The United States has not ratified this convention. The federal agency responsible for processing visa applications for citizens of overseas nations. Intercountry adoption activities center on the final area, and visas involving immediate relatives involve two distinct circumstances. Parents can petition for visas when they reside overseas with adopted children for two years or more. Visas are also issued when children are classified as orphans.
Federal guideline offer strict requirements concerning eligibility for orphan status.
Under immigration law, an orphan is an alien child who has no parents because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from both parents. An orphan is also a child who has only one parent who is capable of taking care of the orphan and has, in writing, irrevocably released the orphan for immigration and adoption. Special Needs Adoptions. In intercountry adoptions, the phrase special needs is limited almost entirely to physical disabilities. Reprinted by permission from The 1997 FACE Adoption Resource Manual, copyright 1997.