Visa Lawyer Blog
There is still a lot of confusions when it comes to Orphans from Haiti and the legal procedures concerning adoptions from that country. Under normal circumstances, a child immigrating to the United States from Haiti as the adopted orphan child of a U.S. citizen is adopted before leaving Haiti, and is then admitted to the United States with an immigrant visa for Lawful Permanent Residence (LPR) status. The adopted child then acquires citizenship upon entry as specified in section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
In light of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security authorized Haitian children, who were adopted or were in the process of being adopted by American families prior to the earthquake, to be paroled into the United States. “Category 1” parolees are Haitian orphans who were already legally adopted in Haiti. “Category 2” parolees are certain Haitian orphans whose cases had not yet resulted in final adoptions.
o determine what steps to take next, it is most important to understand where you were in the adoption process in Haiti, click here for a complete guide from USCIS