H. R. 2909—14
(B) has verified that the requirements of the Conven-
tion and this Act have been met with respect to the adop-
tion.
(2) LEGAL EFFECT OF CERTIFICATES.—If appended to an
original adoption decree, the certificate described in paragraph
(1) shall be treated by Federal and State agencies, courts,
and other public and private persons and entities as conclusive
evidence of the facts certified therein and shall constitute the
certification required by section 204(d)(2) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act, as amended by this Act.
(b) LEGAL EFFECT
OF CONVENTION ADOPTION FINALIZED
IN
ANOTHER CONVENTION COUNTRY.—A final adoption in another
Convention country, certified by the Secretary of State pursuant
to subsection (a) of this section or section 303(c), shall be recognized
as a final valid adoption for purposes of all Federal, State, and
local laws of the United States.
(c) CONDITION ON FINALIZATION OF CONVENTION ADOPTION BY
STATE COURT.—In the case of a child who has entered the United
States from another Convention country for the purpose of adoption,
an order declaring the adoption final shall not be entered unless
the Secretary of State has issued the certificate provided for in
subsection (a) with respect to the adoption.
SEC. 
302. 
IMMIGRATION 
AND 
NATIONALITY 
ACT 
AMENDMENTS
RELATING TO CHILDREN ADOPTED FROM CONVENTION
COUNTRIES.
(a) DEFINITION OF CHILD.—Section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph (E);
(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (F)
and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding after subparagraph (F) the following new
subparagraph:
‘‘(G) a child, under the age of sixteen at the time a petition
is filed on the child’s behalf to accord a classification as an
immediate relative under section 201(b), who has been adopted
in a foreign state that is a party to the Convention on Protection
of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adop-
tion done at The Hague on May 29, 1993, or who is emigrating
from such a foreign state to be adopted in the United States,
by a United States citizen and spouse jointly, or by an
unmarried United States citizen at least 25 years of age—
‘‘(i) if—
‘‘(I) the Attorney General is satisfied that proper
care will be furnished the child if admitted to the
United States;
‘‘(II) the child’s natural parents (or parent, in the
case of a child who has one sole or surviving parent
because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment
or desertion by, the other parent), or other persons
or institutions that retain legal custody of the child,
have freely given their written irrevocable consent to
the termination of their legal relationship with the
child, and to the child’s emigration and adoption;
‘‘(III) in the case of a child having two living nat-
ural parents, the natural parents are incapable of pro-
viding proper care for the child;
H. R. 2909—15
‘‘(IV) the Attorney General is satisfied that the
purpose of the adoption is to form a bona fide parent-
child relationship, and the parent-child relationship
of the child and the natural parents has been termi-
nated (and in carrying out both obligations under this
subclause the Attorney General may consider whether
there is a petition pending to confer immigrant status
on one or both of such natural parents); and
‘‘(V) in the case of a child who has not been
adopted—
‘‘(aa) the competent authority of the foreign
state has approved the child’s emigration to the
United States for the purpose of adoption by the
prospective adoptive parent or parents; and
‘‘(bb) the prospective adoptive parent or par-
ents has or have complied with any pre-adoption
requirements of the child’s proposed residence; and
‘‘(ii) except that no natural parent or prior adoptive
parent of any such child shall thereafter, by virtue of
such parentage, be accorded any right, privilege, or status
under this Act.’’.
(b) APPROVAL OF PETITIONS.—Section 204(d) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(d)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)(1)’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘section 101(b)(1)(F)’’ and inserting
‘‘subparagraph (F) or (G) of section 101(b)(1)’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b),
no petition may be approved on behalf of a child defined in section
101(b)(1)(G) unless the Secretary of State has certified that the
central authority of the child’s country of origin has notified the
United States central authority under the convention referred to
in such section 101(b)(1)(G) that a United States citizen habitually
resident in the United States has effected final adoption of the
child, or has been granted custody of the child for the purpose
of emigration and adoption, in accordance with such convention
and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000.’’.
(c) DEFINITION OF PARENT.—Section 101(b)(2) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(2)) is amended by
inserting ‘‘and paragraph (1)(G)(i)’’ after ‘‘second proviso therein)’’.
SEC. 303. ADOPTIONS OF CHILDREN EMIGRATING FROM THE UNITED
STATES.
