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INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


COSTA RICA

March 2006

DISCLAIMER: The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in country in general; and 2) U.S. Federal immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States.

The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date 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.

Prospective adoptive 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 adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and/or the licensing office of the appropriate state government agency in the U.S. state where the agency is located or licensed.

PLEASE NOTE: Costa Rica’s adoption procedures are in flux, due to a moratorium on some international adoptions processed through the child welfare office.

The Costa Rican National Council on Adoptions has instituted a moratorium on any adoptions through its offices to countries that have not fully implemented the Hague Adoption Convention. At this time, the United States has not fully implemented the Convention, and this moratorium is therefore in effect for the United States, prohibiting the adoption through government offices of Costa Rican children by U.S. citizens who do not reside in Costa Rica. (U.S. citizens who have legal residence in Costa Rica, as well as persons who have both U.S. and Costa Rican citizenship, are still permitted to adopt Costa Rican children through government offices.) Those adoption cases that were already in the Costa Rican governmental adjudication process at the time the moratorium took effect in October 2003 have been permitted to proceed, but no new cases are being accepted.

Complicating the picture, a law to abolish private adoptions (those that are not handled by the Costa Rican National Council on Adoptions, but which are arranged by an attorney and approved by a judge) was struck down on July 3, 2003 by the Costa Rican Constitutional Court. The U.S. Embassy understands that the legislation will be revised and reintroduced, but does not know when, nor what will happen in cases that have been initiated through private channels but not completed if this law does go into effect. The Costa Rican Government could terminate these cases. There have been allegations of fraud in connection with private adoptions, and the Costa Rican National Council on Adoptions strongly discourages them.

For the duration of this moratorium, the following information about adoption of Costa Rican children through Costa Rican government offices pertains to U.S. citizens who have legal residence in Costa Rica, or who hold both U.S. and Costa Rican citizenship.

Throughout this document, the acronym USCIS refers to the Department of Homeland Security’s division of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the acronym PANI refers to the Costa Rican child welfare authority, the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia.

PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Costa Rican orphans:

 Fiscal Year  Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
 FY 2005  4
 FY 2004  10
 FY 2003  3
 FY 2002  4
 FY 2001  9

ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN COSTA RICA: The Patronato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI), the Costa Rican child welfare authority, oversees adoptions of abandoned orphans who are in public institutions, and plays a consultative role in private adoptions, as well. PANI may be contacted as follows:

Patronato Nacional de La Infancia
P.O. Box 5000
San Jose, Costa Rica
phone: (506) 233-0005 or (506) 222-0443
fax: (506) 233-2414
e-mail: paniadop@racsa.co.cr

PANI contacts a prospective adoptive family when PANI identifies a child for adoption, even calling collect if authorized by the family. Pictures and related information about the child will be sent by airmail. Note that there is a backlog in pending cases.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Costa Rican law permits adoption by married and single persons. A foreign couple must have been married for at least five years. Prospective adoptive parents must be at least 25 and under 60 years of age.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: Costa Rican law requires that, at the initial stage of the adoption process, both prospective adoptive parents must be in Costa Rica to sign the official consent documents before the Costa Rican court. In the case of adoption by a single prospective adoptive parent, that individual must be present to sign the documents. At least 15 days should be allowed for this initial trip. At the end of the process, one of the adoptive parents, or the sole parent if it is a single-parent adoption, must be in Costa Rica to finish the paperwork for the adoption, obtain a travel document for the child, and complete immigration procedures at the U.S. Embassy. Since the length of time for the entire adoption process may vary (from four months to a year), many prospective adoptive parents make two trips to Costa Rica; others prefer to remain in Costa Rica for the entire process.

While in Costa Rica, the adopting parents need to take the following steps to satisfy local adoption requirements:

  • Meet the child;
  • Give formal consent for the adoption at the court;
  • Obtain a decree of abandonment;
  • Obtain a certified copy of the final adoption decree from the court;
  • Register the adoption at the local Civil Registry;
  • Obtain a birth certificate from the Civil Registry with the new name of the child;
  • Obtain PANI authorization for the child to leave the country;
  • Obtain a passport for the child.

TIME FRAME: An adoption in Costa Rica generally takes from four to twelve months from the time a decree of abandonment has been issued or an official request for adoption of a specific child is placed before the court.

