INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


AZERBAIJAN



August 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; and 2) U.S. 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:  The Azerbaijani Parliament is considering a new law on intercountry adoption.  It is not clear how this law might affect future cases involving U.S. prospective adoptive parents.   Once this information becomes available, the U.S. Department of State will update this flyer as necessary.

While the U.S. Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, handles some steps in the immigration process for adopted children from Azerbaijan, most of this process occurs at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia.  For more information, please see the Embassy Tbilisi web site at:  http://georgia.usembassy.gov/visasadopt.html.


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

Fiscal Year       Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2006                                       10
FY 2005                                         4
FY 2004                                       26
FY 2003                                       62
FY 2002                                       49


ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN AZERBAIJAN: The “Republic Commission on Adoptions” (Adoption Commission), an inter-ministerial body headed by a Deputy Prime Minister and subordinated to the Cabinet of Ministers, is the current authority.  Their address is:

Republic Commission on Adoptions
Cabinet of Ministers
Address: Lermontov St. 68
Tel: 994 12 4926623

Pending legislation may change this situation at any time. The U.S. Embassy does not have current information about the content or provisions of proposed legislation or when it may be passed.


ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Married couples may adopt.  Azerbaijani law does not officially prohibit singles from adopting, but in practice, single men are not allowed to adopt.  Prospective adoptive parents may also face difficulties.


RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: There are no residency requirements for Azerbaijan.


TIME FRAME: Intercountry adoptions were suspended in March 2004 for nearly eighteen months, causing significant delays and leading most families caught in the suspension to abandon the process.  While eight adoptions have been completed since the suspension was lifted in August 2005, a few adoptions that began prior to March 2004 still have not been completed as of November 2006.  Given the circumstances, it is not possible to predict how long it would take to complete a new adoption at this time.


ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: There are currently only two adoption facilitators in Azerbaijan.

Eduard Chernin, President
Alesker Guseynov, Vice-President (English-speaker)
Chernin and Partners
103 Nizami Street
Baku, Azerbaijan AZ 1010
Phone: 994124984393
Mobile: 994502201199
Email: Chernin @Azeri.Com
Fax: 994124939025

Ali Alizade
1st Micro District,
Javad Khan Street 5, Apt. 41
Baku, Azerbaijan
Phone: 994124316200
Mobile: 994503999172
Email: bakucity3@yahoo.com

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 seeImportant Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators at our Web site travel.state.gov.


ADOPTION FEES IN AZERBAIJAN: Under Azeri law, there is no fee for the adoption itself, but there are fees for issuing and notarizing many of the required documents, and some parents have reported a required donation to the orphanage where the children reside.


ADOPTION PROCEDURES:  The following description is intended to provide a general outline only. In practice, the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington, D.C. acts as the first point of contact and provides initial guidance on documentary requirements. Local legal representatives (agents) may handle other necessary procedures in Azerbajian. Aside from the complexity of the process, various bureaucratic delays and/or additional documentary or other demands are virtually guaranteed throughout the process.

  1. Prospective adoptive parents register with the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington, D.C. They first need to contact Consul Ali Garayev, and then prepare a dossier of required documents (listed in the section below). After the submitted documents are reviewed, they are returned to the parents with a letter stating that the family has registered with the Embassy.
  2. Through their local agent in Azerbaijan, prospective parents submit their application (dossier) to the General Section of the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan, if the child is less than 3 years old or to the Ministry of Education if the child is older. 
  3. Approved dossier is forwarded to the Baku City Department of Health for registration.
  4. The Baku City Department of Health provides the prospective adoptive parents, through their agent, with information about children available for international adoption corresponding with the adoptive parents’ expressed preferences.
  5. Once prospective parents decide to adopt a particular child, a translated and notarized agreement letter is submitted to the Baku City Department of Health, which registers the child for this family and forwards the dossier to the appropriate District Court. If adoptive parents decline a particular child, they have to wait for another available child and the procedure described above is repeated.
  6. All documents in the dossier are presented by the agent in Azerbaijan to the District Court, which reviews them, opens a court case and forwards the dossier to the Child Welfare Department of the District Executive Office.
  7. The Child Welfare Department approves the dossier and forwards it to the Adoption Commission at the Cabinet of Ministers. The Child Welfare Department of the District Executive Office has the discretion to disapprove applications.
  8. The Adoption Commission prepares an official document (protocol) identifying the adopting family and forwards it to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), which reviews and certifies the accuracy and legality of the submitted dossier.
  9. The MOJ returns the protocol to the Adoption Commission to be signed by all members of the Commission before it is sent to the Chairman of the Commission for final approval.
  10. The signed documents are returned to the Child Welfare Department of the District Executive Office which then forwards the approved case to the District Court.
  11. The District Court schedules the hearing date and notifies the prospective adoptive parents through their local agents.
  12. Parents must appear for the scheduled court hearing.
  13. The court decision comes into force only after one month. After this time the parents may return to Azerbaijan and present the court decision to the orphanage in order to take custody of the child, obtain a new local birth certificate and passport, and proceed with the U.S. immigration process.



DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN AZERBAIJAN: The Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington, DC provides details on documentary requirements and works with the prospective parents to compile a proper dossier.

  1. Passport copies of the prospective adoptive parents.
  2. Birth certificates
  3. Marriage License, Divorce decree(s), if applicable
  4. Residency statement
  5. Photos, of the parents, home, etc.
  6. Home description
  7. Financial statement
  8. Letter of Employment
  9. Physical
  10. Power of attorney for the Azerbaijani agent/lawyer
  11. Criminal background check
  12. Petition for adoption
  13. Home study (to be conducted by a licensed Social Worker)
  14. Letters of recommendation (from friends, Employers, clergy)
  15. I-600A and/or I-600
  16. Fingerprints



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/.


AZERBAIJANI EMBASSY IN THE UNITED STATES:

Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan
2741 34th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel : 202-337-3500
Email : consul@azembassy.com
Internet: http://www.azembassy.us


U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS: Prospective adopting 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 “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. EMBASSY IN AZERBAIJAN: 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 Baku, Azerbaijan
83 Azadliq Prospekt
Baku, Azerbaijan
Tel: (994 12) 98 03 35
Fax: (994 12) 98 37 55
E-mail: consularbaku@state.gov
Internet: http://azerbaijan.usembassy.gov/


I-604 INTERVIEWS WITH THE U.S. EMBASSY IN BAKU: The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Baku will conduct the Orphan Investigation (also called I-604 Investigation), seal the results and return them to the adopting parents to take with them to their interview at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia. The family’s local agent will make the necessary arrangements with the Consular Section, which gives top priority to adoption cases.


APPLYING FOR A VISA AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN GEORGIA:  If possible, adoptive parents should try to schedule an appointment before coming in for the immigrant visa.  For more information, please visit the adoption page of the web site for the U.S Embassy in Tbilisi at http://georgia.usembassy.gov/visasadopt.html .

Consular Section, U.S. Embassy
11 George Balanchine Street,
Tbilisi, Georgia, 0131
Telephone: (995 32) 27-70-00
Fax: (995 32) 53-23-1004
E-mail: consulate-tbilisi@state.gov


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 intercountry adoption in Azerbaijan may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Baku.  Questions about the immigrant visa process at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi should be directed to that office.  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/.