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INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION


ETHIOPIA

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.

PLEASE NOTE: There are 7 U.S.-based adoption agencies authorized by the Government of Ethiopia to provide adoption services, and several others pending accreditation.

Ethiopia requires post placement reports on Ethiopian orphans at 3 months, 6 months, and one year after the adoption. Yearly reports until the child turns 18 are also required. Please review the Documentary Requirements below for more information.

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

  Fiscal Year

  Number of Immigrant Visas Issued

  FY 2005

  440

  FY 2004

  289

  FY 2003

  135

  FY 2002

  105

  FY 2001

  158

ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN Ethiopia: The government office responsible for adoptions in Ethiopia is the Adoption Team in the Children and Youth Affairs Office (CYAO), which is under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA). The head of the Adoption Team can be reached at (251)-11-550-5358 to request information about approved orphanages caring for children in need of permanent family placements through international adoption.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: The Ethiopian government prefers to place children with married couples who have been married for at least five years.  In general, single persons under age 25 may not adopt; nor may openly gay or lesbian individuals or couples.  However, the Ethiopian government has occasionally approved cases involving persons in all of these categories.

There is no statutory maximum age limit on the adoptive parent; however, Ethiopian practice is to limit the age of the parent to no more than 40 years greater than that of the adopted child.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: There are no residency requirements for prospective adoptive parents.

TIME FRAME: Adoption agencies will advise adoptive parents approximately how long an adoption can take. Recent adoptions have taken between 6 and 24 months.

Once the Ethiopian adoption process has been completed, it normally takes about an hour to apply for an immigrant visa for an adopted child for families working through approved adoption agencies. Approved visas are typically picked up by the agencies the following morning. It may take months for private adopters, depending on the completeness of the application and the need for follow-up investigations.

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa confirms that there are seven American adoption agencies known to have bona fide licenses to facilitate international adoptions from Ethiopia to the United States. The Department of State is aware that there are American and foreign adoption agencies and individuals, located in both countries, who claim they can assist with adoptions in Ethiopia. Few orphanages are licensed to care for children in need of a permanent family placement through international adoption.

The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa or MOLSA has a list of adoption agencies authorized to provide adoption services.

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 see Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators at our Web site at ../info/info_454.html.

Adoptive Parents Residing in Ethiopia: Adoptive parents residing in Ethiopia face a few issues not faced by those living in the United States.

No one in Ethiopia is authorized to conduct a home study for the purposes of satisfying the requirements of USCIS’ I-600A application and I-600 petition processes. To request a home study, prospective adoptive parents resident in Ethiopia may contact an accredited American agency to see if/when the agency may be sending a social worker to Ethiopia. The social worker can conduct a home study, but it takes a few months after the social worker returns to the United States before the home study is finalized and received by the adoptive parents in Ethiopia.

I-600A applications are sent to the Officer-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Nairobi. The embassy telephone number from Ethiopia is (00254-20) 363-6000. Before the I-600A is sent, it should be brought in to the Consular Section along with the filing fee to obtain a fee receipt. DHS Nairobi will act on the application as quickly as possible, but may take a month or more to respond. Prospective adoptive parents can contact DHS Nairobi directly via e-mail, at USCISNboConsular@dhs.gov.

Private Adoptions: Private adoptions are permitted in Ethiopia, but discouraged by MOLSA because they take place under local adoption rules and may bypass the process and protections put in place by the Government of Ethiopia relating to international adoption.

The procedures for an intercountry adoption are different from those for a local adoption. International adoption rules in Ethiopia require U.S. citizens to work with Ethiopia's Children and Youth Affairs Office (CYAO) in Addis Ababa, which is under the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA), to effect an intercountry adoption. Americans who enter into private adoptions that bypass the CYAO, or that follow local rather than international adoption procedures, will not be able to take the child out of Ethiopia, and will not be able to obtain a U.S. immigrant visa for the child. An exception to this is Ethiopian-Americans who adopt orphaned blood relatives. They are permitted to adopt using local adoption procedures, but when applying for the child’s immigrant visa will have to provide additional and convincing supporting documentation to prove orphan status due to the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from, both parents. If the sole or surviving parent is incapable of providing the proper care the parent must have, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption.

