Re-Adoption Domestication

Once you return home with your child, I will assist in obtaining a state issued birth certificate through the re-adoption or other administrative process. As of April 1, 2008, if your child is adopted from a Hague Country, you should be able to obtain a United States Hague Adoption Certificate without any further legal process in your home state. 

Re-adoption or domestication of a foreign guardianship or adoption involves a “re-adoption” process in the adoptive parents' home state when a family has a final adoption or guardianship from another country.  Depending on the type of visa with which the child enters the United States, this may or may not be necessary in order to complete the immigration process. The reasons to go through the re-adoption process include: changing the child's name if necessary, having state-specific documents (final adoption decree) that can be used if needed instead of a Foreign Decree (often only one provided), and to obtain a Certificate of Birth from your state for foreign born children. Many states have an administrative process to obtain the Certificate of Foreign Birth if a name change and additional documents are not needed.  It is important to note that a Certificate of Birth does NOT establish citizenship and the document itself will state that it is not proof of citizenship.