C.F.R. » Title 8 » CHAPTER I—DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY › SUBCHAPTER B—IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS › PART 204—IMMIGRANT PETITIONS › Subpart C—Intercountry Adoption of a Convention Adoptee

8 C.F.R. § 204.303

Determination of habitual residence

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(a) U.S. Citizens. For purposes of this subpart, a U.S. citizen who is seeking to have an alien classified as the U.S. citizen's child under section 101(b)(1)(G) of the Act is deemed to be habitually resident in the United States if the individual:

(1) Has his or her domicile in the United States, even if he or she is living temporarily abroad; or

(2) Is not domiciled in the United States but establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that:

(i) The citizen will have established a domicile in the United States on or before the date of the child's admission to the United States for permanent residence as a Convention adoptee; or

(ii) The citizen indicates on the Form I-800 that the citizen intends to bring the child to the United States after adopting the child abroad, and before the child's 18th birthday, at which time the child will be eligible for, and will apply for, naturalization under section 322 of the Act and 8 CFR part 322. This option is not available if the child will be adopted in the United States.

(b) Convention adoptees. A child whose classification is sought as a Convention adoptee is, generally, deemed for purposes of this subpart C to be habitually resident in the country of the child's citizenship. If the child's actual residence is outside the country of the child's citizenship, the child will be deemed habitually resident in that other country, rather than in the country of citizenship, if the Central Authority (or another competent authority of the country in which the child has his or her actual residence) has determined that the child's status in that country is sufficiently stable for that country properly to exercise jurisdiction over the child's adoption or custody. This determination must be made by the Central Authority itself, or by another competent authority of the country of the child's habitual residence, but may not be made by a nongovernmental individual or entity authorized by delegation to perform Central Authority functions. The child will not be considered to be habitually resident in any country to which the child travels temporarily, or to which he or she travels either as a prelude to, or in conjunction with, his or her adoption and/or immigration to the United States.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2016–2024 · leading case: Fingerson v. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 198 F. Supp. 3d 786 (W.D. Ky. 2016).
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Fingerson v. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 198 F. Supp. 3d 786 (W.D. Ky. 2016). · cites it 2× “By tying (though not without exception) the scope of § 1101(b)(1)(G) to the adoptive child’s status as a foreign national rather than to his temporary geographic location, see 8 C.F.R. § 204.303 (b), USCIS’s regulations, including 8 C.”
Stoll III v. Cowan (E.D. Cal. 2021). · cites it 7× “8 C.F.R. § 204.303 (“Convention adoption.”
In re Adoption of U.I., 2024 Ohio 682 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024). “at 5, citing 8 C.F.R. 204.303. As we noted, Appellant’s grandchildren did not immigrate to the United States for the purpose of being adopted.”
Furtado, 28 I. & N. Dec. 794 (BIA 2024). · cites it 3× “8 C.F.R. § 204.303 (b). Although an adopted child residing in the United States may be deemed to be habitually resident in the United States rather than his or her home country, the Hague Convention does not specify the evidence that must be provided to make such a showing.”
In Re The Dependency Of R.o.a., Sierra Cotter, App v. Dcyf, Resp (Wash. Ct. App. 2020). “See generally 8 C.F.R. § 204.303 . There is no authority that the grandmother, a United States citizen, will be incapable of establishing domicile in the United States if she permanently relocates to the United States.”
— 8 C.F.R. § 204.303(b) — 1 case
Stoll III v. Cowan (E.D. Cal. 2021). “8 C.F.R. § 204.303 (“Convention adoption.”
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