Legal Question in Immigration Law in Florida

It's quite a complicated process. You may have to adopt the child already in Bolivia depending on the law in that country. Or, the country may only allow a guardianship there, then final adoption here. Your home and you have to be evaluated by an agency for fitness by means of a home study. Then, you file a petition, the I-600, with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to petition for the child, and including all the required evidence, including results of the evaluation. Then, if there's a favorable determination, the file is sent to the U.S. consulate in Bolivia for an interview with the child. Then, the child is issued a visa to come to the U.S.

Needless to say, an attorney�s help is highly recommended. Be sure to check out my website and blog for how to contact my office and for a possible consultation, if necessary.

Larry L. Doan

www.GuruImmigration.com

http://guruimmigration.wordpress.com (blog)

Note: The above response is provided for legal information only and should not be construed as legal advice, nor to create an attorney-client relationship, which can only be established through payment of consideration. We do not offer free advice except for the information provided herein on LawGuru which has been screened. If follow-up advice on your specific situation is desired, we offer a paid consultation in person if you are in the Los Angeles area, or by phone or email. Please visit our website www.GuruImmigration.com for more details.

First, we will need to know your immigration status. Second, as noted above, adoption is extremely complex. There are additional requirements in addition to the adoption laws of the foreign country and in the U.S. state in which you live in. Such as, the child must occur before the child reaches 16 years old; U.S. Immigration law requires that the child be in your custody for 2 years; and since Bolivia is covered under the Hague Treaty, a different form altogether will be needed (see http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-800instr.pdf).

Please note that the Form I-600 cited above is used when the adopted child is an orphan. For other children, the process is different. See http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-600instr.pdf for the instructions to Form I-600 which shows that it is for orphan adoption. Since your facts do not state that the child is an orphan, I wanted to point this out to you.

Otherwise, since you are in Florida, please feel free to contact my law firm for more information. We are licensed in Florida and can assist you with your adoption and immigration needs. Also, myself and my firm's lawyers are members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (called AILA), the largest network of immigration lawyers in the United States.

Sincerely,