Fact Sheet:

ADOPTION IN U.S. COURTS OF CHILDREN FROM 

HAGUE ADOPTION CONVENTION COUNTRIES

Information for State Court Judges, Child Welfare Professionals, and Adoptive Families

Foreign-born children in the United States who are adopted in a U.S. court may face immigration-related 

implications. Adoption alone does not give a child lawful immigration status. This fact sheet reviews the 

immigration implications for children from Hague Adoption Convention (“Convention” or “Hague”) countries 

who did not immigrate to the United States through the U.S. Convention process and are undergoing U.S. 

adoption proceedings.

When does the Hague Adoption 

Convention apply?

The Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of 

Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry 

Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) establishes a 

required process for intercountry adoptions between 

Convention party countries. Generally, an adoption 

must follow the Hague process if: 

• An adoptive parent is a U.S. citizen; 

• The adoptive U.S. citizen parent is habitually 

resident in the United States; 

• The child the adoptive parent seeks to adopt is 

habitually resident in another Convention country. 

(A child is generally considered habitually resident 

in their country of citizenship); and 

• The adoption occurs on or after the Convention 

entered into force in the United States (April 1, 

2008) and in the other country. 

To view a list of countries the United States recognizes 

as Convention countries, visit the Hague countries list. 

To determine when the Convention entered into force 

for a specific country, see the Hague status table.

What is the immigration process of a 

child from a Hague Adoption Country?

If the Hague Adoption Convention applies, the 

prospective adoptive parent must follow the Hague 

process in a specific order. Specifically, a prospective 

adoptive parent should not adopt or obtain legal 

custody of a child for purposes of emigration and 

adoption before completing certain steps in the Hague 

process. See our Hague Process page for more 

information. Once the adoption or legal custody is 

finalized and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issues 

a Hague Adoption Certificate or Hague Custody 

Certificate to certify compliance with the Convention, 

and the process is complete, the adoptive parent 

generally brings the child to the United States with an 

immigrant visa. The adoptive parent may then finalize 

the adoption or readopt in a U.S. court if needed. 

However, a child from a Convention country who did 

not go through the Convention process may already be 

in the United States and become the subject of 

adoption proceedings in a U.S. court.
What happens if the Hague process was 

not followed?

When a U.S. citizen adopts a foreign-born child in the 

United States without properly considering U.S. 

immigration law and the Convention (when applicable), 

this may delay, prevent, or complicate the child’s ability 

to obtain lawful U.S. immigration status or to become a 

U.S. citizen. A U.S. citizen generally cannot bypass the 

requirements of the Convention by identifying a 

foreign-born child from a Convention country who is 

already in the United States and then completing an 

adoption in the United States. U.S. state courts 

generally must not enter an order finalizing an 

adoption in a case subject to the Convention unless 

DOS has certified compliance with the Convention 

procedures by issuing a Hague Adoption Certificate or 

Hague Custody Certificate. There are generally two 

options:

Option 1: Follow the Hague Process from the United 

States - The option to follow the Hague process may be 

available if the Convention country and DOS allow the 

Hague process to be completed from the United States.

Option 2: Establish the Convention Does Not Apply - 

In limited circumstances, USCIS may determine that 

the Convention does not apply to the adoption of a 

child from a Convention country and approve an 

immigration petition based on a U.S. adoption.

How to establish that the Convention 

does not apply (Option 2)?

For USCIS to determine that the Convention may not 

apply, the adoptive parent must provide:

• A U.S. adoption order (or amended order) that

incorporates a statement from the Central Authority

of the child’s country of origin (COO) stating the

child is not habitually resident in the COO; or

• Evidence that:

• They tried to obtain a habitual residence statement

from the COO’s Central Authority but could 

not obtain one within 120 days, or the COO 

has a policy of not issuing such statements, as 

confirmed by DOS; and 

• They meet USCIS criteria for specific intent of the

child’s entry to the United States, actual residence

in the United States, and notice to the COO’s

Central Authority.

See USCIS Policy Manual Volume 5, Part E, Chapter 3, 

Hague Restrictions on Family-Based Petitions for more

information.

What information is helpful to include in 

the U.S. court order?

COO Statement - Language confirming that the COO’s 

Central Authority advised the U.S. court with 

jurisdiction over the adoption that it is aware of the 

child’s presence in the United States and of the 

proposed adoption and has determined that the child 

is not habitually resident in the COO (if such 

statement is obtainable).

Child’s Circumstances - Findings of any of the following

that may apply:

• The child did not enter the United States for the

purpose of adoption;

• The child was a ward of a U.S. state court before the

adoption; or

• The child has resided in the United States for a

substantial period of time or has compelling ties in

the United States before the adoption.

Birth Parents’ Consent - The court’s determination 

regarding consent, whether the court dispensed with 

consent of one or both of the child’s birth parents, and 

on what basis.

Adoption Process and Factors - A description of the 

adoption process and the factors the court considered 

in granting the adoption.

Resources

• Hague Adoption Convention

hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/full-text/?cid=69

• Intercountry Adoption Act

govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-106publ279/pdf/PLAW06publ279.pdf

• Hague countries list

travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/Intercountry-Adoption/

doption-Process/understanding-the-hague-convention/

convention-countries.html

• Hague status table

hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=69

• Hague process page

uscis.gov/adoption/immigration-through-adoption/hague-process

• DHS regulations at 8 CFR Subpart C

ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-204/subpartC?toc=1

• USCIS Policy Manual Adoptions Volume 5

uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-5

• USCIS adoption webpage

uscis.gov/adoption

• U.S. Department of State intercountry adoption webpage

adoption.state.gov