Summaries of Laws Regarding Adoptions Finalized Abroad
Summaries of Laws Regarding Adoptions Finalized Abroad
Twenty-five states and one territory (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) grant the same recognition and effect to final decrees of adoption when issued pursuant to due process in a foreign country as to decrees of adoption issued in that state or territory.
States Granting Full Effect and Recognition to Foreign Adoption Decrees
| Alaska Arkansas Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii | Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Massachusetts Minnesota | Missouri Montana New Hampshire New Mexico North Dakota Ohio | Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Vermont Wisconsin |
One state (Iowa) currently requires that all foreign adoptions be re-finalized by Iowa residents and does not accord legal recognition to adoptions finalized abroad.
States Allowing Re-Adoption
Re-adoption is allowed by statute in eighteen states upon submission of a petition accompanied by proof of adoption in a foreign court; three states (California, Connecticut and Tennessee) specify in their code that re-adoption is allowed if required by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. Further, Commonwealth of Virginia allows re-adoption after a child has resided with the petitioners for a period of time.
States Allowing Re-Adoption
| California Colorado Connecticut Georgia Hawaii | Idaho Kansas Maine Maryland Minnesota | New Hampshire North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania | Tennessee Virginia Wisconsin |
No Statutory Provisions
Seventeen states and five of the six US Territories have no statutory provisions regarding international adoptions although two jurisdictions (Michigan and the District of Columbia) which have no provisions regarding international adoptions, do provide in their judicial rules procedural guidelines for the acceptance of foreign adoption decrees.
District of Columbia
A foreign official record of an adoption is admissible evidence of an adoption in the DC courts. District Of Columbia Court Rules Annotated , Rules Governing Adoption Proceedings, D.C. SCR-Adoption Rule 44 (1998)
Michigan
Judicial procedures for recognition accorded to court order or decree issued in another country. Michigan Statutes Annotated, Title 27, Part 1, Chapter 266, Chapter X, Section 27.3178 (1998)
States with No Statutory Provisions
| Alabama Arizona Kentucky Louisiana Michigan | Mississippi Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New York | Rhode Island South Dakota Texas Utah Washington | West Virginia Wyoming |
Territories with No Statutory Provisions
| American Samoa | District of Columbia | Guam | Puerto Rico | U.S. Virgin Islands |
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