The IR3 adoption visa classification is appropriate for orphans who meet the following criteria:
- The orphan was the subject of a full, final, and legal adoption abroad prior to visa issuance; and
- An adoptive parent personally saw and observed the child before or during the foreign adoption proceedings. If married, at least one of the adoptive parents must have personally seen and observed the child before or during the adoption proceedings.
An “orphan” is defined as follows for the purposes of an IR3 adoption visa:
- The child is under the age of 16 at the time a petition is filed on his or her behalf (or under the age of 18 if adopted or to be adopted together with a natural sibling under the age of 16) and is unmarried and under the age of 21 at the time of petition and visa adjudication;
- The child has been or will be adopted by a married US citizen and spouse, or by an unmarried US citizen at least 25 years of age;
- The child is an orphan because either: (a) The child has no parents because of the death or disappearance, abandonment or desertion by, or separation from or loss of both parents; or (b) The child’s sole or surviving parent is incapable of providing proper care and has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption; and
- The adoptive parents must intend to enter into a bona fide parent-child relationship with that orphan and that there is no credible evidence of child-buying, fraud, or misrepresentation associated with the case.
Upon being legally admitted into the US, the child will automatically acquire US citizenship as of the date of admission to the US assuming the IR3 adoption visa classification was appropriate and the child is under the age of 18. We do not assist with registration of legal adoptions, but can assist with an IR3 adoption visa application.
Self Help
US State Department - IR3 Adoption Visa
Foreign Affairs Manual - IR3 Adoption Visa
USCIS - IR3 Adoption Visa