Adoption Fees In Ethiopia:

Before the Adoption: Adoptive parents can expect to pay fees for authentication of U.S. documents for use abroad and for translation fees. All English-language documents submitted to the Ethiopian court must be accompanied by a translation in Amharic. The U.S. Embassy understands that translation services run about $1 per page, but check with your adoption agency for up to date information on translation costs.

MOLSA and the police charge no fees for services creating dossiers on the parents and the child, investigating whether the child is a bona fide orphan, meeting in committee to review the case, and making their recommendations to the court.

Courts charge no fees for services in accepting adoption petitions, making judgments, and issuing decrees.

MOLSA often asks for a letter from the U.S. Embassy supporting the parents' desire to adopt. If the Embassy has received the petition approval from USCIS, a letter can be issued supporting the adoption. This service is free.

If additional documents are required by MOLSA, the agency/parents can submit certified copies. Cost for certification by the U.S. Embassy is $30 per grommeted package, or single document.

After the adoption:

  • The services of MOLSA in issuing a letter to the U.S. Embassy attesting to the orphan status of the child, and issuing requests so that the child's new birth certificate and passport can be issued, are free.
  • The issuance of a local birth certificate costs about $2; for expeditious or same day service, add about $5.
  • To have a birth certificate or other document authenticated at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs it costs about $16 for Ethiopian parents, about $35 for foreign parents.
  • Ethiopian Passport issuance is about $35.

Orphanages run by religious organizations, and the large government run orphanages, charge nothing for their services to prepare and sign adoption contracts.

The Department does not know what the licensed adoption agencies charge to process an Ethiopian adoption. Local unscrupulous adoption facilitators have been known to charge adoptive parents additional costs beyond what prospective adoptive parents believed they would be charged, often after they have arrived in Ethiopia and already have their children in their physical custody. Some of these parents indicated to the U.S. Embassy that the costs ran thousands of dollars more than they expected to pay.

ADOPTION PROCEDURES: MOLSA identifies orphans in need of a permanent family placement through international adoption. In general, Ethiopian orphans identified for intercountry adoption have been abandoned by their parents or have lost their parents to disease or other misfortune. MOLSA places abandoned or orphaned children in orphanages or foster homes, pending adoption. When a child is abandoned, by law it comes into the custody of the government. When a child is found to have two HIV/AIDS-infected parents, or one living HIV/AIDS-infected parent, the government routinely declares that the child is an orphan and assumes legal guardianship of the child. Many AIDS-orphaned children adopted by Americans come from the HIV/AIDS hospice run by the Missionaries of Charity in Addis Ababa.

Please be aware that it is common practice for the Government of Ethiopia to require that a child be resident in an orphanage for three months before they can be adopted.

MOLSA has responsibility for all activities regarding children in the country, including welfare, fosterage, in-country and international adoption, and investigation of neglect and abuse. When an orphaned or abandoned child comes into the custody of the government, the police and MOLSA create the child's dossier.

Note - An adoption agency’s U.S. and Ethiopian-based staff manages the adoption process in Ethiopia. American citizens who are adopting privately must complete all of these steps unaided by adoption professionals.

Step One - Prospective adoptive parents must take or send all of the required documents (see document list below), already certified and authenticated, to the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C. for additional authentication. Once the Embassy has completed its authentication, the completed packet is returned to the adoptive parents. Then the prospective adoptive parents forward the documents to:

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
Children and Youth Affairs Office, Adoption Team
P.O. Box 2056
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
www.molsa.gov.et

MOLSA reviews the documents for completeness and creates a dossier on the adoptive parent(s).

