International Re-Adoption

“Re-Adoption” is a term used to describe the practice of adopting a foreign child in the United States after the child has already been adopted in the foreign country of its origin. Pursuant to Federal law it is not necessary to re-adopt a child, however, it may be in the best interest of all parties involved to go ahead with the process of re-adoption as a precautionary measure. While some states automatically recognize a foreign adoption decree, there are some that do not. There are eighteen states, the District of Columbia and four of the five U.S. territories that do not have statutory provisions regarding international adoptions. You may live in a state where international adoptions are automatically recognized at the time the adoption is finalized, however, if you were to move to another state that state may not recognize the adoption decree and you may run into issues. Also, by re-adopting in the United States, the child will receive a U.S. Birth Certificate translated in English which will list the adoptive parents as the birth parents of the child. Without the re-adoption process you will only have the birth certificate from the country the child was born in along with the translation. If that birth certificate is lost it may be impossible to receive a new one from that country. Another benefit of re-adoption is having the option to legally change the adoptive child’s name to the name of your choice. Regardless of whether or not re-adoption is required in your state, following through with this one last step will help give you peace of mind in knowing there won’t be any future obstacles for you or your new addition.