INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION





June 2008


DISCLAIMER:  The following is intended as a general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country.  Three sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the eligibility of individual children for adoption, as well as the adoption of children in that country in general; 2) the laws of the adoptive parents’ state of residence establish qualifications they must meet in order to adopt; and 3) U.S. immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States.  In addition, the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, to which the United States became a party on April 1, 2008, establishes legal and regulatory requirements for intercountry adoption. 

The adoption of children from countries that are party to the Hague Convention must follow the procedures outlined by the Convention, and its U.S. implementing legislation, the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA).  More information on the IAA and the Convention can be found at on the Children and Family pages on intercounry adoption under Hague Adoption Convention .

The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding.  It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth and is provided for general information only.  Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time.  This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative.  Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.


THE HAGUE CONVENTION ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION:

Estonia is a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention) and with which the Convention is in force for the United States . 


TRANSITION CASES:  Under U.S. law, an adoption case involving a Convention country already in process on April 1, 2008 when the Convention entered into force with respect to the U.S. did not/not change into a Hague case on that date. These transition cases will continue to be processed in accordance with the immigration regulations for orphan adoptions which were in effect at the time the case was filed, explained in the State Department Flyer “ How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States” .

If the Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition (I-600A) or Petition to Classify an Orphan as an Immediate Relative (I-600) was filed before April 1, 2008, then the Convention and the IAA will not apply to that case.  The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) considers a case properly filed when USCIS receives an application or petition along with any required filing fee.  The filing date is stamped on the application or petition to show the time and date of actual receipt.   For further information on transition cases, please see the FAQs: Transition Cases and the Hague Adoption Convention.


PLEASE NOTE:    Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services. For U.S.-based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and licensing office of the Department of Health and Family Services in the state where the agency is located.


PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S. : Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to country’s orphans:

Fiscal Year

Number of Immigrant Visas Issued

FY 2007

22

FY 2006

4

FY 2005

13

FY 2004

13

FY 2003

13


According to the Estonian Family Law only those children whose parents are deceased or whose parents have had their parental rights taken away may be adopted. There are few such children and long waiting lists of Estonian families who by law take precedence. 


ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN  ESTONIA :

Ministry of Social Affairs
(Sotsiaal Ministeerium)
Gonsiori 29, 15027 Tallinn, Estonia
http://www.sm.ee/eng/pages/index.html


ELIGIBILITY TO ADOPT:  An adopting parent should be at least 25 years old (in exceptional cases the Court may give permission to adopt to a younger person). A child may be adopted by a couple only if they are legally married (two people of the same sex cannot adopt in Estonia ) and only with the written consent of his or her spouse.  An individual can adopt a child if he or she is not married.  According to the Family Law Act, adoption may be effected without consent of the other spouse if the conjugal relations of the spouses have terminated and they live apart.


RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS:  There are no residency requirements for prospective adoptive parents in Estonia .


TIME FRAME:  The entire adoption process for a child in Estonia who will depart to live in the United States takes approximately one year, including matching child and prospective parents, documentation, and court hearing.


ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS:  Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services.  For U.S.-based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and/or the licensing authority in the U.S. state where the agency is located or licensed.  Please also see Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators at the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site travel.state.gov .

Because Estonia is a Convention country, adoption services must be provided by an accredited agency, temporarily accredited agency, approved person, supervised provider, or exempted provider. These terms are defined in 22 CFR Part 96 and explained in the Department’s website Brochure for Prospective Adoptive Parent(s).  For purposes of this document, accredited agencies, temporarily accredited agencies, and approved persons are referred to with the shorthand term “accredited adoption service providers.”

It is essential that prospective adoptive parent(s) seeking to adopt from a Convention country use an accredited adoption service provider.  The Department maintains a current list of accredited adoption service providers .  The list of accredited adoption service providers is also provided on the website of the Hague Permanent Bureau at www.hcch.net.

Estonian Cooperation partner is:
Adoption Hope International, Inc.
284 Shoreward Drive
Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
 USA
http://www.adopts.com/estonia.html

Adoption Hope International is currently the only registered U.S. adoption agency working in Estonia .

ADOPTION FEES IN ESTONIA :  There is no adoption fee per se in Estonia . Court fees are approximately 10 U.S. dollars; new Estonian passports are approximately 25 dollars.

The U.S. Embassy in Estonia discourages the payment of any fees that are not properly receipted, “donations,” or “expediting” fees, that may be requested from prospective adoptive parents.  Such fees have the appearance of “buying” a baby and put all future adoptions in Estonia at risk.


ADOPTION PROCEDURES: Prospective adoptive parents interested in adopting a child in Estonia should send a letter to the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs (Sotsiaal Ministeerium) through the adoption agency listed below indicating the sex and age of the child(ren) they would be interested in adopting. This letter should include information on the adoptive parents' age and profession. Since foreign parents with Estonian background are given preference over foreigners with no Estonian heritage, prospective adoptive parents should explain their ties to Estonia .

The Ministry of Social Affairs cautions that prospective adoptive parents should not visit orphanages to locate a child since it is unlikely that the child they choose will be permitted to be adopted by foreigners. According to the new adoption law, international adoptions may be processed through an adoption agency in the parents’ home country which has signed an agreement with the Ministry.