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: Adoptions in Costa Rica can be arranged either through the government agency, PANI, or through private channels. PANI works with international adoption agencies accredited in Costa Rica to place abandoned children. In private adoptions, where children are released by their biological parents directly to a private attorney, PANI is consulted and will give an opinion on the adoption, but the judge is not bound to act in accordance with that opinion. There have been allegations of fraud in connection with private adoptions, and the Costa Rican National Council on Adoptions strongly discourages them.

Locating and adopting children abroad can be a frustrating and time-consuming experience. The U.S. Embassy in San Jose has found that parents who employ the services of an adoption agency accredited in Costa Rica, or who work directly with PANI, have had an advantage in the smooth processing of adoption applications.

ADOPTION FEES IN COSTA RICA: Official fees for an adoption are set at a minimum of $250, which represents the total court costs when an adoption is processed through PANI. Payments to parents or guardians are illegal under Costa Rican law and prospective adoptive parents who make such payments could be subject to investigation and possible prosecution. The fees generally charged in private adoptions can be very high, running into the thousands of dollars. American adoptive parents may want to notify the Embassy and the Department of State if they feel they are being charged excessive fees.

ADOPTION PROCEDURES: Costa Rican adoption law provides for two types of adoptions: those arranged through PANI, and private adoptions.

In foreign adoptions overseen by PANI, current Costa Rican law prohibits adoption of children less than four years of age, except in cases in which the child is part of a family group, or is difficult to place.

In private adoptions, there is no limit on the age of the children. A child is released to a private attorney, who then arranges the adoption. The court reviews the qualifications of the prospective adoptive parents, with PANI playing a consultative role.

Foreigners, including U.S. citizens, must complete the adoption process in Costa Rica and the adoption must be formally registered in the civil registry before the Costa Rican authorities will grant permission for the child to leave the country. Because of Costa Rican government concerns about child smuggling and the need for follow-up in the adoption process, permission is rarely granted for a child to leave Costa Rica in the custody of a prospective adoptive parent for the purpose of being finally adopted in another country.

Under Costa Rican law, adopted children do not need to be orphans (both birth parents deceased). They must, however, be abandoned or irrevocably surrendered for adoption. Abandoned children may be living in a government facility, in a private orphanage or foster home or in the custody of a relative or friend. Children may also remain in the custody of a biological parent prior to formal relinquishment of custody before a judge. ( Important: The preceding relates only to Costa Rican legal requirements. See the section of this flyer on U.S. immigration requirements regarding the definition of an orphan for U.S. visa purposes; a child who does not meet the U.S. legal definition will not be permitted to immigrate to the U.S. even if Costa Rica permits the adoption to take place, and even if the adoptive parents are U.S. citizens.)

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN COSTA RICA:

The following documentation is normally required:

  • Certified and authenticated copies of the adoptive parent(s)' birth certificate(s);
  • Certified and authenticated copy of the adoptive parent(s)' marriage certificate (if applicable) and proof of termination of any previous marriages (certified copy of spouse's death certificate or divorce decree);
  • Medical certificate(s) for adoptive parent(s) notarized by physician and authenticated;
  • A certificate of good conduct/no criminal record for each adoptive parent from a local police department, notarized or bearing police department seal and authenticated. An FBI report is acceptable in lieu of local police record. This is separate from the FBI check conducted by USCIS as part of the petition process;
  • Verification of employment and salary, notarized and authenticated;
  • Two letters of reference notarized and authenticated;
  • A certified and authenticated copy of property trusts deeds, if applicable;
  • A home study prepared by an authorized and licensed social agency, certified and authenticated, may be required in some cases by the Costa Rican authorities if necessary information was not included on the USCIS (I-600A).
  • Bank statements, notarized/certified and authenticated;
  • Family letter of intent to adopt, which states any general preferences requested by the family, i.e. a certain age, sex, etc. notarized and authenticated.

Note: Additional documentation and procedures may be required.

AUTHENTICATING U.S. DOCUMENTS TO BE USED ABROAD: The language describing the process of authenticating U.S. documents to be used abroad is currently under review. Please click on the following link for more information until the new language is finalized: http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/.

