Turkmenistan is not a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention or Convention). However, under the Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012 (UAA), which became effective on July 14, 2014, the requirement that adoption service providers be accredited or approved, and therefore meet the accreditation standards, which previously only applied in Convention cases, also applies in non-Convention (“orphan”) cases under section 101(b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The UAA requires that an accredited or approved adoption service provider act as the primary provider in every non-Convention intercountry adoption case, and that adoption service providers providing any adoption services, as defined at 22 CFR Part 96.2, on behalf of prospective adoptive parents be accredited or approved, or be a supervised or exempted provider.  See additional Department of State guidance and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) guidance for limited situations when a primary provider may not be required. Intercountry adoptions of children from non-Convention countries continue to be processed under the Orphan Process with the filing of the Forms I-600A and I-600.  However, adoption service providers should be aware of the information on the USCIS website on the impact of the UAA on Form I-600A and Form I-600 adjudications, including the requirement that all home studies, including home study updates and amendments, comply with the home study requirements listed at 8 CFR 204.311, which differ from the orphan home study requirements that were in effect before July 14, 2014. Please see the USCIS adoption webpages for more information about the orphan adoption process.

To bring an adopted child to the United States from Turkmenistan, you must meet certain suitability and eligibility requirements. USCIS determines who is suitable and eligible to adopt a child from another country and bring that child to live in the United States under U.S. immigration law.

Additionally, a child must meet the definition of an orphan under U.S. immigration law in order to be eligible to immigrate to the United States with an IR-3 or IR-4 immigrant visa.

Turkmenistan does not have a designated adoption authority. Based on the residence of a child and the territory of Turkmenistan in which the child is located, Child Protection Services and the appropriate departments of local and district governments are responsible for adoption issues.

No published law currently exists that expressly governs adoption by foreigners in Turkmenistan; as a result, there have been no adoptions of Turkmenistan children by American citizens in the past twenty years. Turkmenistan law governing domestic adoptions requires prospective adoptive parents to present documents about local residency, living conditions, local property ownership and local income. According to Turkmenistan laws, foreign citizens are unable to purchase property and therefore foreign prospective adoptive parents may not meet the requirements to adopt.  

Caution: Although U.S. citizens generally must follow the orphan adoption process to adopt a child from a non-Convention country, the Family-Based Petition Process (Form I-130) may be an option for U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to petition for their adopted child. There are significant differences between the orphan and the Family-Based Petition Process. For more information about specific Form I-130 requirements for adopted children, see the USCIS website and the USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 5.

Please see the USCIS adoption webpages for more information about the non-Convention (or orphan) adoption process.

U.S. citizens interested in adopting children from Turkmenistan should contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (contact information below) to work with Turkmenistan’s Child Protection Services to inquire about applicable laws and procedures.  U.S. citizen prospective adoptive parents living in Turkmenistan who would like to adopt a child from the United States or from a third country should also contact Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. See contact information below.

Caution: Prospective adoptive parents should be aware not all children in orphanages or children’s homes are eligible for adoption.  In many countries, birth parents place their child(ren) temporarily in an orphanage or children’s home due to financial or other hardship, intending the child return home when possible.  In such cases, the birth parent(s) have rarely relinquished their parental rights or consented to the adoption of their child(ren).

Please visit the Department of State’s country page for more information on travelling to Turkmenistan and U.S. Embassy Ashgabat’s website for information on consular services.

Turkmenistan’s Adoption Authority:
Turkmenistan does not have a designated adoption authority. Local City, Region or District Government or Mayor’s Offices have Child Protection Sections that are responsible for children’s issues including adoptions, based on the location of a child.

For intercountry adoption questions and issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the primary contact: 
Name: Mr. Dovletmyrat Muratov, Chief of Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.  
Tel: +993-12-445-772 
Email: dimprolet@online.tm  
Website: mfa.gov.tm/en

U.S. Embassy Ashgabat
Address: 9 1984 Street (formerly Pushkin Street)
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 744000
Tel: +(993) (12) 94-0045; Emergency Line: 940045 (Local)
Fax: +(993) (12) 94-2614
Email:  consularashgab@state.gov 
Internet: tm.usembassy.gov

Office of Children’s Issues
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
SA-17
Washington, DC 20520
Tel: 1-888-407-4747
E-mail: Adoption@state.gov
http://adoption.state.gov 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
For questions about a pending Form I-600A application, Form I-600 petition or related supplement:
USCIS
Tel:  1-877-424-8374 (toll free); 1-913-275-5480 (local); Fax:1-913-214-5808
Email:  NBC.Adoptions@uscis.dhs.gov

For other USCIS-related questions:
USCIS Contact Center 
1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833)
Internet: uscis.gov