizenship". The law changed right around the time she was adopted and in early 2001 all foreign born adopted children were given automatic US citizenship - so you don't go through the process to gain their citizenship anymore. But you also don't get any official citizenship documents. It just so happened that in KY they had an event at the capital with a lot of adopted families right after the new law went into effect and I have a VERY formal commendation (with raised seal) from the Kentucky House of Representatives recognizing DD as an "outstanding young citizen" and saying that she was automatically granted American citizenship on 2/27/01. I hope both of those documents together will be enough for our cruise. Has anyone cruised with an internationally adopted child without a passport?

 

P.S. Let's try not to turn this into a "only cruise with passports" thread. We board in 10 days, so that ship has sailed (pun intended).

 

We adopted our daughter from Russia in 2000 and cruised in 2001 but we had a US Passport. While it is true that adopted children are now automatically US citizens they do need id for travel and passports for out of the country. However, you are going to the Bahamas and might not need a passport for that. Definitely check with CCL for the details, that is your best bet. I hope this helped and didn't add more confusion. Enjoy your cruise with your daughter.

[Safetyal]

 

Interestingly, her adoption just fell at the wrong time. Children adopted prior to 2001 were required to apply for citizenship and got a certificaate of citizenship as a result of that application. And children adopted in 2004 or later get a certificate of citizenship automatically following their adoption. But children abopted in 2001-2003 are automatically citizens but without any documentation. When I inquired about documentation at the time of the adoption I was told none was requried and none would be provided. (Evidently, they found this was not the best idea and started providing documentation in 2004.) But for DD to obtain the same certificate of citizenship that other children have we would have to pay $550 and the websites say it could take up to 12 months for the certificate to be issued. :eek:

 

If it is any consolation, both of are boys are adopted from Korea after 2004 (2004,2007), and we still had to apply for a COC and pay the fee.

 

The government does not give anything for free.

[Cruisingzs]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

We have all the documents she would need to get a passport -- the only things required are the adoption decree and the record of foreign birth. But from everything I have read it is too late to get a passport (even expediated) without going to a passport office and the closest passport office is over 8 hours away and requires advance appointment DD leaves Tuesday to go on a school field trip in NY and will not be back home before the cruise, so that is not really an option. And those expediated services scare me because if I send them all her original documents and don't get them (or a passport) back in time then there is no hope.

 

Interestingly, her adoption just fell at the wrong time. Children adopted prior to 2001 were required to apply for citizenship and got a certificaate of citizenship as a result of that application. And children adopted in 2004 or later get a certificate of citizenship automatically following their adoption. But children abopted in 2001-2003 are automatically citizens but without any documentation. When I inquired about documentation at the time of the adoption I was told none was requried and none would be provided. (Evidently, they found this was not the best idea and started providing documentation in 2004.) But for DD to obtain the same certificate of citizenship that other children have we would have to pay $550 and the websites say it could take up to 12 months for the certificate to be issued. :eek:

 

I have contacted my congressman's office just to see what they would say. (They will get back to me.) But the plan for now is to just take a copy of the law and all of her documents and pray that will be enough.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

We needed an expedited passport this summer for DD's friend who was travelling with us. We used a company that got it for us in 4 days. If that would help. It cost $250 and that included the cost of the passport

[ChefSusan]

I don't have anything to add on this topic, but wanted to wish you the best of luck. Hopefully everything will fall into place and your family will be able to board without any issues.

 

Please let us know how things work out after you get back!

[Wavesprite]

If it is any consolation, both of are boys are adopted from Korea after 2004 (2004,2007), and we still had to apply for a COC and pay the fee.

 

The government does not give anything for free.

 

I agree, we adopted in 2006 from China and we paid a LOT to get her her citizenship. It certainly wasn't "automatic". We had to go through a lenghthy process to get approved by the UCSIS.

 

When we got home we re-adopted her in California so that she could aslso have a California birth certificate so that when she went to college, school, or even wants to adopt herself one day it will be an easier process for her. Getting her passport was very easy after that!

[KentuckyKat]

Our congressman's office called on Friday. You're right - they are really interested in this issue. They had spoken with UCSIS and with Customs and still could not get a definite answer as to what documentation DD needs for the cruise.

