INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


BANGLADESH



November 2006

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; and 2) 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:  Bangladeshi law does not allow for full adoptions of Bangladeshi children.  Americans considering adoption of Bangladeshi children must obtain guardianship from a Bangladeshi court and subsequently adopt the child in the United States.  Prospective American guardians may also want to our Shari'a Adoption Flyer on Guardianship in Muslim Countries .

In addition, only citizens of Bangladesh may be appointed/declared guardians of a Bangladeshi child.  Since Bangladesh allows for dual citizenship, however, American citizens who are also Bangladeshi citizens may be appointed guardians of Bangladeshi children..


PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF BANGLADESHI ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Bangladeshi orphans:

Fiscal Year       Number of Immigrant Visas Issued

FY 2006                                       17
FY 2005                                       10
FY 2004                                         9
FY 2003                                         7
FY 2002                                         6


GUARDIANSHIP AUTHORITY:  The relevant Family Court is the sole authority to award guardianship and issue guardianship certificate.  The Ministry of Home Affair issues No Objection Certificate to issue a Bangladesh passport and Immigration and Passport office issues a passport.

There is no public contact information for Family Court. Family Court is located in all district of Bangladesh and if it is required by an applicant to contact, he/she may contact the concerned Desk Officer or dealing section of the Family Court in person.


ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PROSPECTIVE GUARDIANS: Prospective guardians must be at least 18 years old being of sound mind and capable of maintaining through provision of food, shelter and education and provide proof of Bangladeshi citizenship. The Court has the duty to look at the character and capacity of the proposed guardian in considering the welfare of the minor. The proposed ward must be a minor (below the age of 18 years).


RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: There are no residency requirements.  However, as noted above, prospective guardians must be citizens of Bangladesh.


TIME FRAME: There are no set time frame and fee for legal guardianship in Bangladesh.  The following, however, are rough estimates of the processing times for specific stages of the process:

Processing time at orphanage:   3 days to 1 month
Processing time at Family Court:   1 - 3 months.
Processing time at Ministry of Home Affairs: 15 days to 2 months


ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS:  There are no adoption agencies in Bangladesh.  There are at least 25,000 lawyers in Bangladesh who may initiate guardianship proceedings. 

Prospective guardians who choose to work with U.S. adoption service providers in the context of obtaining guardianship of Bangladeshi chidlren are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use.  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 at our Web site travel.state.gov.


GUARDIANSHIP FEES IN BANGLADESH: There is a Government court fee of Tk.60.  Lawyer's fee: No set fee but ranging from Tk.5000 to Tk.50,000 = roughly $85 to $850.  There is no official fee at the orphanage. But many request/accept donations.  There is no fee at Ministry of Home Affairs


GUARDIANSHIP PROCEDURES:  

Requirements for Obtaining Legal Guardianship:

  1. Biological parent must sign an irrevocable release of the child before a Notary Public, 1st Class Magistrate or the relevant Family Court in Bangladesh.
  2. An application for legal guardianship must be made to the Family Court. In Bangladesh, the Family Court has sole jurisdiction over family matters.
  3. A 'No Objection Certificate' must be obtained from the Home Ministry for issuance of International Passport in the name of the minor.
  4. The 'No Objection and 'Legal Guardianship' certificates should be presented to the Bangladesh Passport Office for the child's passport. Prospective guardians' names should be listed as the legal guardians in the child's passport.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR GUARDIANSHIP IN BANGLADESH:

  1. Birth Certificate of the minor.
  2. Guardianship Certificate.
  3. Irrevocable release/undertaking of the biological parents (if any) of the child before a Notary Public, 1st Class Magistrate or before the relevant Family Court in Bangladesh.
  4. No Objection certificate from the Ministry of Home Affairs.


AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD:  The language describing the process of authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad is currently under review. Please click on the following link for more information until the new language is finalized: http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/.

The Bangladeshi procedure for authenticating documents to be used in Bangladesh is as follows:

  1. Any foreign document should be attested by the Bangladeshi Mission abroad and then re-attested by the Foreign Ministry in Bangladesh. If the document is of a legal nature, then it should revalidated by the relevant treasury in Bangladesh.
  2. Any Bangladeshi (local) document can be treated as authenticated if it is attested by any First Class Government officer, any Magistrate or any Notary Public in Bangladesh.



BANGLADESHI EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES:

Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Washington D.C.
3510, International Drive NW
Washington, DC 20008, USA
Telephone: (202) 244-0183, (202) 244-7830
Fax :(202) 244 - 5366
Website: http://www.bangladoot.org

Consulate General of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, New York
211 E. 43rd Street, Suite 502
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (212) 599-6767, (212) 599-6850
Fax: (212) 682-9211
E-mail: bdcgny@aol.com

Consulate General of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Los Angeles
10850 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 1250, Los Angeles CA 90024
Telephone: (310) 441-9399
Fax: (310) 441-4458
E-mail: bcgla@earthlink.net


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 Adoption can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, travel.state.gov, under “International Adoption.”

Before completing an adoption abroad, prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the requirements for filing Form I-600 Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.  Please see the flyer “How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States” at the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site travel.state.gov.


U.S. CONSULATE IN COUNTRY: 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, https://travelregistration.state.gov/, 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, Dhaka
Madani Avenue, Baridhara,
Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Tel: (880) (2) 885-5500
Fax: (880) (2) 8823744
Internet: http://dhaka.usembassy.gov/


APPLYING FOR A VISA AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN DHAKA:  The Embassy in Dhaka is informed by cable after an I-600A petition has been approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service in the United States.  The Embassy then contacts the prospective adoptive parents and informs them about the procedure for submitting documentation and scheduling a visa interview date for the adopted child.

The Embassy estimates that the time from when the I-600A petition is submitted to the interview dates can be anywhere from 3 to 12 months.

NOTE: Due to security procedures and the paperwork required to process adoption visas, same day visas are not available.


ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP: The language describing the acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children is currently under review.  Until the new language is finalized, please click on the following link for further information: http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_457.html.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific questions about guardianship in Bangladesh may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, via e-mail at: DhakaAdoptions@state.gov.  General questions regarding intercountry 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, NW, 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 intercountry adoption 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.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).

Internet:
• Adoption Information Flyers: The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs web site at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains intercountry adoption information flyers like this one and the International Adoptions brochure.
• 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 flier. 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: http://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 by calling 1-202-501-4444.
• USCIS web site - http://uscis.gov/.