When the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 took effect in February 2001 it left a gaping hole in the International Adoptee community. While it was heralded for giving “automatic citizenship to every internationally adopted child, that only applied to children under the age of 18 at that time. Adoptees age 18 or older in February 2001 were left out. Today there are an estimated 35,000 – 50,000 (or more) adult adoptees who have been denied American citizenship through no fault of their own. The Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2019 looks to rectify that situation.
“Passing the Adoptee Citizenship Act will provide the benefits and protections that many adoptees did not receive during their adoption process,” said Joy Alessi, Director of the Adoptee Rights Campaign, one of the strongest forces behind the Act. She is a Korean adoptee who discovered she was not an American citizen when she applied for a passport in her twenties. “Citizenship is critical for economic stability, family preservation, and social legitimacy. We’ve waited a long time for it, and our adoptees are struggling without the citizenship protections that they should have had since childhood.”[1]
Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri is one of the sponsors of the bill. In a press release his office pointed out some of the specific areas of difficulty for these adoptees. “Without citizenship, these international adoptees face many barriers, such as having trouble applying for a passport, license, or student financial aid. In some cases, they have been deported to the country in which they were born, where they may have no known family and little chance of succeeding.”
This is the fourth time the bill has been attempted. A.J. Bryant, a volunteer with Adoptees For Justice told American University Radio advocates are hoping this time will be the charm. “It’s not an immigration issue, this is a family issue, Bryant said. “So, we’re just trying to change lens in which this legislation has been viewed in the past and hoping for the best.
In the meantime, a Department of State official told Voices for Adoption Integrity, “We are working with our colleagues at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to improve public information on our respective websites that will assist individuals who did not automatically acquire citizenship under the CCA, but are lawful permanent residents in the United States, as well as those who may have acquired, but may not know how to document their citizenship.
They continued, “We have and will continue to consult with advocacy groups to improve our understanding of those affected and the challenges they face. Adoptees who have questions about their citizenship status should contact USCIS which has jurisdiction over immigration to the United States, or consult with an immigration attorney.”
Voices for Adoption Integrity will continue to follow this issue and provide updates as well as information on how to support the passage of the Adoptee Citizenship Act.
[1] Medina, Daniel A. “Some Adoptees Are Undocumented Because Their Parents Forgot to Fill Out a Form. Now Congress Is Taking Action. The Intercept, First Look Media, 14 May 2019, theintercept.com/2019/05/14/adoption-citizenship-bill/.
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