Adoption of Stepchild

[LeeFisher3]

For those of you who have wondered about such things, it is possible and quite painless.

All states have procedures for adopting a stepchild, the following is based on what we did in Kansas, but much if not all should apply in most states.

Here are the highlights:
Wife had full custody in divorce decree.
Father never paid any child support.
Father did not have contact with son for over 2 years.
A 30 day cooling off period after filing.
One 30 minute court appearance.
A Lawyer specializing in adoption.
One check for $1000

I thought that adopting my wife’s son would be a difficult task and found this to be simple.

My wife and I discussed this in private and we decided to see what we could accomplish. We did not share this information with our son until after discussing the specifics with an attorney because we did not want to set false hopes or expectations for our son.

I contacted a local attorney who specializes in adoptions, my first contact was by email and was amazed when she called me back the next day. We discussed what we wanted to do and I raised concern over the possibility of the court requiring our son’s father in China to give his consent.

She asked me if the father had provided any support or made any attempts to contact our son within the past 2 years. The answer was no, there has been no contact since the divorce. She responded that this would be a simple process and she quoted me a flat rate of one thousand dollars which include all expenses, including court fees.

We then discussed this with our son. His biggest concern was could he have an American Name. We then spent the next few days talking names and giving him time to think it over.

Once he chose his new name we made an appointment with the attorney, who works out of her home. It took about 30 minutes to complete the paperwork, which included verifying my wife had custody. A week later the papers were filed.

Kansas law calls for a court hearing between 30 and 60 days after filing and our court date was 5 weeks after the filing. Only I was required to be there as my wife had given her written consent for me to file as part of the original filing and our son is under 14 years old so his consent was not required as part of the process.

On the court date my wife and I met our attorney at the court house. The judge swore us in and then advised me that adoption was not revocable and would be permanent with all the responsibilities of a natural father which would not cease if his mother and I were to divorce. Our son would also become my natural heir. He verified that I understood and wished to continue.

He then verified the facts of the case, that my wife had sole custody, the length of time our son and I had known each other. Then the questions came to his natural father. The judge asked if there had been any contact during the past 2 years and if my wife had received any support during that time. The judge questioned if we knew how to contact the natural father, which we answered no. He then pursued this to ask if we knew where he lived, my attorney said he lives in China and that we know the province. The judge responded that China was a pretty big place and my attorney agreed. He asked about the choice of name and I explained the process we went through allowing our son to choose his American name and keeping his Chinese name as his two middle names.

Then the judge read the adoption decree our attorney had written and ordered the natural fathers rights revoked based on abandonment and granted the name change.

He then congratulated me and came over and shook my hand.

We then went to the clerk’s office where the paperwork was finalized and we walked out with 5 copies of the adoption papers.

We changed his name at the school an hour after leaving the court house. As a few of the other children were not accepting our son’s word that his name was changing the principle went to his class and made a big deal of introducing the new student in the class. Our son came home that day walking on air.

Two weeks later we received a letter from the state asking that my wife and I verify the information on the new birth certificate and for one or both of us to sign and return it. We also included the fees for 5 certified copies of the birth certificate. Total cost $40, a self addressed envelope and 2 first class stamps. The certified copied arrived 10 days later. The birth certificate has the notation that it is not proof of American Citizenship, more on this later.

To complete the process we e-filed an I-90 with the USCIS for a replacement green card, cost $260. Gotta love that we had to pay the $70 biometric fee for a 10 year old who just had this done less than a year ago. The I-797C receipt arrived 3 days later and a week later the I-797C biometrics appointment letter arrived. Total time line, 21 days from filing to appointment, just wish AOS had gone this fast, but then his green card is less than a year old. The appointment letter instructs our son to appear for biometrics and to bring all evidence related to the name change to be verified at the time of the biometrics.

Our appointment is on Monday, July 9, and I expect a new green card will be ordered. I have copies of everything in the event they want something for their file and dusted off the passports just in case they want to see them too.

After we get the new green card we will have a stop at SSA to show the name change and birth certificate. Then DMV to get his state ID updated. I have all the usual papers to do with health insurance and beneficiary forms to change his name.

All in all a very painless process and my son is now the child of a US Citizen, birth certificate and all. We will be able to file for his US Passport on June 30, 2008 based on the Child Citizen Act of 2000, but will probably wait until he is 17 and include him in the decision process. After the age of 18 he would need to go through the normal Naturalization process.

