On December 7, the President signed Public Law 106-139, allowing children aged 16 or 17 to qualify as an immediate relative for the purpose of adoption if the US adoptive parents have adopted the child's sibling, who is under the age of 16. For specific information about INS requirements, see the U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, brochure M-249Y, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children. M-249 booklets and the telephone numbers of local INS offices in the United States. It is important to note that a foreign country's determination that the child is an orphan does not guarantee that the child will be considered an orphan under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, since the foreign country may use different standards. It may be possible for the child to be adopted by residents of a country other than the United States which does not have the narrow orphan definition found in US immigration law - possibly in Canada or Europe.
Several countries allow the adoption of children with two living parents.