 

We have all her adoption-related UCSIS (INS at that time) documentation, her (now-expired) green card, her baby Korean passport, and her American-issued birth certificate, and her American Court adoption decree, but none of those documents prove her current American citizenship. She was adopted (in the states) just a few months after the Child Citizenship Act was enacted in 2001 and, at that time, there was no process for obtaining documentary proof of citizenship for the children who automatically became citizens under the law. In all this digging, I did find a letter we rec'd from the adoption agency (in 2004) telling us that we could obtain a certificate of citizenship at that time but also stating that none was required, so we never got one.

 

When they were unable to get a definate answer from UCSIS and Customs and Border Control, our congressman just went ahead and arranged for DD to get her a passport this week. It is frightening to send her original documents (birth certificate, old passport and adoption decree . . .) to DC knowing I need something back by Friday, but I'm trusting it will all work out.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I just hope our experience will help someone else avoid this kind of panic.

[5waldos]

Yea for government working for you! And I sympathize about the paperwork- when I had to renew my DD's foreign travel documents I had to send everything to a 3rd world embassy in Washington and I was just sure they would decide they didn't want to renew it. But it came back just as promised.

 

With your congressman/woman in on the loop- it will get there. Just breath and pack. You have enough to do without worrying about that.

[happy cruzin]

Our congressman's office called on Friday. You're right - they are really interested in this issue. They had spoken with UCSIS and with Customs and still could not get a definite answer as to what documentation DD needs for the cruise.

 

We have all her adoption-related UCSIS (INS at that time) documentation, her (now-expired) green card, her baby Korean passport, and her American-issued birth certificate, and her American Court adoption decree, but none of those documents prove her current American citizenship. She was adopted (in the states) just a few months after the Child Citizenship Act was enacted in 2001 and, at that time, there was no process for obtaining documentary proof of citizenship for the children who automatically became citizens under the law. In all this digging, I did find a letter we rec'd from the adoption agency (in 2004) telling us that we could obtain a certificate of citizenship at that time but also stating that none was required, so we never got one.

 

When they were unable to get a definate answer from UCSIS and Customs and Border Control, our congressman just went ahead and arranged for DD to get her a passport this week. It is frightening to send her original documents (birth certificate, old passport and adoption decree . . .) to DC knowing I need something back by Friday, but I'm trusting it will all work out.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I just hope our experience will help someone else avoid this kind of panic.

 

 

Good news.....I think ;)

Please come back and update us when you can!!

[KentuckyKat]

DD's passport arrived TODAY, we leave TOMORROW! Whew! Now if we can just get as lucky with the weather . . .

[5waldos]

Have a wonderful trip. Moms like you (and me x 3) rock.

[momof3cruisers]

Phew!! Have a great trip!

[cvpends]

Our congressman's office called on Friday. You're right - they are really interested in this issue. They had spoken with UCSIS and with Customs and still could not get a definite answer as to what documentation DD needs for the cruise.

 

We have all her adoption-related UCSIS (INS at that time) documentation, her (now-expired) green card, her baby Korean passport, and her American-issued birth certificate, and her American Court adoption decree, but none of those documents prove her current American citizenship. She was adopted (in the states) just a few months after the Child Citizenship Act was enacted in 2001 and, at that time, there was no process for obtaining documentary proof of citizenship for the children who automatically became citizens under the law. In all this digging, I did find a letter we rec'd from the adoption agency (in 2004) telling us that we could obtain a certificate of citizenship at that time but also stating that none was required, so we never got one.

 

When they were unable to get a definate answer from UCSIS and Customs and Border Control, our congressman just went ahead and arranged for DD to get her a passport this week. It is frightening to send her original documents (birth certificate, old passport and adoption decree . . .) to DC knowing I need something back by Friday, but I'm trusting it will all work out.

 

This sounds like a much better solution than praying that you can bring DD back into the country. I was scared to death when you said you were going to do that!!

 

That said, we adopted three kids from China, in 1997, 1999 and 2002. Although they all derived citizenship from us as their parents (and we went to a ceremony much like the one you went to, complete with local politicians and fancy certificates), we never considered or were told that proving their citizenship was automatic. For all three, we paid for and obtained a Certificate of Citizenship, then their U.S. passport. The Certificate of Citizenship wasn't strictly required for any of them, but we obtained it as proof of their new names and new ages (for two of them.) We thought that the more proof of citizenship we have, the better for them. We would never consider taking them out of the country without a passport, and are glad that you won't either. What a risk to take with your child :eek:

 

Anyway, I'm so glad this is working out for you. Have a wonderful cruise!!:)

[coopster]

mmm