Once prospective adoptive parents are approved for adopting in Estonia , the Ministry places them on a list and begins the process of locating a suitable child. This process can be lengthy (several years or more) as the number of children that can be adopted by foreigners is quite limited (only about 20 children a year). When the Ministry identifies a child it informs the prospective adoptive parents through the agency representing them in Estonia .

If the adoptive parents would like to proceed with the adoption of the proposed child, they must send the Ministry, through the agency representing them in Estonia , a notarized application stating their request to adopt the child, indicating the child's first and last names. If the parents are not interested in adopting the proposed child, they should notify the Ministry and it will continue searching for children. However, no more than three successive children will be offered to one prospective adoptive parent.  

Estonian adoption law requires court approval of international adoptions and the adoptive parents' presence at the court hearing when the adoption is finalized. The Domiciliary County Government’s Children Protection Officer represents the child’s rights and will release the child into the adoptive parents' custody. After the adoption has been approved, the adoptive parents get the right to change the child's name.

After the child has been adopted under Estonian law, the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn will complete the Overseas Orphan Investigation. The child will need to have a medical exam by the Embassy’s panel physician before the appointment for the immigrant visa at the Embassy in Tallinn .  Prospective adoptive parents should contact the Embassy in advance to schedule appointments for the Orphan Investigation and immigration processing.


DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN  ESTONIA :  Prospective adoptive parents must send a letter of interest to the Ministry of Social Affairs through their adoption agency. The Ministry will inform prospective adoptive parents through the adoption agency to send the following documents which should also be translated into Estonian by a certified translator:

  1. Home study, reflecting the material ability of the prospective adoptive parents to bring up a child, their suitability as adoptive parents and a recommendation for adoption;
  2. Medical examination results indicating the prospective adoptive parents’ state of health;
  3. Documents pertaining to the financial condition of the prospective adoptive parents;
  4. Marriage certificate (or photocopy);
  5. Photocopies of the prospective adoptive parents’ passports;
  6. Any other information the parents feel would be useful for the MSW to know, including family heritage, ties to Estonia, letters of reference, etc.; and
  7. Documents determining that there is no open criminal record of the prospective adoption parents.

The Ministry of Social Affairs prepares the entire package of adoption documents for approval first by the Minister of Social Affairs and then for the county or city court to make the adoption decision.


AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD:  For more information on authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad, please see the Judicial Assistance section of our website.

The adoption documents should be legalized according to the requirements of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization of Foreign Public Documents. The documents have to be translated into Estonian by a certified translator. An Estonian notary must certify the correctness of the translations.  It is possible to certify documents   at most Estonian Embassies


ESTONIAN EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE US :

Embassy of Estonia
 2131 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington DC 20008
Tel: (202)-588-0101
Fax: (202)-588-0108

Consulate General of Estonia :
600 Third Avenue , 26th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10016-2001, USA
phone. (+1 212) 883 06 36 
fax (+1 212) 883 06 48
e-mail: nyconsulate@nyc.estemb.org
http://www.nyc.estemb.org


U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS: As of April 1, 2008, U.S. citizens wishing to adopt in a Convention country must begin the process by filing with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) a form I-800A Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country.  Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS website  to download forms and filing instructions.


U.S. EMBASSY IN ESTONIA : Americans living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the country of travel.  Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.  By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.  The Consular Section is located at:

U.S. Embassy
Kentmanni 20
Tallinn, Estonia
Tel: 011-372- 668-8100
Fax: 011-372-668-8267
E-mail: ACSTallinn@state.gov


APPLYING FOR A VISA AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN ESTONIA :  Specific questions may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Tallinn, Estonia

Note: Visa issuance after the final interview now generally takes at least 24 hours and it will not normally be possible to provide the visa to adoptive parents on the day of the interview.  Adoptive parents should verify current processing times at the appropriate consulate or embassy before making final travel arrangements.


ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP:  Please see the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 for further information on acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

  • U.S. Department of State Office of Overseas Citizens Services - For information on intercountry adoption and international parental child abduction, and security information for U.S. citizens traveling abroad, call Toll Free 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST/EDT, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours by calling 1-202-501-4444 .
  • U.S. Department of State Visa Office - For information on immigrant visas for adopted orphans, call (202) 663-1225. Press 1 for additional information on visas, and press 0 to speak to a Visa Information Officer, available 8:30 a.m.  - 5:00 p.m. EST/EDT, Monday through Friday (except Wednesdays 11 a.m. - 12:00 noon)
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).
  • National Visa Center (NVC) Public Inquiries (603) 334-0700, Email: nvcinquiry@state.gov.
  • Country Specific Information - The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flyer. In addition, the State Department publishes Country Specific Information for every country in the world, providing information such as location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. If the situation in a country poses a specific threat to the safety and security of American citizens that is not addressed in the CSI for that country, the State Department may issue a Travel Alert alerting U.S. citizens to local security situations. If conditions in a country are sufficiently serious, the State Department may issue a Travel Warning recommending that U.S. citizens avoid traveling to that country. These documents are available on the Internet at travel.state.gov or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services Toll Free at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Callers who are unable to use toll-free numbers, such as those calling from overseas, may obtain information and assistance during these hours.
  • USCIS web site