COSTA RICAN EMBASSY AND CONSULATE IN THE US: The Costa Rican Embassy in the United States is located at 2112- S Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008 (telephone (202) 234-2945/46, fax (202) 265-4795). Costa Rican consulates are located in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Juan, San Francisco, and Tampa. The Embassy of Costa Rica also maintains a web site at http://www.costarica-embassy.org/.

US IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS

Prospective adopting parents are strongly encouraged to consult USCIS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adopting Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions. The USCIS publication is available at the USCIS Web site. The Department of State publication International Adoption can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, travel.state.gov, under “International Adoption.”

Before completing an adoption abroad, prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to read the requirements for filing Form I-600 Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.  Please see our flyer “ How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States” at our Web site travel.state.gov.

U.S. EMBASSY IN COSTA RICA: It is advisable to contact the U.S. Embassy at least three working days in advance of the adoption to check that documents are filled out correctly and that all required documents are present. The U.S. Embassy will also set an appointment to file the immigration petition (I-600) application and schedule the immigrant visa interview. Since the documentation required is slightly different from that required for the I-600A, adoptive parents should contact the Embassy early in the adoption process to request a packet of instructions listing the documents necessary for immigrant visa issuance.

Included in this packet of instructions is an "Immigrant Visa Checklist" form. The Embassy will schedule a final appointment in an adoption case once all documents have been assembled and the form has been signed by the adoptive parents and returned to the U.S. Embassy.

What Documents to Bring with You to U.S. Embassy Consular Section:
Note: Since each case is different, it is possible that the Embassy will require additional documents after a preliminary review of the application of the prospective adoptive parent(s). Generally, however, the following documentation is required:

  • Certified copy of child's original birth certificate issued by the civil registry showing biological parent(s) names.
  • If birth father, mother or both are deceased, certified copy of death certificate(s) issued by civil registry.
  • Relinquishment of parental rights executed before appropriate Costa Rican authority or a decree of abandonment.
  • Certified copy of Costa Rican final adoption decree, including a copy of the home study done on the child.
  • Certified copy of the new birth certificate from the Costa Rican Civil Registry showing names of adoptive parent(s).
  • Valid Costa Rican passport for the child in his/her new name.
  • One photograph of the child. (Instructions will be given)
  • Proof of adoptive parents’ current employment or self-employment,
  • For IR-4 cases only- proof of adoptive parents’ Individual Income Tax Returns for last year.
  • Medical examination (according to Embassy instructions). If the minor has a physical or mental disability, a notarized statement will be required from the prospective adoptive parent(s) in the United States indicating that they are fully aware of the physical or mental disability of the minor and in spite of that fact that they have the intention of finalizing the adoption. This statement can be included in item 19 of form I-600 and also in the home study if more convenient. In that case a separate notarized statement will not be required.

The child must be present at the U.S. Embassy for the immigrant visa interview.

Note About Additional Documentation Requirements: Since each case is different, it is possible that the Embassy will request additional documents after a preliminary review of the application of the prospective adoptive parent(s). For example, if the minor has a physical or mental disability and only one adoptive parent (in the case of married couples) is present abroad, a notarized statement will be required from the absent prospective adoptive parent in the United States indicating that s/he is fully aware of the physical or mental disability of the minor and in spite of that fact that s/he has the intention of finalizing the adoption. This statement can be included in item 19 of form I-600 and also in the home study if more convenient. In the latter case, a separate notarized statement will not be required.

NOTE:  Visa issuance after the final interview now generally takes 24 hours and it will not normally be possible to provide the visa to adoptive parents on the day of the interview.

ACQUIRING U.S. CITIZENSHIP: The language describing the acquisition of U.S. citizenship for adopted children is currently under review. Until the new language is finalized, please click on the following link for further information: ../info/info_457.html .

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Specific questions about adoption in Costa Rica may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica. 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, 4th Floor, 2201 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818, toll-free Tel: 1-888-407-4747.

Useful information is also available from several other sources:
Telephone:

  • Toll Free - 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 1-202-501-4444.
  • U.S. Department of State Visa Office - recorded information concerning immigrant visas for adopting children, (202) 663-1225.
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - recorded information for requesting immigrant visa application forms, 1-800-870-FORM (3676).

Internet :

  • Adoption Information Flyers: The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of 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 Toll Free at 1-888-407-4747. This number is available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern 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 1-202-501-4444.
  • USCIS web site - http://uscis.gov/.