Christianna Lyford’s Answers
140 total
My partner and I are looking have a baby. When is it best to start adoption proceedings and are they necessary?ARCHIVED
Christianna’s Answer
If you will not be biologically related to the child you will need to do a second parent adoption. Second parent adoptions by unmarried same sex partners are permissible in Pennsylvania. The court will want to see evidence of long term commitment, etc. to support that it will be in the best interest of the child.
I will be glad to discuss this further with you.
C.J. Lyford
[email protected]I met a girlfriend from Nepal and what do I need to do about trying to bring her to our country?ARCHIVED
Christianna’s Answer
You can apply to bring a fiance to the U.S. on an I-129F Petition along with sufficient evidence to show that your relationship is genuine and bona fide. Once in the U.S., you must marry within 90 days.
If you would like to discuss this process in more detail, please feel free to contact my office.
C.J. Lyford
[email protected]Want to adopt a child who will turn 16 in September 2013, who lives in Thailand.ARCHIVED
Christianna’s Answer
I am not clear about what you are asking. To comply with the Hague I-800 process, you will have to work with a Hague Accredited Agency or person who can serve as the adoption service provider. Some agencies are not willing to work with individuals who are related to the child or have already identified the child to be adopted but this is not true of all. An immigration attorney can guide you through the process, discuss exceptions to the Hague process, respond to CIS Requests for Evidence, and other legal services, etc., but cannot act as an adoption service provider. I have worked with many clients in this capacity.
I am not sure what you are referring to when you say that you have received some news that the child can be adopted when she turns 18 in Texas and that she would become a U.S. citizen through this method. You will need to be provide more details.
If you would like to discuss this in more detail, feel free to contact my office.
C.J. Lyford
[email protected]How can I adopt my nephew from Jamaica ?
Christianna’s Answer
Adopting your nephew from Jamaica and bringing him to the U.S. to live with you is a complicated process. To start, a very helpful description of the Jamaican adoption process is available at: http://adoption.state.gov/ (choose "Jamaica" from the country menu. However you also need to retain an immigration attorney with international adoption experience to confirm that he is eligible to immigrate to the U.S. under the USCIS orphan definition and related issues. I will be glad to discuss the process and evaluation in more detail with you.
C.J. Lyford
[email protected]How long does the process take to adopt a child from mexico ?ARCHIVED
Christianna’s Answer
Without knowing more about the child that you are interested in adopting it is not possible to answer your question or whether the child would even be eligible to be adopted and immigrate to the U.S. The Hague Adoption Convention is in force in Mexico you will need to comply with the U.S. immigration I-800 process as well as the law of Mexico. This is a very complicated process and will require that you use a Hague-accredited agency even if the adoption involves a family member. Before you proceed, you should contact an immigration attorney to make sure that the child meets the requirements under U.S. law to immigrate through the Hague process and related issues.
Feel free to contact my office if you would like to discuss the requirements in more detail.
C.J. Lyford
[email protected]I would like to adopt my brother's daughter, my niece, from China and bring her to America
Christianna’s Answer
The Hague Adoption Convention is in force in China and therefore you will need to comply with the U.S. immigration I-800 process as well as the law of China. This is a very complicated process and will require that you use a Hague-accredited agency even though the adoption involves a family member. Before you proceed, you should contact an immigration attorney to make sure that the child meets the requirements under U.S. law to immigrate through the Hague process.
Feel free to contact my office if you would like to discuss the requirements in more detail.
C.J. Lyford
[email protected]I can no longer adopt my nephew from England as he turned 16 in May. The local school district is evaluating his case now for hiARCHIVED
Christianna’s Answer
Most likely he will need a student (F1 visa). Remember under the student visa program he will need to apply and be accepted at a private or independent school. He is not allowed to go to a public school unless it is only for a maximum of one year and school is paid the full unsubsidized per capita cost of the education. Otherwise he may be inadmissible to the U.S. for five years.
Feel free to contact my office to discuss the process in more detail.
C.J. Lyford
[email protected]I'm adopted by a US citizen but I entered the US Illegally.ARCHIVED
Christianna’s Answer
You should definitely contact an immigration attorney to evaluate your case so that you will know what your options are. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals has some benefits but does not give you immigration status or give you a path to citizenship. There may be more options for you to get permanent resident status, for example, through the adoption or through the Special Immigrant Juvenile process. I will be glad to discuss this further with you.
C.J. Lyford
[email protected]What is a certificate of citizenship? Why should & how do I get one for my Chinese daughter adopted in 2002. She has GCardARCHIVED
Christianna’s Answer
It is important for many reasons that your daughter have a Certificate of Citizenship (COC), and/or a U.S. Passport, to prove that she is a U.S. citizen. To obtain a COC the form N-600 should be completed and submitted to the USCIS. A description of why this is important and the the process to do so can be found at my website at: lyfordlaw.com under Frequently Asked Questions.
Should you need additional information, please feel free to contact me.
C.J. Lyford
[email protected]How can you bring a baby from Mexico?ARCHIVED
Christianna’s Answer
If your sister is a U.S. citizen, it is possible that her child is also a U.S. citizen. She should have the case reviewed by an immigration attorney to make this determination and/provide options for her.
Feel free to contact my office to discuss this further.
C.J. Lyford
[email protected]
610-260-4055