Revised rules
would ease citizenship for overseas orphans
brought to U.S.
By
Chris Henry / Scripps Howard News Service
BREMERTON, Wash. -- For
Gayle and Joe Kohler, the wait for a baby is
over.
They traveled to China earlier
this month, and came home last week with
their adopted Chinese-born daughter, Emma
Rose, 14 months.
Their journey to become a
family began in January when they sent a
thick dossier of information about themselves
to China. They have their child now, but the
red tape continues.
The Kohlers still must apply
for Emma's U.S. citizenship, even though she
is as much their child as if she had been
born to them. That could change if the U.S.
Senate approves a bill that would confer
citizenship automatically and retroactively
to birth on foreign-born children adopted
abroad.
The Adopted Orphans Citizenship
Act was introduced in the Senate in August by
Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla. A similar bill, an
amendment to the Immigration and
Naturalization Act sponsored by Rep. Lamar
Smith, R-Texas, hit the House of
Representatives in September.
These bills, if enacted, would
simplify the process for adopted children to
become U.S. citizens. Currently, adoptive
families can wait 12 months or longer for
citizenship to be granted.
Proponents say the current
process is redundant, because parents
applying for their child's citizenship must
produce the same documents they already have
shown in the course of the adoption.
Having automatic citizenship
"would be an incredible convenience for
us, and it would save us money," Gayle
said. "We have relatives in Canada. We
can't go visit them (until Emma gets
citizenship). We have a timeshare in Mexico.
We can't use it. We couldn't get her back
in."
Gayle added that she feels
"a little discriminated against,"
because U.S. citizens who give birth abroad
need only show proof of their citizenship at
the nearest U.S. Embassy to get automatic
citizenship for their child. The proposed
bill would give foreign-born adopted children
the same status as birth children born
abroad.
But passage of the Citizenship
Act would mean more than just convenience to
adoptive families. Citizenship confers the
right to work, vote and hold public office in
the United States. It also grants certain
protection under U.S. laws not fully
available to noncitizens.
A provision of the 1996
Immigration and Naturalization Act allows for
the deportation of noncitizens convicted of a
felony. The Joint Council on International
Children's Services, which endorses the
Senate bill, has documented the case of an
18-year-old, adopted at age 4, who was sent
back to his birth country, Thailand, after
being convicted of car theft.
Those in favor of the new
legislation believe this case, while extreme,
highlights the importance of expedient
processing of citizenship for adopted
children.
"We all take citizenship
for granted," Gayle said. "So we're
going to go through this (applying for
citizenship) ... The risk of not doing it is
just too great."
The Kohlers also see the need
for the Hope for Children Act, a bill
sponsored by Rep. Tom Bliley, R-Va. and Sen.
Larry Craig, R-Idaho.
This bill would increase the
current adoption tax credit from $5,000 to
$10,000 per adoption.
"We call it the Hope for
Siblings Act," Gayle said. "For us
it could mean the difference between having a
brother or sister for Emma or not. ...
Adoption is outrageously expensive."
The Kohlers paid $9,000 to
complete their adoption through the World
Association for Children and Parents of
Renton, Wash. Expenses included legal fees,
social worker services and document
processing fees. In addition, both parents
were required to travel to China to pick up
their daughter.
The Kohlers, both of whom work
for the federal government, have been
scrimping and saving throughout the two years
they have been married in order to be able to
finance an adoption.
"Most people would think
that we make pretty good money," Gayle
said. "To look at our lifestyle, you
wouldn't believe it. We live well below our
income to make this happen, and we want to do
it again. It's just the choice you
make."
Copyright
1999, The Detroit News
