INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


SIERRA LEONE



December 2007


DISCLAIMER: The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in 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. Federal immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States.

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.


PLEASE NOTE: Under Sierra Leonean law, adoptive parents are currently required to be resident in Sierra Leone for six months and to attend the court hearing for the adoption. Although in the past the High Court of Sierra Leone would sometimes waive either the personal appearance of prospective adoptive parents at adoption proceedings or the six-month residency requirement, this was always at the Court’s discretion and should not be considered the norm. The High Court is currently reviewing its application of the Adoption Act and practices may change without notice.

The U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal issues immigrant visas for Sierra Leonean citizens, including adopted orphans. Due to a high rate of document and adoption fraud in Sierra Leone, the U.S. Embassy in Dakar carefully scrutinizes all immigrant visa cases and will almost always request that the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leone conduct a field investigation to confirm a child's orphan status. The U.S. Embassy in Dakar will return all approved I-600 immigrant visa petitions to the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) if, after an investigation, the relevant adoption court orders are determined to be fraudulent and/or the prospective adopted children are determined not to be orphans under section 101(b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Americans are advised to consult the Consular Information Sheet (CIS) for Sierra Leone at the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site at http://travel.state.gov for current information before traveling to Sierra Leone.


PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans from Sierra Leone.

Fiscal Year       Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2007                                  19
FY 2006                                  17
FY 2005                                  24
FY 2004                                  36
FY 2003                                  56


ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN SIERRA LEONE: The Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs is the government office responsible for overseeing adoptions and child welfare issues in Sierra Leone. The High Court is the only authority in Sierra Leone that can issue an order granting an adoption or legal custody of minor children.  The Ministry’s address is:

Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender & Children’s Affairs
New England, Freetown
Sierra Leone
Tel: (232) 22 241 256


ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Any adult may adopt children. There are no marriage requirements or specific age requirements. The place of birth and residence of the adoptive parent are not determining factors.


RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: Adoptive parents are currently required to be resident in Sierra Leone for six months and to attend the court hearing for the adoption. In the past, the High Court of Sierra Leone sometimes waived the six-month residency requirement required by the Sierra Leone Adoption Act of 1989.  This was always at the Court’s discretion, and should not be considered the norm.  The High Court does continue to mandate that adoptive parents personally attend the court hearing for the adoption.  The High Court is currently reviewing its application of the Adoption Act and practices may change without notice.


TIME FRAME: There are no fixed time lines or constraints on the Court’s processing of adoptions. In the past, U.S. prospective adoptive parents have taken between six months to two years to complete the adoption procedures.


ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: The U.S. Embassy in Freetown maintains a list of local attorneys which is available upon request. There are no registered adoption agencies in Sierra Leone. There are organizations registered as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or private voluntary organizations (PVOs) that provide assistance to children and facilitate international adoptions. While the Government of Sierra Leone does not have a list of registered NGOs or PVOs, your adoption agency should be able to provide you with copies of a local organization's registration certificates. The U.S. Embassy cannot recommend the services of any specific attorney or organization.

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 office of the appropriate state government agency in the U.S. state where the agency is located or licensed.

Please see Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators .


ADOPTION FEES IN SIERRA LEONE: Official government fees associated with adoptions in Sierra Leone are minimal and consist mainly of court filing costs. Such filing fees normally are less than U.S. $10. The cost of employing local counsel varies, but prospective adoptive parents can expect to pay several hundred dollars at a minimum for an attorney. Some adoption agencies charge prospective adoptive parents monthly maintenance fees that can be several hundred dollars per month. While monthly maintenance fees are legal in Sierra Leone, it appears that some local orphanages may have delayed adoption proceedings in order to continue payments of maintenance fees longer than necessary.


ADOPTION PROCEDURES: Most prospective adoptive parents work through an adoption agency in the U.S., which in turn maintains a relationship with an orphanage or organization in Sierra Leone, throughout the adoption process. Adoptive parents who do not want to go through a local organization are advised to hire an attorney to assist with the adoption process.

