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Updated: 03/IX/04 International Adoption - Colombia Disclaimer The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child in Colombia and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to go to the United States. Two sets of laws are particularly relevant. The laws of Colombia govern all activity in Colombia, including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in country. U.S. federal immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States. The information below, relating to the legal requirements of Colombia is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of Colombia and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This information reflects our current understanding of the law as of August, 2004 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. U.S. consular officers give each petition careful consideration on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the legal requirements of both countries have been met, for the protection of the prospective adoptive parent(s), the biological parent(s) and the child. Interested U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to contact U.S. consular officials in Colombia before formalizing an adoption agreement to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed which will make it possible for the Embassy to issue a U.S. immigrant visa for the child.
Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans:
Bienestar Familiar (ICBF)
Colombian adoption laws require that at least one of the adopting parents be over 25 years of age and be physically, emotionally, and economically capable of supporting the adopted child. In practice, newborns are assigned to younger couples, and older children are assigned to older couples.
It is hard to predict how long an adopting family will wait for a child. There are many factors that determine how long the adoption and visa process takes, including how long it takes to have paperwork approved in the United States and in Colombia. In addition, factors including the desired sex and age of a child play a role, as well as the age of the prospective parents. Couples receiving visas for their newly adopted children typically report that the entire process took from 18 to 30 months.
Ayúdame
Casa de la Madre y el Niño
Casa de María y el Niño
Chiquitines
CRAN
FANA
La Casita de Nicolás
Los Pisingos
Please contact ICBF and licensed adoption agencies for their list of recommended attorneys who work with international adoptions.
Prospective adopting parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services and ensure that it is an agency accredited by Bienestar Familiar (ICBF). For U.S. based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adopting parents contact the Better Business Bureau and the licensing office of the Department of Health and Family Services in the state where the agency is located.
Please see Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators.
It is difficult to predict how much the entire adoption process will cost as each case has its own unique circumstances. Parents receiving visas for their adopted children have reported spending between $12,000 and $20,000 from start to finish.
In order for the Embassy to issue the letter required by the Colombian family judges, which commits the Embassy to issuing an immigrant visa if all adoption and U.S. immigration requirements are met, we need to have received a visa petition (Form I-600A) approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. The adopting parents file this petition at the nearest servicing office in the United States. Please note that if the adopting parents reside in Colombia, they should contact the Embassy in Bogotá for information. Anyone with questions may contact the Embassy at (571) 383-2795 any working day between 2:00PM and 3:30PM and ask for the person responsible for processing visas for adopted children.
Dr. Juan Ignacio Fajardo
The cost of this medical examination is approximately $50 and must be paid by the parents directly to the physician, not to the Embassy. The child's passport will be required for the appointment.
All U.S. documents submitted to the Colombian government/court must be authenticated. Colombia is a party to the Hague Legalization Convention. Generally, U.S. civil records, such as birth, death, and marriage certificates, must bear the seal of the issuing office and an apostille affixed by the state's Secretary of State (an apostille is a special seal applied to a document to certify that a document is a true copy of an original). Documents must be apostilled in the state where they are issued. Tax returns, medical reports and police clearances should likewise be authenticated. Prospective adopting parents should contact the Secretary of State of the state where the documents originated for instructions and fees for authenticating documents.
Documents issued by a federal agency must be authenticated by Department of State Authentications Office:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Telephone: (202) 647-5002
The authentication fee is $6.00 per document (documents can be multiple pages). For additional information, call the Federal Information Center: 1 (800) 688-9889, and choose option "6" after pressing "1" for touch-tone phones. Walk-in service is available from 7:30AM to 11:30AM, Monday through Friday, except holidays, and is limited to 15 documents per person per day. Processing time for authentication requests sent by mail is five working days or less.
Embassy in Washington, DC
Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult U.S. CIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoption.
Adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the flyer and the requirements for filing I-600 petitions for orphans adopted by U.S. citizens before completing an adoption abroad. Please see our flyer "How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States".
In order to meet the requirements for a U.S. immigrant visa, children adopted through the inter-country adoption process must meet the definition of orphan under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended. The child must either have no parents because of death or disappearance or desertion by, or separation from or loss of both parents; or the child's sole surviving parent must be incapable of providing proper care and have irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption. Adopted Colombian children who will be residing permanently in the United States require immigrant visas to accompany their parents to the U.S. Adoptive parents must file:
Once you have all the required documents, one of the adoptive parents must come to the Embassy with the child between 8:30AM and 11:00AM, Monday through Thursday. Please note there is a fee of $335.00 or the equivalent in Colombian pesos.
Baby Supplies
New parents can rest assured that Colombia's cities have a complete line of baby products. The following can be found easily on the local economy:
Grocery chains in the main cities that offer a full line of baby products are:
CAFAM, Carrefour, Carulla, Éxito, Olímpica, Ley.
Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín also have shopping malls where many baby and children's items may be readily found at good prices. Clothes are original in design and are often woven in nice quality wool. Shops specializing in baby clothes are listed in the yellow pages under "Ropa para niños."
Adopting parents are often in Colombia for several weeks. Obviously, the cost of lodging will vary depending on which hotel you choose.
Lodging commonly used by other adoptive parents is listed below. The U.S. Embassy assumes no responsibility for the professional competency or integrity of these hotels and this listing in no way constitutes an endorsement, real or implied.
Hotel Capital (close to the Embassy and the airport)
Telephone: 011 (571) 412-4961
Hotel La Fontana
Telephone: 011 (571) 615-4400
Pensión Halifax (in the Chicó area)
Calle 93 # 15-93
Telephone: 011 (571) 218-3916, 616-3098
Betty's Place
Telephone: 011 (571) 215-9274
Hotel Residencias Paris
Telephone: 011 (571) 612-4445/6310
Hotel Embassy Suites Rosales
Telephone: 011 (571) 317-1368
Taxis are plentiful and inexpensive in Colombia. However, for your security you should call ahead for a cab from one of the many recognized cab companies, rather than hail a taxi on the street. The numbers for these companies may be found in the yellow pages under "Taxis."
Colombian cities have 110-watt, 60-cycle electrical current systems. Any standard U.S. electrical appliance you choose to bring will run well.
Additional information about Colombia.
As soon as prospective adopting parents have made travel plans for Colombia, they should register themselves at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/
If, for some reason, during the trip prospective parents need the services on the American Citizen Services Unit, the Embassy is located at: Calle 22D Bis # 47-51 in Bogotá.
Mailing address for the Adoptions Office:
IMMIGRANT VISA UNIT - ADOPTIONS
Telephone calls are received from 2:00PM to 3:30PM EST at: 011 (571) 315-1566, extension 2795.
Under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which became effective on February 27, 2001, adopted orphans acquire U.S. citizenship automatically when all of the following requirements have been met:
A foreign-born adopted orphan who enters the United States on an Immediate Relative (IR3) visa becomes a U.S. citizen upon admission. A foreign-born orphan, who enters the United States on an Immediate Relative (IR4) visa and is adopted in a U.S. court, will become a U.S. citizen when the adoption is finalized in the United States (the child will be a legal permanent resident until then). When adoptive parents receive the visa for their child, they will also receive a letter explaining the details of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. More information may be found on the Department of State web site.
Specific questions about adoption in Colombia may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Colombia. General questions regarding international adoption may be addressed to:
OFFICE OF CHILDREN'S ISSUES
or:
2201 C ST NW
Toll-free telephone: 1(888) 404-4747
Useful information is also available from several other sources:
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