Edited January 17, 2013 by dnoblett
Fixed a tag (see edit history)

[Yuanyang]

Outstanding Lee! Congratulations!

Thank you for hoeing a new row into the CFL knowledge base.

 

 

 

 

 

So what's the boy's new name? Max Power Fisher?

[Randy W]

Very good! Congratulations.

[rogerinca]

Lee, how wonderful !! Congratulations to you, your Lao Po and your son !!!

 

I have become very familiar with this process and will complete it here after wife and daughter arrive, early next year. In California, (in my county at least) it requires a family appearance before the Superior Court Judge. It is a nice little ceremony.

 

I have examples/samples of the legal forms and will complete the paperwork and forms myself and will pay the modest court filing fee.

 

This is just another aspect of this entire process that is so exciting and so rewarding !!

[esun41]

Lee,

 

 

 

Awesome write-up. This is fantastic news!!!

 

 

 

Congratulations...

[jean-charles]

For those of you who have wondered about such things, it is possible and quite painless.

 

All states have procedures for adopting a stepchild, the following is based on what we did in Kansas, but much if not all should apply in most states.

 

Here are the highlights:

Wife had full custody in divorce decree.

Father never paid any child support.

Father did not have contact with son for over 2 years.

A 30 day cooling off period after filing.

One 30 minute court appearance.

A Lawyer specializing in adoption.

One check for $1000

I thought that adopting my wife¡¯s son would be a difficult task and found this to be simple.

 

My wife and I discussed this in private and we decided to see what we could accomplish. We did not share this information with our son until after discussing the specifics with an attorney because we did not want to set false hopes or expectations for our son.

 

I contacted a local attorney who specializes in adoptions, my first contact was by email and was amazed when she called me back the next day. We discussed what we wanted to do and I raised concern over the possibility of the court requiring our son¡¯s father in China to give his consent.

 

She asked me if the father had provided any support or made any attempts to contact our son within the past 2 years. The answer was no, there has been no contact since the divorce. She responded that this would be a simple process and she quoted me a flat rate of one thousand dollars which include all expenses, including court fees.

 

We then discussed this with our son. His biggest concern was could he have an American Name. We then spent the next few days talking names and giving him time to think it over.

 

Once he chose his new name we made an appointment with the attorney, who works out of her home. It took about 30 minutes to complete the paperwork, which included verifying my wife had custody. A week later the papers were filed.

 

Kansas law calls for a court hearing between 30 and 60 days after filing and our court date was 5 weeks after the filing. Only I was required to be there as my wife had given her written consent for me to file as part of the original filing and our son is under 14 years old so his consent was not required as part of the process.

 

On the court date my wife and I met our attorney at the court house. The judge swore us in and then advised me that adoption was not revocable and would be permanent with all the responsibilities of a natural father which would not cease if his mother and I were to divorce. Our son would also become my natural heir. He verified that I understood and wished to continue.

 

He then verified the facts of the case, that my wife had sole custody, the length of time our son and I had known each other. Then the questions came to his natural father. The judge asked if there had been any contact during the past 2 years and if my wife had received any support during that time. The judge questioned if we knew how to contact the natural father, which we answered no. He then pursued this to ask if we knew where he lived, my attorney said he lives in China and that we know the province. The judge responded that China was a pretty big place and my attorney agreed. He asked about the choice of name and I explained the process we went through allowing our son to choose his American name and keeping his Chinese name as his two middle names.

 

Then the judge read the adoption decree our attorney had written and ordered the natural fathers rights revoked based on abandonment and granted the name change.

 

He then congratulated me and came over and shook my hand.

 

We then went to the clerk¡¯s office where the paperwork was finalized and we walked out with 5 copies of the adoption papers.

 

We changed his name at the school an hour after leaving the court house. As a few of the other children were not accepting our son¡¯s word that his name was changing the principle went to his class and made a big deal of introducing the new student in the class. Our son came home that day walking on air.

 

Two weeks later we received a letter from the state asking that my wife and I verify the information on the new birth certificate and for one or both of us to sign and return it. We also included the fees for 5 certified copies of the birth certificate. Total cost $40, a self addressed envelope and 2 first class stamps. The certified copied arrived 10 days later. The birth certificate has the notation that it is not proof of American Citizenship, more on this later.