Step 1: To initiate an adoption, an attorney in Sierra Leone sends a letter with relevant documents attached to the Social Development Officer in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs in Freetown.

Step 2: After the Social Development Officer approves the prospective adoption the attorney files a petition for adoption with the High Court of the Sierra Leone. The petition usually contains the following information:

a) name, age, residence, and marital status of the petitioners;
b) name, date and place of birth of the child;
c) the date and manner in which the petitioners or orphanage acquired physical custody of the child;
d) facts (if any) that render consent of either birth parent unnecessary;
e) the petitioners' desire to adopt the child; and
f) the child's change of name, if any.
Step 3: Following the filing of the petition, the High Court normally serves notice on all interested parties. The High Court may require written consent by the biological parents. If the child was born in wedlock, the consent of both parents may be required. If the child was born out of wedlock, only the mother must consent. If the child is 16 years of age or older, only the child must consent to the adoption. (Note: U.S. immigration law requires an orphan be under the age of 16 at the time of the adoption, 16 or 17 if adopted with younger siblings in order to be eligible for an immigrant visa.) The High Court will not require the consent of the biological parents if those parents have legally abandoned the child, if a Sierra Leonean governmental or judicial authority has terminated their parental rights or appointed a different legal guardian for the children, or if the parents are deceased. Birth parents who have granted consent to the adoption may withdraw this consent at any point during the adoption proceedings, with the High Court’s permission.

Step 4: The High Court may order an investigation by an investigator appointed by the Court. The investigator should file a written report of the investigation with the High Court within 30 days of issuance of the investigation order.

Step 5: The High Court will schedule a hearing after Steps 3 and 4 are completed to the court's satisfaction. The High Court currently requires at least one prospect adopting parent and the adoptive children to attend the hearing. The High Court may waive the appearance of the child for good cause and will usually state this in the order of adoption. The High Court may require the biological parents to appear in court to confirm sworn statements or affidavits. All hearings are confidential and held in closed court. The High Court must be satisfied that the "moral and temporal interests" of the child will be served by the adoption. While the High Court usually makes a ruling after one hearing, in some cases it will request additional documentation and/or investigation and schedule another hearing. If the High Court approves the adoption, it will issue a court order that either grants a full and final adoption, or authorizes the leave to adopt. There are no fixed time-lines or constraints on the High Court’s processing of adoptions.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN SIERRA LEONE:

  • Petition for Adoption;
  • Written consent of living biological parents;
  • Affidavits concerning the prospective adoptive parents;
  • Marriage certificate if appropriate;
  • Evidence of finances such as bank statements and job letters;

The High Court may also require additional documentation on a case-by-case basis.


AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD: For more information on authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad, please visit our web site at http://travel.state.gov/law/info/judicial/judicial_702.html.


SIERRA LEONE EMBASSY AND CONSULATE IN THE UNITED STATES:
Embassy of Sierra Leone
1701 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20009
Telephone: (202) 939-9261
Fax: (202) 483-1793


U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS: Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult USCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. The USCIS publication is available at the USCIS Web site. The Department of State publication International Adoptions can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, http://travel.state.gov, under “international adoption.”

Filing the I-600 with the USCIS:

If the prospective parents file the I-600 petition with the USCIS, the latter will notify the U.S. Embassy in Dakar once the petition has been approved.  At that time, the Embassy will contact the prospective parents with information on how to proceed.  In the majority of Sierra Leone adoption cases, the Embassy in Dakar will have to initiate a field investigation (see below) upon receipt of the approved petition in order to confirm the adopted child’s status as an “orphan” before scheduling an appointment to process the child’s immigrant visa.

Filing the I-600 with the U.S. Embassy in Dakar:

Prospective adopting parents may elect to file the I-600 petition at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar.  However, before accepting an I-600, the Embassy must be in receipt of an approved I-600A.  Once the Embassy receives an I-600 A from the USCIS, a consular officer will contact the prospective parents with instructions on how to file an I-600 in Dakar. 