  • Note on private adoptions - Parents who have received MOLSA permission to adopt privately must come to Ethiopia to complete adoption requirements. Only one parent has to appear, but, if married, must bring a power of attorney from the other parent. If these parents plan to file the I-600 at the Embassy in Addis Ababa, they need to make sure that the parent who comes to finalize the adoption is an American citizen.
  • Note on relative adoptions - Ethiopian-Americans who are adopting orphaned relatives do not have to come to Ethiopia to process their adoptions. They can have a representative with a power of attorney represent them in court. Married adoptive parents need to make sure that both parents have given the representative a power of attorney so that both parents' names appear on the adoption decree.

Step Two - The parents’ dossier is taken to the Claims and Authentication Section of the Protocol Office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ethiopia to be authenticated. There is a fee for authentication stamps; the stamps are affixed to the dossier. The fee is 300 Ethiopian birr per document.

Step Three - The parents’ dossier is returned to CYAO. CYAO will then affix a summary sheet, on which will be noted items such as court decisions, background data on the adopted child or children, and the names of Adoption Committee members who will complete the form at a later date (see below). At this point, for private adoptions only, MOLSA usually asks the U.S. Embassy to provide a letter of support for the adoptive parents. These letters are provided, free of charge, only after the U.S. Embassy has received directly from USCIS a notice of I-600A or I-600 petition approval for the adoptive parent(s).

Step Four - CYAO submits the parents’ dossier to the Adoption Committee for review and approval to adopt. The Adoption Committee meets periodically, sometimes as often as every week, to review cases. The Committee either approves or rejects the prospective adoptive parent(s), based on Ethiopian guidelines for international adoptions. Given the volume of work before the Committee, it can take weeks before the Committee reviews a dossier. Further investigation into the parents' qualifications is done if deemed necessary, and a recommendation is made. Only if all the members of the committee agree, and sign the recommendation, is the request approved.

Step Five - Once the Committee has approved the parents’ dossier, a child is selected and referred to the prospective parents to adopt, according to the parents’ preferences for age and sex. The child selected must have its own dossier at MOLSA. That dossier describes the child, the child's history, how the child came to be an orphan, and who has legal guardianship of the child. Once a referral is made, the prospective adoptive parent may accept or refuse the referral.

Step Six - Upon acceptance of the referral, a Contract of Adoption is signed between the child's legal guardian and the adoptive parent(s), or the agency representative. If the legal guardian is also the agency that is processing the adoption, another licensed orphanage can sign on behalf of the child. This contract is the basis for the issuance of the adoption decree, which shows that the guardian or the orphanage has relinquished their parental or guardian right in regard to the adopted child. The contract must be taken to the Inland Revenue Administration office to be stamped. There is a nominal fee.

Step Seven - CYAO opens a file at the Federal First Instance Court to apply for an appointment date for the adoption hearing. The court date could be one to two months from the date of filing. The Court generally is closed between three and twelve weeks between July and October. The dates change every year.

Step Eight - A notice seeking any other claimants to the child is published in the local press stating the child's name and the name of the adopting parents. Anyone opposed to the adoption is requested to appear at MOLSA by a certain date and time.

Step Nine - When the appointed court date arrives, the prospective parents or their agency's local representative will be asked to appear in court. Final decisions can be handed down quickly, but delays of weeks are not uncommon. Adoptive parents must obtain at least two originals of the court decree. One will be retained by MOLSA and one must be submitted to the U.S. Embassy for the visa application. The original submitted to the Embassy will be returned to the parents.

  • Note – Adoptions are final. All Ethiopian adoptions are full and final and irrevocable under Ethiopian law.
  • Note – Legal guardianship versus adoption. Ethiopian-American orphan adopters should note that the court decrees one receives for adoption are very similar to those granting legal guardianship. In order to receive an orphan visa, adoptive parents must ensure that the decree is one of adoption and not simply the granting of legal guardianship.
  • Note – Effective date of the adoption. Usually, the adoption decree confirms the adoption contract; thus, under Ethiopian law, the effective date of adoption is usually the date the adoption contract was signed. However, under U.S. immigration law, legal custody begins at the date of the official court decree (this point is important for petitioners attempting to show two years of legal custody, not for typical intercountry adoptions).

