DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IN THIS CIRCULAR RELATING TO THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN COUNTRIES IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY. QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO FOREIGN COUNSEL.
General
There are two ways to adopt children in the Marshall Islands court system: 1) by legal adoption and 2) by confirmation of customary adoption. Both forms are legally binding. The difference between legal adoption and customary adoption is that customary adoption is available only to citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). While in traditional Marshallese culture, children are often "given" or "taken" by one family member to or from another to raise or care for as their own. There is little legislation governing adoptions in the Marshall Islands. Marshall Islands rules and regulations do govern the legal adoption process. Legal adoptions are final adoptions. To legally adopt, one needs to file a petition for adoption with the Marshall Islands court through local counsel. Lists of attorneys in the RMI are available from the American Embassy in Majuro and from the Office of Citizens Consular Services of the Department of State.
RMI Adoption Authority
Only the high court and the district court have jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate adoption cases.
Natural Parent(s)
Legal adoptions completely and irrevocably cut off all parental rights, duties, and responsibilities from the natural parents.
Adopting Parent(s)
Adoptive parents must be over the age of 18. Adoptive parent(s) may be single, male or female, and "must be physically, mentally, morally and economically able to support and maintain a child and to give the child a basically good home and education according to community standards, and the love and affection the child needs."
Legal Guardianship v. Legal Adoption
The concept of legal guardianship exists in the Marshall Islands, but it is generally used instead of the confirmation of customary adoption by family members who take a child who has lost one or both parents through death. Legal guardianship is used primarily to ensure the child's right of inheritance from the parents, which the child would lose if he or she were adopted.
RMI Residence Requirements
The adoptive parent(s) must be physically present throughout the course of the adoption process. There is no such thing as proxy adoptions. Both the child and the petitioning adoptive parent(s) must be present in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in order to complete the adoption.
Time Frame
It is difficult to say how long the entire adoption process takes in the Marshall Islands. As soon as all the required documents are ready for processing, the adoptin hearing is set depending on the court's case load. Once the hearing is completed and a decree is signed, the adoption process is final.
Adoption Agencies
The RMI does not have licensed adoption agencies (local or foreign.
If adoptive parent(s) are considering adopting the child in the United States, they should be aware that In the past, social workers and/or a small number of private attorneys (local or expatriates living in the RMI) have performed home studies and other services for Americans adopting in the RMI.
Fees
The RMI court filing fee for adoption is $5.00. Local attorneys generally charge up to $1000 for handling an entire adoption. No other fees are required by the RMI Government other than the $20.00 fee for the child's RMI passport.
Adoption Decree
A court-issued decree of adoption or order is issued as evidence of a full and final adoption. Documents issued to the child adopted in the RMI or to be adopted in the U.S. reflect the child's true and adopted identity
Birth Certificate
Birth certificates are issued in the child's birth name, listing the birth parents, and reissued in the adopted name, listing the adoptive parent(s) simply as "parents." Theoriginals of all court documents are kept by the court, and certified court copies of these documents are given to the child or the adoptive parents.
U.S. Embassy Assistance
Americans adopting in the RMI experiencing specific problems may wish to contact the American Embassy, Consular Section, tel: (011) (692) 625-4011; fax: (011) (692) 625-4012.
Entering the United States
Under the terms of the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, all Marshallese citizens have the right to live and work in the United States without the need for any U.S. visa, provided they travel on valid Marshall Islands travel documents (passports).
However, American citizen adoptive parent(s) who bring a Marshallese citizen child into the United States (either having already adopted the child under RMI law or with the intention of adopting the child in the United States after having been granted legal guardianship of the child by an RMI court) may encounter problems having the child naturalized as a U.S. citizen.
Adoptive parents cannot simply file INS form N-643 for expeditious naturalization of an RMI child under Section 341(b)(1) and (b)(2) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended. Such expeditious naturalization cannot be accomplished unless the child is residing in the United States in the custody of the adopting parents pursuant to lawful admission for permanent residence. An RMI national who enters the United States pursuant to the Compact of Free Association, without a U.S. immigrant visa, is not a lawful permanent resident. Under such circumstances, INS advises that adoptive parents would have to have the child in their physical and legal custody for a period of two years before they could apply for adjustment of status at the INS office with jurisdiction over their place of residence in the United States, afterwhich they could initiate the N-643 expeditious naturalization process.