Parents who elect to file their I-600 petitions at the Embassy in Dakar should be aware that the Embassy is seldom able to approve an I-600 petition for a Sierra Leone orphan without first investigating the adopted child’s status as an “orphan” under U.S. law (see below).  Thus, only in rare cases would an adopting parent be able to file an I-600 petition at the Embassy in Dakar and receive the orphan’s immigrant visa during the same trip to Dakar; i.e., during the course of a few days or even a few weeks.  

The U.S. Embassy in Dakar can accept only complete and original I-600 petitions. At least one adopting parent must be physically present at the time the I-600 petition is filed. If only one parent is present, the other parent must have signed the completed I-600 petition. Parents must pay a fee to file an I-600 petition for each additional child if they are adopting more than one child and the additional child is not a biological sibling of the child named in the first petition. The U.S. Embassy in Dakar can approve an I-600 petition only after a consular officer has confirmed that the child is an orphan under section 101(b)(1)(F) of the INA. The U.S. Embassy in Dakar is required to send I-600 petitions that are not readily approvable to the USCIS office in Accra, Ghana, for adjudication.

Adopting parents can schedule an appointment with the U.S. Embassy in Dakar to file an I-600 petition by emailing consulardakar@state.gov.


CONFIRMING ORPHAN STATUS:  Before the U.S. Embassy in Dakar can either approve an I-600 petition or issue an immigrant to an adopted child, a consular officer must confirm that a child has either met the requirements of section 101(b)(1)(E) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) or is classifiable as an orphan under section 101(b)(1)(F) of the INA.  For more information on the definition of orphan as defined by INA section 101(b)(1)(F), visit the following website: http://foia.state.gov/masterdocs/09FAM/0942021N.PDF.


Important Note: Decisions by the governmental or judicial authorities of a foreign country regarding the custody or adoption of a foreign-born child do not convey U.S. immigration rights or benefits on that child. In practice, this means that a child who is not classifiable as an orphan under section 101(b)(1)(F) of the INA is not eligible for an IR3 or IR4 visa even if the High Court of Sierra Leone has issued a court order granting an adoption or leave to adopt a child.

Field investigations conducted by the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and reviewed by the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal, have revealed a high rate of adoption fraud in Sierra Leone adoption cases, including several instances in which birth parents believed their children were in foster care, or were not aware their children were being adopted and taken abroad. The Sierra Leone police have investigated several cases of child stealing. In such cases, the U.S. Embassy in Dakar has been unable to classify the children as orphans and has thus been unable to issue U.S. immigrant visas to the children.

Because of the high incidence of fraud in Sierra Leone adoption cases, the Embassy in Dakar is seldom able to confirm a child’s status as an orphan under U.S. law without requesting a field investigation.  Thus, while field investigations are not mandatory, they will likely be needed in a majority of Sierra Leone adoption cases.  If a field investigation is required in order to confirm orphan status, it will be conducted only after the U.S. Embassy in Dakar has either (a) received an approved I-600 petition from the USCIS, or (b) has accepted an I-600 petition filed by the adopting parent(s) at the Embassy. Field investigations usually take between 2 to 4 months, depending on the availability and location of witnesses required to confirm evidence of orphan status.  Upon receipt of the final results of the field investigation from the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, the U.S. Embassy in Dakar will notify the adopting parents and provide instructions on how to proceed.

Prior to completing an adoption in Sierra Leone, prospective adoptive parents should request that the U.S. adoption agency or Sierra Leonean orphanage that has identified the child as potentially adoptable provide clear evidence that the child is likely to meet the INA definition of “orphan.” Adoption agencies and orphanages should be able to provide the following items for each child being offered as available for adoption:

  • A copy of the child's official intake form completed at the time the child was brought to the orphanage. The intake form should indicate the circumstances under which the child was brought to the orphanage and any actions taken to confirm the facts.
  •  copy of the child's birth certificate.
  • A copy of a death certificate for any parent who has died.
  • If the child has a sole or surviving parent, a copy of the statement the biological parent made at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs irrevocably relinquishing parental rights.
  • If a parent has abandoned a child or disappeared, copies of the police report, the report by Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs detailing efforts to locate the parent and severing parental ties to the missing parent, and/or a court order making the child a ward of the state.
  • In Sierra Leone it appears that the only way a sole or surviving parent can irrevocably relinquish his or her parental rights to his or her child is at the Ministry of Social Welfare in the presence of either the Minister and/or the Chief Social Development Officer. Also, there does not appear to be any adoption agency or orphanage in Sierra Leone that is authorized under the child welfare laws of Sierra Leone to take the relinquishment or release of a child who has been abandoned by his or her birth parents.
     

