INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION

FRANCE

PLEASE NOTE: The number of children available for adoption in France is small, and French couples who wish to adopt them are given priority over persons of other nationalities.

French nationals and foreigners residing in France wishing to adopt a foreign child must apply to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mission de l'Adoption Internationale). Americans residing in France who travel to pick up a child adopted from third countries should be informed that they need a French visa to bring the child to France and, once in France, a US visa, if they choose to immigrate their child to the U.S. at a later time. The adopted children of a number of Americans have been denied entry into France because they did not have the appropriate French visas.

PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics indicate no immigrant visas have been issued to French orphans.

ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN France: The government office responsible for adoptions of children residing in France is the "Direction de l'Action Sociale, de l'Enfance et de la Santé," and each French department (local jurisdiction roughly equivalent to a U.S. state) has its own office and specific address. Residents of Paris must write, preferably in French, for information to the: Direction de l'Action Sociale, de l'Enfance et de la Santé, Sous-Direction des Actions Familiales et Educatives, Bureau des Adoptions, 94-96 Quai de la Rapée, 75570 Paris Cedex 12, tel.: 01-43-47-75-42. Americans residing elsewhere in France should consult the following French government internet site: http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/MAI, under the heading “Adresses utiles” for the address of the “Aide Sociale a l'enfance” office for the department in which they live.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: For French domestic and international adoptions, a couple must be married for a minimum of two years or if married less than two years, both spouses are at least 28 years old. There is no age limitation if one of the spouses wishes to adopt the other spouse's child. There is no age maximum. A single person can adopt provided he/she is at least 28 years old (In practice, it is very difficult to get approval, however). Adopting parents must be at least 15 years older than the child they want to adopt (10 years in the case of the other spouse's child).

RESIDENTIAL REQUIREMENTS: A foreigner who wishes to adopt a child residing in France for the purpose of residing outside of France with the child does not need to be a resident of France. A foreigner who wishes to adopt a child, whether in France or elsewhere, for the purpose of residing in France with the child, must be a permanent resident of France.

TIME FRAME: Adoption in France is a lengthy process. The process takes at least a year, and can take several years.

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: Addresses of facilitators can also be obtained from the government agencies also listed on the site http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/MAI. See Adoption Authority in France above. The U.S. Embassy also maintains a list of numerous attorneys practicing in France.

Prospective adopting 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 adopting parents contact the Better Business Bureau and 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 at our Web site travel.state.gov.

ADOPTION FEES IN France: There are no “adoption fees” in France but adopting parents often hire an attorney to assist them with the administrative and legal proceedings.

ADOPTION PROCEDURES: American citizens interested in or considering adopting a child in France should consult the French government internet site provided under Adoption Authority in France above.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN FRANCE: American citizens interested in or considering adopting a child in France or bringing a child to be adopted elsewhere to reside with them in France should consult the French government internet site provide above under Adoption Authority in France for information concerning documentary requirements.

AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD: All U.S. documents submitted to the French government/court must be authenticated. France 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 documents originated from for instructions and fees for authenticating documents.

Documents issued by a federal agency must be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office, 518 23rd St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520, (202) 647-5002 Fee: $6.00. For additional information, call the Federal Information Center: 1-800-688-9889, and choose option 6 after you press 1 for touch tone phones. Walk-in service is available from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 am Monday-Friday, except holidays and is limited to 15 documents per person per day (documents can be multiple pages). Processing time for authentication requests sent by mail is 5 working days or less.

Please visit our Web site at travel.state.gov for additional information about authentication procedures.

FrENCH EMBASSY AND CONSULATES IN THE UNITED STATES:

4101 Reservoir Road, NW
Washington, DC 20007
Telephone: (202) 944-6000
Fax: (202) 944-6166
http://www.info-france-usa.org/

France also has Consulate Generals in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York and San Francisco.

FRENCH IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS: U.S. citizens residing in France who have adopted children from third countries must obtain a French visa for their child to enter France.

U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS

APPLYING FOR A VISA FOR YOUR CHILD AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN FRANCE: U.S. citizens residing in France who have adopted children from third countries are advised to contact the U.S. Embassy in Paris for information on how to apply for an immigrant visa on their child's behalf or naturalize them as U.S. citizens.

Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult U.S. CIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. The U.S. CIS publication is available at the U.S. CIS 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.”

Adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the flyer 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 at our Web site http://travel.state.gov

U.S. Embassy In France:

The Consulate Section is located at:

2 Rue St. Florentin, 75001
Paris
Tel: 011-33-1-43-12-22-22 or (in France ) 01-43-12-22-22
Fax: 011-33-1-42-61-61-40
http://www.amb-usa.fr./

NATURALIZATION: Under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which became effective on February 27, 2001, orphans adopted by U.S. citizens acquire U.S. citizenship automatically when all of the following requirements have been met:

• at least one parent is a U.S. citizen;
• the child is under 18 years of age;
• there is a full and final adoption of the child; and, the child is admitted to the United States as an immigrant.

A foreign–born adopted orphan who enters the United States on an Immediate Relative (IR) –3 visa becomes a U.S. citizen upon admission. A foreign-born orphan, who enters the United States on an IR-4 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). For further information, please consult with the consular section at the U.S. Embassy or the nearest office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Additional information is available at http://www.travel.state.gov/childcitfaq.html

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific questions about adoption in France may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in France. General questions regarding international adoption may be addressed to the Office of Children's Issues, U.S. Department of State, CA/OCS/CI, SA-29, 4 th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-404-4747.

Useful information is also available from several other sources:

• Telephone:
  • Call Center – Toll Free Hotline - For information on international adoption of children 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 1-317-472-2328.
  • U.S. Department of State Visa Office - recorded information concerning immigrant visas for adopting children, (202) 663-1225.
  • DHS Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).
• Internet:
• Adoption Information Flyers: the Consular Affairs web site, at: http://travel.state.gov/ contains international country adoption information flyers like this one and the International Adoptions brochure.
• Consular Information Sheets: 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 Consular Information Sheets (CISes) 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 CIS for that country, the State Department may issue a Public Announcement 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 at (202) 647-5225. The recordings are updated as new information becomes available, and are also accessible through the automated fax machine and the Internet web site, as above.
• CIS web site - http://uscis.gov/