Learn to Be a Family Lawyer With 'Immigration Savvy': Part 2

As U.S. citizens look overseas to expand their families, either through adoption or surrogacy, it is vital for family law attorneys to be current on the basics of family-based immigration, especially with regards to how immigration law views and defines the parent-child relationship. As the follow-up to an article focusing on immigration issues for married couples, this article covers hurdles faced by U.S. citizens who adopt children overseas and those who use assisted reproductive technology to conceive and deliver a child abroad.

Adoptions

Immigration law treats adopted children very differently depending on whether the adoptive parent is a U.S. citizen, whether the adoptive child is an “orphan,” and whether the child resides in a country that is a party to the Hague Adoption Convention, an international treaty protecting children, birth parents and adoptive parents. A family lawyer representing a parent who is not yet a U.S. citizen, or a parent who wishes to adopt a noncitizen child, will need to consider the factors listed above in deciding whether or not to proceed with the adoption.