The Immigration through Adoption video defines the Hague and Orphan processes and the Immediate Relative Process and reveals the differences between them. It explains who an adopted child under the Immediate Relative Process is and explains who can petition under this process. Also you can find out where you can file for immigration of adopted child and under what circumstances you can do it. According to U.S. Department of State during 2013 Americans adopted 7,092 children from other countries. A child is considered to be adopted if they were adopted before 16th or 18th birthday and the adoptive parent had legal and physical custody of the child for at least two years while a child was a minor. The law regarding Immediate Relative Process is very complex, for more detailed information please, watch our video. Generally an U.S. Citizen can petition under the Immediate Relative Process for an adopted unmarried and under aged child, an unmarried son or daughter over the age of 21 or even their married son or daughter. The permanent resident or Green Card holder may file a petition for an adopted unmarried minor child or unmarried daughter or son over the age of 21. To begin the immigration process for your adopted child, you should file Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), the instructions for this you can find at http://www.uscis.gov/i-130-addresses.
