INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION

DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION IN THIS CIRCULAR RELATING TO THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN COUNTRIES IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY. QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO FOREIGN COUNSEL.

PLEASE NOTE: The St. Kitts/Nevis Adoption of Children act does not differentiate between adoption by nationals and foreigners. The applicant must, however, be resident and domiciled in St. Kitts/Nevis in order to be eligible to adopt a child. The adoption of a female child by a single male is not permitted unless a family tie exists.

GENERAL

The following is a guideline for U.S. citizens who are interested in adopting a child from St. Kitts and Nevis and are applying for grant visa for the child to return to the United States. This process involves complex foreign and U.S. legal requirements. 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 Bridgetown, Barbados 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.

AVAILABILITY OF CHILDREN FOR ADOPTION

Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans:

ST. KITTS/NEVIS ADOPTION PROCEDURES

Children do not have to be orphans to be adopted. An orphan is defined as a truant child, a child who has no natural parents or other legal guardians or other persons responsible for his/her maintenance, care, and upbringing. Children do not have to be abandoned for purposes of adoption.

The adoption process averages approximately 6 months. The judicial court of St. Kitts/Nevis is responsible for the legal proceedings. The court appoints a guardian ad litem who provides a written study on the home of the applicant to the court. A private lawyer represents the adopting parents and a government appointed lawyer represents the child to be adopted.

The cost for adoption is approximately U.S. dollars 745. It is illegal for any adopter, parent or guardian, except with the sanction of the court, to receive any payment or other reward or to give or take any such payment or reward for adoption. An application for an adoption order must contain a statement that no such payment was received or made. There are no exit controls on children leaving St. Kitts/Nevis.

AGE AND CIVIL REQUIREMENTS

Prospective adoptive parents must be 25 years old and must be 21 years older than the child to be adopted.

DOCTORS

The US Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados maintains current lists of doctors and sources for medicines should either you or your child experience health problems while in St. Kitts/Nevis.

NEAREST US EMBASSY

The US Embassy in Barbados is the nearest US embassy to St. Kitts/Nevis. The US Embassy in Barbados is located at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Bldg., Broad Street, Bridgetown (PO Box 302) or FPO AA 34055 (Tel: 809-436-4950).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult BCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions.

QUESTIONS

Specific questions regarding adoptions in St. Kitts and Nevis may be addressed to the Consular Section of the US Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados. You may also contact the Office of Children's Issues, 2401 E Street, N.W., Room L127, Washington, D.C. 20037; Phone: (202) 736-7000; Fax: (202) 312-9743. Recorded information concerning significant changes in adoption procedures is available 24 hours a day at: (202) 736-7000, or by automated fax (calling from the telephone on your fax machine) at (202) 647-3000. If the country you are interested in is not listed, procedures have not significantly changed. Information on immigrant visas is available from the State Department's Visa Office, at (202) 663-1225. This 24 hour automated system includes options to speak with consular officers during business hours for questions not answered in the recorded material. Application forms and petitions for immigrant visas are available from the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security, the nearest office of which is listed in the federal pages of your telephone book, under U.S. Department of Justice.

In addition, the State Department publishes Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings. Consular Information Sheets are available for every country in the world, providing information such as the location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. When situations are sufficiently serious that the State Department recommends U.S. citizens avoid traveling to a country, a Travel Warning is issued. Both Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings may be heard 24 hours a day by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225 from a touch-tone telephone. In addition, this information is accessible through the automated fax machine, as above, and is also available at any of the 13 regional passport agencies, field offices of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad.

Furthermore, you may write in requesting information, sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Overseas Citizens Services, Room 4811 N.S., 2201 C St., N.W., U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818.