 

To complete the process we e-filed an I-90 with the USCIS for a replacement green card, cost $260. Gotta love that we had to pay the $70 biometric fee for a 10 year old who just had this done less than a year ago. The I-797C receipt arrived 3 days later and a week later the I-797C biometrics appointment letter arrived. Total time line, 21 days from filing to appointment, just wish AOS had gone this fast, but then his green card is less than a year old. The appointment letter instructs our son to appear for biometrics and to bring all evidence related to the name change to be verified at the time of the biometrics.

 

Our appointment is on Monday, July 9, and I expect a new green card will be ordered. I have copies of everything in the event they want something for their file and dusted off the passports just in case they want to see them too.

 

After we get the new green card we will have a stop at SSA to show the name change and birth certificate. Then DMV to get his state ID updated. I have all the usual papers to do with health insurance and beneficiary forms to change his name.

 

All in all a very painless process and my son is now the child of a US Citizen, birth certificate and all. We will be able to file for his US Passport on June 30, 2008 based on the Child Citizen Act of 2000, but will probably wait until he is 17 and include him in the decision process. After the age of 18 he would need to go through the normal Naturalization process.

 

 

Lee, first congratulation.

I want to ask:

why did you file an I-90? since he was your son, could he just ave been getting a passport like that?

 

Also in the new child act, do we still have to notify the USCIS to forget the child as they became us citizen ?

[LeeFisher3]

For those of you who have wondered about such things, it is possible and quite painless.

 

All states have procedures for adopting a stepchild, the following is based on what we did in Kansas, but much if not all should apply in most states.

 

Here are the highlights:

Wife had full custody in divorce decree.

Father never paid any child support.

Father did not have contact with son for over 2 years.

A 30 day cooling off period after filing.

One 30 minute court appearance.

A Lawyer specializing in adoption.

One check for $1000

I thought that adopting my wife¡¯s son would be a difficult task and found this to be simple.

 

My wife and I discussed this in private and we decided to see what we could accomplish. We did not share this information with our son until after discussing the specifics with an attorney because we did not want to set false hopes or expectations for our son.

 

I contacted a local attorney who specializes in adoptions, my first contact was by email and was amazed when she called me back the next day. We discussed what we wanted to do and I raised concern over the possibility of the court requiring our son¡¯s father in China to give his consent.

 

She asked me if the father had provided any support or made any attempts to contact our son within the past 2 years. The answer was no, there has been no contact since the divorce. She responded that this would be a simple process and she quoted me a flat rate of one thousand dollars which include all expenses, including court fees.

 

We then discussed this with our son. His biggest concern was could he have an American Name. We then spent the next few days talking names and giving him time to think it over.

 

Once he chose his new name we made an appointment with the attorney, who works out of her home. It took about 30 minutes to complete the paperwork, which included verifying my wife had custody. A week later the papers were filed.

 

Kansas law calls for a court hearing between 30 and 60 days after filing and our court date was 5 weeks after the filing. Only I was required to be there as my wife had given her written consent for me to file as part of the original filing and our son is under 14 years old so his consent was not required as part of the process.

 

On the court date my wife and I met our attorney at the court house. The judge swore us in and then advised me that adoption was not revocable and would be permanent with all the responsibilities of a natural father which would not cease if his mother and I were to divorce. Our son would also become my natural heir. He verified that I understood and wished to continue.

 

He then verified the facts of the case, that my wife had sole custody, the length of time our son and I had known each other. Then the questions came to his natural father. The judge asked if there had been any contact during the past 2 years and if my wife had received any support during that time. The judge questioned if we knew how to contact the natural father, which we answered no. He then pursued this to ask if we knew where he lived, my attorney said he lives in China and that we know the province. The judge responded that China was a pretty big place and my attorney agreed. He asked about the choice of name and I explained the process we went through allowing our son to choose his American name and keeping his Chinese name as his two middle names.

 

Then the judge read the adoption decree our attorney had written and ordered the natural fathers rights revoked based on abandonment and granted the name change.

 

He then congratulated me and came over and shook my hand.

 

We then went to the clerk¡¯s office where the paperwork was finalized and we walked out with 5 copies of the adoption papers.