(a) DUTIES OF ACCREDITED AGENCY OR APPROVED PERSON.—
In the case of a Convention adoption involving the emigration
of a child residing in the United States to a foreign country, the
accredited agency or approved person providing adoption services,
or the prospective adoptive parent or parents acting on their own
behalf (if permitted by the laws of such other Convention country
in which they reside and the laws of the State in which the child
resides), shall do the following:
(1) Ensure that, in accordance with the Convention—
(A) a background study on the child is completed;
(B) the accredited agency or approved person—
(i) has made reasonable efforts to actively recruit
and make a diligent search for prospective adoptive
parents to adopt the child in the United States; and
H. R. 2909—16
(ii) despite such efforts, has not been able to place
the child for adoption in the United States in a timely
manner; and
(C) a determination is made that placement with the
prospective adoptive parent or parents is in the best
interests of the child.
(2) Furnish to the State court with jurisdiction over the
case—
(A) documentation of the matters described in para-
graph (1);
(B) a background report (home study) on the prospec-
tive adoptive parent or parents (including a criminal back-
ground check) prepared in accordance with the laws of
the receiving country; and
(C) a declaration by the central authority (or other
competent authority) of such other Convention country—
(i) that the child will be permitted to enter and
reside permanently, or on the same basis as the
adopting parent, in the receiving country; and
(ii) that the central authority (or other competent
authority) of such other Convention country consents
to the adoption, if such consent is necessary under
the laws of such country for the adoption to become
final.
(3) Furnish to the United States central authority—
(A) official copies of State court orders certifying the
final adoption or grant of custody for the purpose of adop-
tion;
(B) the information and documents described in para-
graph (2), to the extent required by the United States
central authority; and
(C) any other information concerning the case required
by the United States central authority to perform the func-
tions specified in subsection (c) or otherwise to carry out
the duties of the United States central authority under
the Convention.
(b) CONDITIONS ON STATE COURT ORDERS.—An order declaring
an adoption to be final or granting custody for the purpose of
adoption in a case described in subsection (a) shall not be entered
unless the court—
(1) has received and verified to the extent the court may
find necessary—
(A) the material described in subsection (a)(2); and
(B) satisfactory evidence that the requirements of Arti-
cles 4 and 15 through 21 of the Convention have been
met; and
(2) has determined that the adoptive placement is in the
best interests of the child.
(c) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE.—In a case described
in subsection (a), the Secretary, on receipt and verification as nec-
essary of the material and information described in subsection
(a)(3), shall issue, as applicable, an official certification that the
child has been adopted or a declaration that custody for purposes
of adoption has been granted, in accordance with the Convention
and this Act.
(d) FILING WITH REGISTRY REGARDING NONCONVENTION ADOP-
TIONS.—Accredited agencies, approved persons, and other persons,
H. R. 2909—17
including governmental authorities, providing adoption services in
an intercountry adoption not subject to the Convention that involves
the emigration of a child from the United States shall file informa-
tion required by regulations jointly issued by the Attorney General
and the Secretary of State for purposes of implementing section
102(e).
TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATION AND
ENFORCEMENT
SEC. 401. ACCESS TO CONVENTION RECORDS.
(a) PRESERVATION OF CONVENTION RECORDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation
with the Attorney General, shall issue regulations that estab-
lish procedures and requirements in accordance with the
Convention and this section for the preservation of Convention
records.
(2) APPLICABILITY OF NOTICE AND COMMENT RULES.—Sub-
sections (b), (c), and (d) of section 553 of title 5, United States
Code, shall apply in the development and issuance of regula-
tions under this section.
(b) ACCESS TO CONVENTION RECORDS.—
(1) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in paragraph (2),
the Secretary or the Attorney General may disclose a Conven-
tion record, and access to such a record may be provided in
whole or in part, only if such record is maintained under
the authority of the Immigration and Nationality Act and disclo-
sure of, or access to, such record is permitted or required
by applicable Federal law.
(2) EXCEPTION FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THE CONVENTION.—
A Convention record may be disclosed, and access to such
a record may be provided, in whole or in part, among the
Secretary, the Attorney General, central authorities, accredited
agencies, and approved persons, only to the extent necessary
to administer the Convention or this Act.
(3) PENALTIES
FOR
UNLAWFUL
DISCLOSURE.—Unlawful
disclosure of all or part of a Convention record shall be punish-
able in accordance with applicable Federal law.
(c) ACCESS
TO
NON-CONVENTION
RECORDS.—Disclosure of,
access to, and penalties for unlawful disclosure of, adoption records
that are not Convention records, including records of adoption pro-
ceedings conducted in the United States, shall be governed by
applicable State law.
SEC. 402. DOCUMENTS OF OTHER CONVENTION COUNTRIES.
Documents originating in any other Convention country and
related to a Convention adoption case shall require no authentica-
tion in order to be admissible in any Federal, State, or local court
in the United States, unless a specific and supported claim is
made that the documents are false, have been altered, or are
otherwise unreliable.
SEC. 403. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; COLLECTION OF
FEES.
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—