INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF


 

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:  Under the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Micronesian citizens have the right to live, work, study and assume "habitual residence" in the United States with no visa requirement.  However, this does not apply to adopted Micronesian children, who must obtain a U.S. immigrant visa in order to travel to reside permanently with their adoptive families in the United States.



IMPORTANT CHANGE FROM PAST VISA PRACTICE WITH REGARD TO ADOPTED MICRONESIAN CHILDREN:  In the past, some Micronesian children adopted by U.S. citizens were permitted to travel to the United States to reside their permanently without obtaining U.S. immigrant visas.  This was an incorrect practice and is no longer possible.  Adopted Micronesian children must obtain immigrant visas if they intend to take up residence in the United States. 


The enforcement of this previously misinterpreted provision of the Compact of Free Association in no way impacts the right of Micronesian citizens to continue "legitimate residence" in the United States.  Nor does it affect the right of Micronesian parents to take their own children to the United States for this purpose.  These rights are granted in the Compact and the United States will continue to honor them. This issue concerns only those Micronesian children traveling to the United States with their U.S. citizen adoptive or prospective adoptive parents.


Enforcement of the requirement that adopted Micronesian children obtain U.S. immigrant visas is in the children’s best interests.  U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents will now have to petition USCIS for permission to adopt a child from abroad, and as part of this process undergo an exhaustive background investigation that includes criminal record checks and a home study to determine their suitability to adopt.  Furthermore, enforcement of the immigrant visa requirement will ensure that only children who are legitimately adoptable orphans will receive immigrant visas.



PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF MICRONESIAN ORPHANS TO THE UNITED STATES:  Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Micronesian orphans: 


Fiscal Year       Number of Immigrant Visas Issued

FY 2005                                       1
FY 2004                                       0
FY 2003                                       1
FY 2002                                       0
FY 2001                                       0



MICRONESIAN ADOPTION AUTHORITIES:  There is no central (federal) Micronesian government office responsible for adoptions.  Each state (Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Chuuk) has its own court system in which adoptions take place, and prospective adoptive parents should contact the appropriate court regarding a possible adoption in that jurisdiction.  



ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS:  Adoption by U.S. citizens is authorized.  There is no codified requirements on adoptive parents, including age, marital status, and economic ability.  This would be addressed on a case-by-case basis during the adoption proceedings.  The local attorney representing the adoptive parents would be able to address and answer these issues.   



RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: There is a three-year residency requirement for all U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents, codified by law, meaning that the parents must have lived in the FSM for three years prior to adoption proceedings.  This has been challenged by prospective adopting parents and this requirement was waived and not upheld by the court.  Therefore, any future residency requirement would be addressed on a case-by-case basis by the local attorney representing the adoptive parents with the court. 



ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: There are no adoption agencies in the FSM; however, the U.S. Embassy in Kolonia has a listing of lawyers available to U.S. citizens.  Send an email request to: USEmbassy@Mail.FM


American prospective adoptive parents may choose to hire a U.S. adoption agency to assist them with the U.S. aspects of the intercountry adoption 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. 



ADOPTION FEES IN COUNTRY:  Attorneys’ fees vary.  The adoptive parents’ local attorney can advise on any FSM or local court fees.



DOCTORS: The U.S. Embassy maintains current lists of doctors and sources for medicines, should either you or your child experience health problems in the FSM.



MICRONESIAN DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS:  There are no special documentary requirements published for any of the local courts.  Certain documents are required, however, including adoptive child’s birth certificate and legal status, adoptive parents’ marriage certificate, proof of identity, and proof of nationality (passport).  The adoptive parents’ attorney would address the required documents on a case-by-case basis. 



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.



MICRONESIAN EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES:  Micronesia has an Embassy in Washington, DC and consulates in Guam and Hawaii.  The specific contact information for these offices follows below:


Embassy of the Federated States of Micronesia
1725 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: 202-223-4383
Email address: fsm@fsmembassy.org


Consulate of the Federated States of Micronesia
International Trade Center
590 South Marine Drive
Tamuning, Guam 96911
Telephone: 671-646-9154/55/56
Email address: fsmcongm@kuentos.guam.net


Consulate of the Federated States of Micronesia
3049 Ualena St, Suite 908
Honolulu HI 96819
Telephone: 808-836-4775
Email address: fsmcghnl@aol.com



U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS:  As was explained at the beginning of this flyer, a Micronesian adopted child must obtain a U.S. immigrant visa before he or she can enter the United States as a lawful permanent resident.  The U.S. Embassy in Kolonia, Micronesia, does not process immigrant visa cases for adopted children.  All such cases are handled at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, the Philippines.  See the contact information below.


Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult USCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive 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, travel.state.gov, under “intercountry 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. EMBASSY IN MICRONESIA: 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 Kolonia
P.O. Box 1286
Pohnpei, FM 96941
Telephone (691) 320-2187
Fax (691) 320-2186
E-mail: USEmbassy@mail.fm


U.S. EMBASSY IN THE PHILIPPINES:  


U.S. Embassy Manila
PSC 500
APO AP 96515-1000
Telephone: +63-2-528-6300, ext 2324
E-mail: MNLIVCONG@state.gov


Note:  Visa issuance after the final interview now generally takes a minimum of 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 carefully check the list of local Philippine holidays when arranging their travel plans to avoid unanticipated delays. 



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 the Federated States of Micronesia may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Kolonia.  Questions about the process of obtaining an immigrant visa for an adopted Micronesian child should be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, the Philippines.  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/.