Step Ten - After the adoption is complete, MOLSA prepares a request to the city of Addis Ababa for the issuance of a new birth certificate, and a request to the Office of Security, Immigration and Refugee Affairs for an Ethiopian passport for the child in its new name. Both of these are best facilitated if the requests are hand-carried to the relevant offices. The U.S. Embassy needs both the new birth certificate and the passport to complete the child's U.S. immigrant visa application process.

Step Eleven - The court decree must be translated into English. The original and the translation are submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) for authentication. The authentication stamp, seals and signature are placed on the back of the translation. If the adoption contract was made in Amharic, it too must be translated into English and the original translation authenticated by MOFA.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION IN ETHIOPIA:
Prospective Adoptive Parents must provide the following to MOLSA:

  • A written statement from the adoptive parents explaining why an Ethiopian child is preferred, with an original translation into Amharic.
  • Original birth certificate(s) of the prospective adoptive parent (s), each with an original translation into Amharic.
  • Original marriage license/certificate, if applicable, with an original translation into Amharic. Note - If originals are not available, certified copies must be authenticated by the Department of State. That authentication must be accompanied by an original translation into Amharic.
  • An original Ethiopian police clearance for each of the adoptive parents (including those residing in Ethiopia).
  • A medical certificate/clearance for each of the adoptive parents, with an original translation into Amharic.
  • The original home study prepared by a qualified social worker, which specifies the following: personal and family status; character and personal qualities; educational background; duration and stability of marriage; financial and medical situations; present address and U.S. address; condition of home in country of residence; address and names of family of origin (i.e., parents; and the agency's recommendation regarding your suitability as an adoptive parent with an original translation into Amharic.) Note - The agency that conducts the home study and issues the recommendation must have approval in the parents’ state of residence to do so.
  • Evidence of economic status, which must include a letter from employer showing salary, date of employment, position in the organization and a bank statement. Proof of life and health insurance, other proof of income or assets may also be submitted. Each document must be accompanied by an original translation into Amharic.
  • Three letters of reference from friends, relatives, church or other sources qualified to assess your character, the stability of your marriage, and your ability to parent, with original translations into Amharic.
  • Two passport-size photographs of the prospective adoptive parent(s).
  • If the adoptive parents do not come to Ethiopia together to oversee this entire process, then they must execute a power of attorney for their adoption agency, or if only one parent will travel to Ethiopia, the other parent must execute a power of attorney for him/her. That power of attorney must be authenticated by the Ethiopian embassy in Washington, D.C., and be submitted with an original translation into Amharic.
  • "Obligation of Adoption or Social Welfare Agency" signed by the adoption agency handling the adoption, or for private adopters, from the organization that provided the home study, or by the parents’ employer, in which the parents agree to allow follow-up visits by a social worker, and to submit a regular progress report to CYAO on the child's (or children's) adjustment to/development in the adoptive home. These visits should be scheduled at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year after the adoption and annually thereafter until the child reaches the age of 18. This form must be forwarded together with the psychosocial study/home study and with an original translation into Amharic, by either the parents or the adoption agency.
  • Verification by the adoption agency or home study organization on the child's qualification for naturalization under the parents' state laws, with an original translation into Amharic.

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/.

Ethiopia EMBASSY IN THE UNITED STATES:

3506 International Dr. NW
Washington DC 20008
Phone: 202-364-1200
Fax: 202-587-0195
info@ethiopianembassy.org
http://www.ethiopianembassy.org/contact.shtml

U.S. IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS

Prospective adoptive 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 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.”

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.

APPLYING FOR A VISA FOR YOUR CHILD AT THE U.S. EMBASSY IN ETHIOPIA: In addition to the documents and procedures outlined in How Can Adopted Children Come to the United States, the following procedures must be followed at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa.

