INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


GEORGIA
 
October  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: In August 2006, the Georgia Ministry of Education informed the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia that a very limited number of Georgian children are eligible for intercountry adoption.  Information about available children may be obtained by contacting Ms. Tamar Golubiani, head of the Child Care Department at the Ministry of Education and Science.  Her contact information is below. 


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

Fiscal Year       Number of Immigrant Visas Issued

FY 2006                                    9
FY 2005                                   12
FY 2004                                   24
FY 2003                                   128
FY 2002                                   56


ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN GEORGIA:  The government office responsible for adoptions in Georgia is the Ministry of Education and Science.  The main contact is Ms. Tamta Golubiani, the head of the Child Care Department. 

Ms.Golubiani (speaks English).
52 Uznadze Street
Tbilisi, Georgia 0102
Tel: 995-32-95-17-68


ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Prospective adoptive parents must be at least 16 years older than the child they wish to adopt.  Spouses must adopt the child jointly.  Unmarried individuals may also adopt.  Persons who have been denied parental rights in a court of law or who have had other adoptions annulled due to failure to perform parental duties may not adopt.  Persons unable to perform parental duties due to physical or mental illness, moral, criminal or other reasons may not adopt. 


RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS:  There are no residency requirements in Georgia for prospective adoptive parents.   


TIME FRAME:  Georgian adoptions should take from three months to nine months.   However, the U.S. Department of State is aware of individual cases that took much longer than nine months.


ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: Georgia does not require adoption agencies to be licensed or accredited.   The Ministry of Education requires that the prospective adoptive parent(s) submit the required documentation, legalized by the Georgian Embassy in the U.S., directly to the Ministry of Education.  While the Ministry will accept applications submitted through adoption agencies or facilitators, the use of such intermediaries has sometimes lengthened the process.

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 at the Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs web site travel.state.gov.


ADOPTION FEES IN GEORGIA: The average total fees in Georgia are around $4,000 to $5,000.  This fee includes the cost of an attorney, translation and notarization services as well as other costs charged by the Georgian government including the child’s passport.  Please note that the Ministry of Education does not charge any fees for the referral of a child for adoption.   If a prospective adoptive parent uses an adoption agency the total fee to adopt a child could be from $20,000-$30,000. 


ADOPTION PROCEDURES: Children available for adoption are registered in the Central Registry Database maintained by the Ministry of Education.  The children can be adopted locally only for six months after being put in the database.  A child is only eligible for intercountry adoption after six months in the database.  Only the Ministry of Education is authorized to make matches of adoptive parents with available children, and only after the adoptive parents’ application for adoption is approved.

U.S. citizens wishing to adopt a child from Georgia must submit the documents listed below to the Ministry of Education for approval.  It usually takes two to three months of review and investigation by the Ministry before the application is accepted.  The Ministry will then provide the adopting parent(s) with basic information about children in the Central Registry Database (date of birth, sex, and medical diagnosis if relevant).  After the adopting parent(s) confirms in writing a willingness to adopt, the adopting parent(s) is provided with the location of the child, allowed to visit, and have any desired medical consultations done.  A final written confirmation from the adoptive parent(s) in regards to a specific child is then required before the Ministry of Education will submit a statement of adoption consent to the City Court Civil Cases Collegium. The length of this process fluctuates; there have been informal reports by adoptive parents(s) that the Ministry of Education review takes longer than the three to nine months stated above.  The prospective adoptive parents must submit the documents to the Ministry of Education and see the child before the Ministry will issue the statement of adoption consent.

Prospective adoptive parents must be present at the court session.  After the court has approved the adoption, copies of all documentation are taken by the prospective adoptive parents or facilitators to the regional registration department, where the new birth certificate and the adoption certificate are issued.  The adopting parents must be present for this procedure. A new Georgian passport, based on the new birth certificate, will be issued.


DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN GEORGIA: Prospective adoptive parents need to submit the following documents directly to the Ministry of Education:  

  • Statement from the adoptive parent(s) indicating their full name, address, age, and sex and the category of child desired for adoption;
  • Copy of passport(s);
  • Copy of marriage certificate if applicable.  If single or divorced, a sworn statement notarized by the consular section of the U.S. Embassy;
  • Documents from a U.S. doctor certifying health of adoptive parents, including a psychiatric certificate; 
  • Certificate from adoptive parent’s workplace indicating position and salary;
  • Copy of adoptive parent’s personal financial account;
  • Clean record of no criminal activity of the adoptive parents; 
  • References from friends, family, clergy, this is often covered by the home study;
  • Completed home study;
  • I-600A approval.

  
All the above documents MUST be translated into Georgian, notarized by a notary public, and then authenticated and legalized by the Consular Office of the Georgian Embassy in the U.S. (see address and contact information below).


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.travel.state.gov/law/info/judicial/judicial_701.html


GEORGIAN EMBASSY IN THE UNITED STATES:

Embassy of Georgia
1101 15th St., NW, Suite 602
Washington, D.C.  20009
Tel:  202-387-2390
Consular Section: 202-393-6060
Fax: 202-393-4537

Email:  embassy@georgiaemb.org  or consulate@georgiaemb.org
Internet:  http://www.georgiaemb.org


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 Adoptions.”

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.


APPLYING FOR A VISA FOR AN ADOPTED GEORGIAN CHILD AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN GEORGIA: If possible, adoptive parents should try to schedule an appointment before coming in for the immigrant visa.  Please contact the Consular section at 27-70-00 (local call) to schedule an interview one to two days in advance.  The American Citizens Services (ACS) assistant will set a tentative date with the Immigrant Visa Unit for the child’s visa interview. 

The Consular Section accepts visa applications and conducts interviews between 3:00-5:00 pm each day.  The 5:00 p.m. deadline is firm; those arriving late will be asked to return the following business day.  If documentation is not complete, an Immigrant Visa employee will advise what needs to be remedied.  If the issue cannot be resolved by 5:00 pm that day, a visa appointment will be scheduled for the first business day after the issue is resolved.  On the day of the interview, the U.S. citizen adoptive parents and their adopted child are asked to arrive at the Consular Section no more than fifteen minutes before the interview.  Only the adoptive parents and their children will be allowed to enter the consular section.  Once approved, visas will be available for pick-up the following business day at 3:00 p.m.
For more information, please visit adoption page of the web site for the U.S Embassy at http://georgia.usembassy.gov/visasadopt.html.


U.S. EMBASSY IN GEORGIA: 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 of the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi is located at:

11 George Balanchine St., Tbilisi, Georgia 0131
Tel: (995) (32) 277-000,
Email:  consulate-tbilisi@state.gov
Website:  http://www.usembassy.ge. 


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 adoption in Georgia may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi. 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 flyer. 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/.