FAQ - Overseas Residents (Expat Adoptions)

1. How do I begin to adopt if I already live overseas?

Prospective adoptive families must use an agency that is both U.S. Hague accredited and a CCAA-licensed agency for all steps in the intercountry adoption process in both transition cases and Convention cases.  Your adoption agency can walk you through the steps to adopt, which are the same for U.S citizens living inside or outside of the United States. 

2. What type of U.S. visa should I pursue for my adopted child?

If adopting parents currently live outside of the United States, their child may not automatically acquire U.S. citizenship upon arrival in the U.S. For more information on the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, please see the Department of State’s website for intercountry adoption.

Children adopted by U.S. citizens who currently reside overseas and who intend to continue residing overseas may apply for a nonimmigrant visa upon receipt of an approved U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) appointment for expeditious naturalization.  Information on filing an N-600K to obtain this approval is available at USCIS’s website. U.S. citizens currently residing overseas, and who intend to take up residence in the U.S. upon their adopted child’s entry to the U.S, should apply for an immigrant visa.   Please note than an immigrant visa application does require a U.S.-based address.

3.  Is Honolulu, Hawaii the only place we can go to complete the expeditious naturalization and passport process?

The Honolulu District office offers a fast expeditious naturalization process for adoptive parents residing overseas, but is not the only location which can process these cases.  Please consult USCIS’s website for current information.

4. Can my child travel back and forth into the United States with an immigrant visa?

No.  Your child can only enter the U.S. one time with an IR-3, IR-4 or IH-3 visa.  We highly recommend that before you leave the U.S. you obtain your child’s U.S. passport.

5. We are living overseas on official U.S. Government orders. Do we need to complete the expeditious naturalization process?

No, if you are living overseas on assignment with the U.S. Government you are considered a legal resident of the United States and your adopted child traveling on an IR-3 or IH-3 visa will automatically acquire U.S. citizenship upon admission at the port of entry.

For additional questions on overseas resident adoptions please email our office at GuangzhouA@state.gov.