 

We changed his name at the school an hour after leaving the court house. As a few of the other children were not accepting our son¡¯s word that his name was changing the principle went to his class and made a big deal of introducing the new student in the class. Our son came home that day walking on air.

 

Two weeks later we received a letter from the state asking that my wife and I verify the information on the new birth certificate and for one or both of us to sign and return it. We also included the fees for 5 certified copies of the birth certificate. Total cost $40, a self addressed envelope and 2 first class stamps. The certified copied arrived 10 days later. The birth certificate has the notation that it is not proof of American Citizenship, more on this later.

 

To complete the process we e-filed an I-90 with the USCIS for a replacement green card, cost $260. Gotta love that we had to pay the $70 biometric fee for a 10 year old who just had this done less than a year ago. The I-797C receipt arrived 3 days later and a week later the I-797C biometrics appointment letter arrived. Total time line, 21 days from filing to appointment, just wish AOS had gone this fast, but then his green card is less than a year old. The appointment letter instructs our son to appear for biometrics and to bring all evidence related to the name change to be verified at the time of the biometrics.

 

Our appointment is on Monday, July 9, and I expect a new green card will be ordered. I have copies of everything in the event they want something for their file and dusted off the passports just in case they want to see them too.

 

After we get the new green card we will have a stop at SSA to show the name change and birth certificate. Then DMV to get his state ID updated. I have all the usual papers to do with health insurance and beneficiary forms to change his name.

 

All in all a very painless process and my son is now the child of a US Citizen, birth certificate and all. We will be able to file for his US Passport on June 30, 2008 based on the Child Citizen Act of 2000, but will probably wait until he is 17 and include him in the decision process. After the age of 18 he would need to go through the normal Naturalization process.

 

 

Lee, first congratulation.

I want to ask:

why did you file an I-90? since he was your son, could he just ave been getting a passport like that?

 

Also in the new child act, do we still have to notify the USCIS to forget the child as they became us citizen ?

Citizenship derived by adoption by a step parent requires 2 years custody with the USC parent and we won't be there until July of this year.

 

We will probably wait to get him his US passport until he is 17 years old, it makes it easier for him to travel to China and as long as we get the passport done before he turns 18 we're in good shape.

 

The I-90 was for a name change so his green card matches his legal name. We probably could have waited but there are some actions you take to reinforce the statements you've made. Just like when he first came to the US and we talked about being a family, to him a family had a family picture to display in the home, so off we went and got it done. The price of the frame about killed me, but thats how it goes to make your child know he is important.

 

As best I can tell the DOS will notify the USCIS, besides a US Citizen isn't required to report to the USCIS.

[C4Racer]

Lee,

 

Congrats on the adoption. I know you've been looking forward, hoping this was an option for a while. Good to hear it's finally come to fruition. Lisa has mentioned once or twice once we get her son here maybe doing the same. Hope ours goes as easy.

 

Mike

[LeeFisher3]

Lee,

 

Congrats on the adoption. I know you've been looking forward, hoping this was an option for a while. Good to hear it's finally come to fruition. Lisa has mentioned once or twice once we get her son here maybe doing the same. Hope ours goes as easy.

 

Mike

You've met him, do you think I could tell the judge we only wanted a 2 year conditional adoption?

[jim_julian]

Congratulations to all of you Lee and thanks for writing it up.

[BuffaloPaul]

Congratulations Lee!!

[LeeFisher3]

A followup to the adoption process, after our son being in the US for 2 years along with the adoption he became a US Citizen. A couple of weeks ago we applied for his US passport under the Child Citizenship Act.

 

His new passport arrived in the mail today and he no longer needs a green card.

 

And to our friends at the USCIS.

[Toplaw]

Lee, that is fantastic! We will follow in your steps with Cici.

[spacebar]

Congratulations Lee!!!

 

I read the beginning of this thread and found the information you provided very helpful. I probably should have looked at this a long time. Thanks for the great advice. I hope I can share some helpful advice as all of you have too!

 

A followup to the adoption process, after our son being in the US for 2 years along with the adoption he became a US Citizen. A couple of weeks ago we applied for his US passport under the Child Citizenship Act.

 

His new passport arrived in the mail today and he no longer needs a green card.

 

And to our friends at the USCIS.

[Randy W]

 

And to our friends at the USCIS.

 

W#hat a feeling! Congrats!