What requirements must the adoptive parents meet?
The person seeking to adopt a foreign orphan must be a US citizen. If the person is married, the couple must file the petition jointly. However, in this case, only one of the prospective parents needs to be a US citizen. For a single person to file an orphan petition, he or she must be at least 25. Furthermore, if the single adoptive parent was under 25 at the time of a foreign adoption, the adoption will be considered invalid for immigration purposes and the child must be readopted in the US. If the child was not adopted abroad, or if the foreign adoption was invalid, the child must be adopted in the US. For this to occur, the following requirements must be met: The parent, or a person or organization acting on the parents behalf, must have legal custody of the child under the laws of the childs home country The parent must obtain an irrevocable release for adoption and immigration from the person or entity that last had legal custody of the child The parent must comply with all pread
