I-130 is obviously different from the other processes because it requires adoptive parents a two-year legal custody of the child as well as a two-year joint residency with the intended adoptee, and it applies to LPRs. I-130 petition is:

1. Applicable for children who were adopted before April 1, 2008 when they are seeking immigration benefits after the adoption.

2. Applicable for children from a Hague convention country with a written statement indicating that the Central Authority is 1) aware of the child’s presence in the United States, and of 2) the proposed adoption, and that 3) the Central Authority has determined that the child is not habitually resident in that country as mentioned in part I.

3. A US Citizen or a lawful permanent resident may be able to bring an adopted foreign-born child to the U.S. on the basis of an approved I-130 immigrant visa petition in the immigrant category "F2A" if the adopted child meets the definition of "child" in Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) Section 101(b)(1)(E). That section of law requires:

1. the child be adopted while under the age of 16,

2. evidence of a full and final adoption, and

3. the child has been in the legal and physical custody of the adoptive parent(s) for at least two years before the lawful permanent resident adoptive parent(s) may file an immigrant visa petition for the child in a family preference category. The two years of physical and legal custody may be fulfilled inside or outside the United States, depending on the circumstances. Family preference immigrant visas are subject to numerical limitations, so even after fulfilling the two year physical and legal custody requirements of the law, there is likely to be an additional waiting period for a visa number to become available.

Therefore, if the adopted children are neither from a Hague Convention Country nor as qualified as an orphan defined in INA, they may follow the regular I-130 to achieve the immigration.

For other information about Adoption and Immigration, please click on one of the following topics below:

• General Information
• The qualified child
• The Immigration Procedure for an Adopted Child
• Citizenship for adopted children
• Immigration Privileges for the Biological Parents of Adopted Children