What is the orphan definition and why does it need to be updated?
The immigration and nationality act defines an orphan as a child under the age of 16 at the time the petition is filed and who is an orphan because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from, both parents, or for whom the sole surviving parent is incapable of providing the proper care and has in writing irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption. This language was inserted into the INA in 1965 and very much describes the circumstances which left children orphaned, particularly in war-torn countries. The circumstances in which children are orphaned in the year 2004 have changed. As a result, children who by a common language definition are orphans and have spent a considerable part of their life, if not all, in an orphanage, are left outside the outdated INA definition. Whats worse, the current practice does not require that a childs eligibility for adoption under the orphan definition be determined prior to the completion o