APPLYING FOR AN IMMIGRANT VISA AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN DAKAR:  Once the U.S. Embassy in Dakar has confirmed the adopted child’s status as an orphan, a consular officer will contact the adopting parent(s) in order to schedule an appointment to process the child’s immigrant visa.  Adopting parents have the option of designating a third party to process the child’s immigrant visa application if it is inconvenient for them to travel to Dakar.
 
The adopted child must be physically present at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar at the time of the visa interview. Parents must present the following items:

  • The required immigrant visa fee in cash either in U.S. dollars or West African francs (CFA);
  • The original and one copy of the adoption order from the High Court of Sierra Leone;
  • The original and one copy of the adopted child’s birth certificate;
  • Originals and one copy of documents provided as evidence the child is an orphan;
  • Medical exam completed by a panel physician in Dakar. If the parents of adopted children under age 10 wish to waive the vaccination requirement, they must sign a separate affidavit, form DS-1981, “Exemption from Vaccination.”
  • Original form I-864 “Affidavit of Support” form and supporting documents (IR4 only);
  • Original Power of Attorney granted by the adopting parents to a representative if parents are not physically present;
  • Valid Sierra Leonean passport for the child;
  • Two 2 inch by 2 inch photographs of the child with a white background.

For more detailed instructions on filing an application for an immigrant visa (IR3 or IR4), please visit the U.S. Embassy Dakar website.

Once the consular officer approves the immigrant visa, the visa and the accompanying packet will be ready on the next working day. Adopting parents should plan to spend two to three days in Dakar to complete the required medical examination and process the immigrant visa.

Additional information on processing immigrant visas at the U.S. Embassy in Dakar is available at http://dakar.usembassy.gov/. Adopting parents are encouraged to email any questions they have regarding this process to consulardakar@state.gov .


U.S. EMBASSY IN SIERRA LEONE: As soon as prospective adopting parents arrive in Sierra Leone, they should contact the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in order to register their presence in Sierra Leone. The U.S. Embassy is located at:

Leicester
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Telephone 232 22 515 000 or 232 76 515 000
E-mail: consularfreetown@state.gov

Mailing Address:
U.S. Embassy
Consular Section
2160 Freetown Place
Washington, DC 20521-2160

International Mailing Address:
Consular Section
American Embassy
P O Box 50
Freetown, Sierra Leone

or

Consular Section
U.S. Embassy
Leicester
Freetown, Sierra Leone

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 before making final travel arrangements.


ACQUISITION OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP:  Information about the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 and acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children is available at http://travel.state.gov/family/childcitfaq.html.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific questions about adoption in Sierra Leone may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leone by emailing consularfreetown@state.gov or the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal by emailing consulardakar@state.gov. General questions regarding international adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children’s Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.

Useful information is also available from several other sources:

Telephone

  • Toll Free - For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, call Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard 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 by calling 1-202-501-4444.
  • U.S. Department of State Visa Office - recorded information concerning immigrant visas for adopting children, (202) 663-1225.
  • DHS Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).

Internet

  • Adoption Information Flyers - the Consular Affairs web site, at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains intercountry adoption information flyers like this one and the International Adoptions brochure.
  • Consular Information Sheets- The State Department has general information about hiring a foreign attorney and authenticating documents that may supplement the country-specific information provided in this flier. In addition, the State Department publishes Consular Information Sheets (CISs) 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 CIS for that country, the State Department may issue a Public Announcement 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: http://travel.state.gov/ or by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizen Services Toll Free Hotline 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 by calling 1-202-501-4444.