Explainer: Adoptees Without Citizenship 

Background

For decades, thousands upon thousands of American families have been created or expanded through intercountry adoption. Despite American parents adopting children since the end of World War II, only in 2000 did Congress take the important step of granting automatic citizenship to intercountry adoptees through passage of the Childhood Citizenship Act (CCA) of 2000. However, because the CCA applies only to adoptees who were born after February 27, 1983, an unknown number of intercountry adoptees–now aging adults–are left without citizenship. 

 This arbitrary date loophole and exclusion of adoptees from citizenship creates an unequal balance in American families, where a biological child has greater rights and protections than a child gained through adoption. 

The issue of adoptees without citizenship is a uniquely American issue. Other receiving countries (verified in Europe and Australia) were automatically granted citizenship upon their adoption finalization, which did not happen in the United States. 

Adoptees For Justice knows of impacted adoptees from 28 countries including Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Ireland, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Spain, South Korea, St. Kitts, Taiwan, Ukraine, Venezuela and Vietnam. We know of at least 50 adoptees who have been deported to a country they have never known, decades after they were adopted into American families. 

Why were adoptees not granted citizenship with their adoption? 

Before the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, adoption and naturalization were different processes. Due to a wide array of factors, from the more nefarious abuse and neglect, to the more ignorant of misinformation or lost documents, not all adoptive parents secured citizenship for their children before they turned 18. Furthermore, there was no oversight by the U.S. (as a receiving country), sending countries, or agencies to ensure that citizenship was procured for adopted children. The lack of supervision, oversight, and thorough processes means this was really a systemic failure to protect children who were adopted. 

What are some of the difficulties adoptees face as a result of not being ensured citizenship? 

Adoptees without citizenship face a lack of access to legal work and have difficulty obtaining resources–whether for school, housing, or other public benefits. And despite having contributed to social programs through taxes, adoptees without citizenship cannot access public programs like social security. Without citizenship, adoptees are unable to vote and fully participate in our democracy. After being fully embraced as part of American families and society, adoptees are subject to removal for a legal oversight that condemns them to a second-class status and unequal from biological children. 

What are some of the difficulties adoptees go through? 

Many adoptees have experienced abuse, neglect, and manipulation–and for intercountry and transracial adoptees, many have experienced cultural and racial isolation. Even in the best of circumstances, many adoptees grow up cut-off from our histories, our original and natural families, medical histories, and family stories. The current system means that adoptees without citizenship are under threat of repeated traumas of family separation and trauma, now through detention and deportation. 

Why have some adoptees been deported? 

While a biological child can make a mistake, face the consequences, and move on with their lives, adoptees without citizenship can be additionally punished through detention and deportation. Generally, this has happened after an adoptee has had an interaction with the criminal legal system. Many deported adoptees have been deported after completing their legal system requirements, creating a sort of double jeopardy where they are punished twice: first through the criminal legal system, then through deportation from their homes. It’s entirely unfair that American society doesn’t accept that biological children are more “valid” or “American” than adopted children–and neither should the law. 

What are some of the struggles deported adoptees face? 

Deported adoptees experience shock, betrayal, grief, trauma, and struggle to survive. Having lived in the U.S. all their lives, they’re suddenly in countries where they can’t speak the language, find work, or access their support systems. Through deportation, they’ve been dropped off in other countries and left to survive and struggle on their own. Adoptees who have been deported often face severe mental and physical health issues that arise from being separated from their homes and families, difficulties with food and housing security, and not having a support system or knowing the language. 

What would the Protect Adoptees and American Families (PAAF) Act mean for adoptees without citizenship? 

An inclusive Act would allow deported adoptees to return home, to be together with their families - to see their parents and children. It would allow adoptees to find legal work, get driver’s licenses and passports, vote, and access critical resources like social security. Repairing the oversight of citizenship for adoptees would fulfill the definition of adoption by the Hague Convention, which is that adoptive children are equal members of their family–and equal to their parents’ biological children. 

How many adoptees without citizenship are there? 

It is difficult to estimate the number of intercountry adoptees who do not have citizenship as no sending countries, nor the U.S. or adoption agencies, accurately tracked the relinquishment or acquisition of citizenship. This lack of oversight underscores the lack of care for adoptees’ wellbeing.  

While the number of adoptees without citizenship is not expected to increase because of the Child Citizenship Act which granted citizenship to adoptees born after February 27, 1983, we anticipate that more adoptees will learn that their citizenship was not secured as time goes on. This is because as adoptees age, they will increasingly seek to access life support like spousal death benefits and social security–benefits that require proof of citizenship to access. Similarly, travel, birth family searches, and other life events can lead adoptees seeking resources that require proof of citizenship. 

Adoptees For Justice knows of roughly 50 directly-impacted adoptees who have been adopted from 28 countries. 

What will it take for the legislation to pass? 

Members of Congress who have strong family values need to exercise political courage, especially today. The American people need to continue to spread awareness about this issue and to talk to your members of Congress about this–to keep up the pressure and to make sure that they’re focusing on putting families first. 

Why should Americans or the broader global community should care about this issue? 

This is really an issue of families and who is considered a “real” or “enough” family member under the eyes of the law. Families around the world have been formed in many different ways since the beginning of society–adoption is not new. The child shouldn’t be punished for the way their family formed, or the errors of the system designated to care for them. In short, society has become increasingly accepting of the many ways families form, including through adoption, surrogacy, and blending. It doesn’t accept that biological children are more “valid” or “American” than adopted children–and neither should the law. 

What is the legal status of adoptees without citizenship? How did they enter the country, and do they have any protection currently? 

This varies from individual to individual. The Refugee Relief Act offered 4,000 non-quota visas for orphans from any country of origin, including Asia. This opened the door for large-scale adoption programs in the aftermath of the Korean War. Unfortunately, the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 excluded 1) adoptees who were 18 years or older at the time of enactment, 2) adoptees who did not have legal permanent residence status (i.e. they entered on a non-immigrant visa, such as a visitor’s visa or on humanitarian parole), and 3) adoptees whose adoptions were not finalized (i.e. they entered on an IR4 or IH4 visa, which required a final or re-adoption process in the United States after arrival). 

Adoptees For Justice (A4J) is an intercountry-adoptee led organization. A4J’s first project has been to pass an inclusive Protect Adoptees and American Families Act that would fix the loophole created by the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. Adoptees for Justice is a project of the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and a member of the Alliance For Adoptees and Families (AAF). The Alliance for Adoptees and Families is a national coalition of 11 local and national organizations whose mission is to secure citizenship for all intercountry adopted people through legislation and advocacy. 

Sources 

1 1948-78: Weil, Richard H. 1984. “International adoption: The quiet migration”. International Migration Review 18 (2): 276-293. 

1979-88: Pilotti, Francisco. 1993. “Intercountry adoption: Trends, issues and, policy implications for the 1990’s”. Childhood 1: 165-177. 

1989-2002: U.S. Department of State. 2003. Immigrant visas issued to orphans coming to the U.S.: travel.state.gov/orphan_numbers.html (2003-02-12) 

2003-2024: U.S. Department of State. 2003. Immigrant visas issued to orphans coming to the U.S.: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/Intercountry-Adoption/adopt_ref/adoption-statistics-esri.html?wcmmode=disabled  

2 Park Nelson, Kim. 2024. Review of Asian Adoptee Public Statement to WHIAANHPI. Kim Park Nelson. August 1, 2024. http://kimparknelson.org/asian-adoptee-public-statement-to-whiaanhpi/.