If adoptive parents contemplate pursuing this course of action, they should consult the INS office nearest their place of residence very early in the process, even before they have adopted the child. In view of the complexity of this issue as it relates to the Compact and the INA, this would be the best course of action in order to obtain a clear picture of the steps the adoptive parent(s) would have to follow. The adoptive parent(s) should be careful to preserve all appropriate documents pertaining to the child, including certified copies of the adoption order issued by the RMI court, appropriately authenticated by the American Embassy in Majuro, RMI; authenticated copies of the child's birth certificate and proof of the termination of parental rights of the natural parents (RMI court order).
U.S. Immigrant Visa Procedures
The American Embassy in Majuro, RMI is not an immigrant visa issuing post. All immigrant visa matter are referred to the American Embassy in Manila, the Philippines. Potential adoptive parents interested in obtaining an immigrant visa for a child from the RMI should contact their local INS office early in the process. If the adopting parent(s) is/are resident in the U.S. and has/have not identified a specific child for adoption, an I-600A petition should be filed with INS. Upon approval of the I-600A, INS will notify the Embassy in Manila that the adopting parent(s) meet the requirements for adoption. Holders of an approved I-600A petition may personally file an I-600 petition at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Majuro, RMI after completion of the local adoption. The case will then be referred to the American Embassy in Manila for completion. It will be necessary for the adoptive parent(s) and child to travel to the Philippines for the interview and visa issuance. This adds approximately six months to the time frame and additional cost for travel.
Question: Under these circumstances, would it be better to file an I-600 or an I-600A? Should the adoptive parents pick up the child when the adoption has been approved by the RMI court and then wait for an appointment in Manila for an immigrant visa? Where should they wait? In the Marshall Islands, the Philippines or in the United States?
If the adopting parent(s) is/are in the U.S. are a specific child has been identified for adoption or begun his/her adoption, the adopting parent(s) should file the I-600 with INS. INS will wire the approval of the I-600 petition to the American Embassy in Manila where the visa will be issued.
If the adopting parent(s) is/are in the Marshall Islands and has/have not yet filed an I-600A or I-600, the Consular Section can assist by forwarding the necessary documents to the American Embassy in Manila (and INS Manila) for approval and can provide a list of documents necessary to file the petition.
Addition Information: Prospective adopting parents should consult INS publication No. M-249, "The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children" and Department of State information flyer "International Adoptions".
QUESTIONS:
Specific questions regarding adoptions in the Marshall Islands may be addressed to the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. You may also contact the Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State, Room 4800 N.S., 2201 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, telephone (202) 647-2688 with specific adoption questions. Recorded information concerning significant changes in adoption procedures is available 24 hours a day at: (202) 736-7000, or by automated fax (calling from the telephone on your fax machine) at (202) 647-3000. If the country you are interested in is not listed, procedures have not significantly changed. Information on immigrant visas is available from the State Department's Visa Office, at (202) 663-1225. This 24 hour automated system includes options to speak with consular officers during business hours for questions not answered in the recorded material. Application forms and petitions for immigrant visas are available from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the nearest office of which is listed in the federal pages of your telephone book, under U.S. Department of Justice.
In addition, the State Department publishes Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings. Consular Information Sheets are available for every country in the world, providing information such as the location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. When situations are sufficiently serious that the State Department recommends U.S. citizens avoid traveling to a country, a Travel Warning is issued. Both Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings may be heard 24 hours a day by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225 from a touch-tone telephone. The recording is updated as new information becomes available. In addition, this information is accessible through the automated fax machine, as above, and is also available at any of the 13 regional passport agencies, field offices of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad.
Furthermore, you may write in requesting information, sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Overseas Citizens Services, Room 4811 N.S., 2201 C St., N.W., U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818. Finally, information is available through your personal computer. If you have a computer and a modem, you can access the Consular Affairs Bulletin Board (CABB). This service is free of charge, and may be reached at: (202) 647-9225. Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings may also be accessed by subscribers to many on-line services. For complete information on accessing consular information via computer, please request document 1016, entitled "Consular Information Program," from the automated fax system, which is described in the preceding paragraph.