After the I-600 petition is approved by USCIS, adoptive parents may contact the Consular Section at (011-251-11) 124-24-24 Monday to Thursday afternoon to schedule an interview (please be aware that the Embassy has designated interview dates for agencies; please consult with your agency for more information). Parents should not make final, non-refundable travel plans to depart Ethiopia until they have their child’s immigrant visa in hand. A consular officer is required to review each adoption case carefully and make an independent determination of the child’s eligibility for a visa. This includes another review of the orphan status of the child and a review of the child’s medical information.

Immigrant visa applications are adjudicated based upon and approved I-600. If the I-600 is to be presented at the Embassy by one or both adoptive parents, the I-600 adjudication, the I-604 investigation and the immigrant visa application adjudication are done at the same time.

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

Note - The U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia will conduct the investigation and complete an I-604 only if the child appears in person at the Embassy. Children that have been taken to the United States or other countries, and adopted there, must return to Ethiopia in order for the I-604 to be completed. Adoptive parents should note that USCIS will not permit the adjustment of status in the United States of an adopted orphan.

  • U.S. Visa Application Fees and Fees for Required Documents;
  • For information on current immigrant visa petition fees, the visa application and processing fee, and security surcharge, please see our Fees for Visa Services Website at: ../../../visa/temp/types/types_1263.html;
  • Photos for the visa application cost about $2-3;
  • The medical exam for the visa application is about $35. If the child is 16 or older, a police certificate is required. This will cost about $1.50.
  • If DNA testing is suggested to support any other relationship claim, that cost is determined by the lab in the U.S. that conducts the testing.
  • If the parent is using one of the approved adoption agencies, please ask the DHS/USCIS office to include the name of the agency in the notification. Upon receipt of such notification, the U.S. Embassy will contact the adoption agency and advise that the approval has been received.
  • If the U.S. Embassy receives notification of an approved I-600A that does not list an adoption agency, the Embassy waits for the adoption agency to contact the Embassy. Once the adoptive parents are ready to start the immigrant visa application process, they or their agency should pick up the necessary forms from the Embassy.
  • All non-English documents submitted to the Embassy must be accompanied by a translation into English. We understand translation services in Ethiopia run about $1 per page.
  • Photocopies of all original documents, including the biographic pages of the passport, must be submitted to the Embassy. Cost runs about two to five cents per page.
  • For parents who will file the I-600 with DHS in the U.S., the U.S. Embassy will certify copies of all adoption documents, birth certificates, etc. Cost for certification is $30 per grommeted package, or single document. Simply placing a "seen and compared" stamp on documents that the Embassy will retain for the child's permanent record is free.

Note: Visas can generally be collected the morning following the day of interview.

After The Visa Is Issued
For the child to exit Ethiopia, an exit visa is required. Ethiopian Immigration will place an exit visa in the child's Ethiopian passport. The fee for this service is about $8.

If the child will transit Germany en route to the U.S., a German visa is required. A German visa may be obtained by applying at the German Embassy in Addis Ababa. German visas cost about $15.

If the child will transit the U.K. en route to the U.S., and disembarks, a U.K. visa will be required. A visa to the U.K. may be obtained by applying at the British Embassy in Addis Ababa. A UK visa costs about $56.

Taxicabs charge foreigners about $4 to come up the hill to the U.S. Embassy from downtown or one of the major hotels.

U.S. Embassy In Ethiopia : Americans living or traveling abroad are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov/, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within the country of travel. Americans without Internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency. The Consular Section is located at:

American Embassy
Entoto Road
Addis Ababa

The Consular Section's telephone number is (251-11) 124-24-24. The fax number is (251-11) 124-35-35. The e-mail address is consaddis@state.gov. American citizens can walk in from 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., Monday through Friday and 1:00 pm – 4:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

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 [this country] may be addressed to the U.S. Embassy in [this country]. 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/ .