U.S. Code » Title 42 » Chapter CHAPTER 143— INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS

42 U.S.C. § 14901

Findings and purposes

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(a) FindingsCongress recognizes—(1) the international character of the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (done at The Hague on May 29, 1993); and(2) the need for uniform interpretation and implementation of the Convention in the United States and abroad,and therefore finds that enactment of a Federal law governing adoptions and prospective adoptions subject to the Convention involving United States residents is essential.(b) PurposesThe purposes of this chapter are—(1) to provide for implementation by the United States of the Convention;(2) to protect the rights of, and prevent abuses against, children, birth families, and adoptive parents involved in adoptions (or prospective adoptions) subject to the Convention, and to ensure that such adoptions are in the children’s best interests; and(3) to improve the ability of the Federal Government to assist United States citizens seeking to adopt children from abroad and residents of other countries party to the Convention seeking to adopt children from the United States.(Pub. L. 106–279, § 2, Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 825.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 106–279, Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 825, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out below and Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Dates; Transition Rule

Pub. L. 106–279, title V, § 505, Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 844, provided that:“(a)Effective Dates.—“(1)Provisions effective upon enactment.—Sections 2, 3, 101 through 103, 202 through 205, 401(a), 403, 503, and 505(a) [enacting this section and sections 14902, 14911 to 14913, 14922 to 14924, 14941(a), 14943, and 14953 of this title and amending section 622 of this title] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 6, 2000].“(2)Provisions effective upon the entry into force of the convention.—Subject to subsection (b), the provisions of this Act not specified in paragraph (1) [enacting sections 14914, 14921, 14931, 14932, 14941(b), (c), 14942, 14944, 14951, 14952, and 14954 of this title, amending sections 1101 and 1154 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] shall take effect upon the entry into force of the Convention [Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption] for the United States pursuant to Article 46(2)(a) of the Convention [The Convention entered into force for the United States on Apr. 1, 2008.].“(b)Transition Rule.—The Convention and this Act [see Short Title note below] shall not apply—“(1) in the case of a child immigrating to the United States, if the application for advance processing of an orphan petition or petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative for the child is filed before the effective date described in subsection (a)(2); or“(2) in the case of a child emigrating from the United States, if the prospective adoptive parents of the child initiated the adoption process in their country of residence with the filing of an appropriate application before the effective date described in subsection (a)(2).”

Short Title of 2020 Amendment

Pub. L. 116–184, § 1, Oct. 30, 2020, 134 Stat. 897, provided that: “This Act [amending section 14914 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 14914 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Intercountry Adoption Information Act of 2019’.”

Short Title of 2013 Amendment

Pub. L. 112–276, § 1, Jan. 14, 2013, 126 Stat. 2466, provided that: “This Act [enacting section 14925 of this title, amending sections 14922 and 14943 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 14925 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012’.”

Short Title

Pub. L. 106–279, § 1(a), Oct. 6, 2000, 114 Stat. 825, provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter and amending section 622 of this title and sections 1101 and 1154 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality] may be cited as the ‘Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000’.”

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2015–2024 · leading case: In re P.S., 2021 IL App (5th) 210027 (Ill. App. Ct. 2021).
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In re P.S., 2021 IL App (5th) 210027 (Ill. App. Ct. 2021). “(West 2020)), and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 ( 42 U.S.C. § 14901 (2018)) are to be construed with the Adoption Act (750 ILCS 50/2.”
In the Matter of the Adoption of: MAJB, minor child, DLB & DAB v., 2020 WY 157 (Wyo. 2020). “See 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 14901–14954. “The purpose of the Hague Convention is to prevent abduction, sale, or trafficking in children and to provide adoptees with permanent and loving homes” securing the best interests of the child.”
Fingerson v. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 198 F. Supp. 3d 786 (W.D. Ky. 2016). · cites it 2× “See 42 U.S.C. § 14901 (b)(1). Section 302(a) of that Act added a third definition of “child” to the Immigration and Nationality Act.”
Faith Int'l Adoptions v. Pompeo, 345 F. Supp. 3d 1314 (W.D. Wash. 2018). “42 U.S.C. §§ 14901 - 954. The IAA imposes requirements and grants authority *1321 to several different parties, including the U.”
Furtado, 28 I. & N. Dec. 794 (BIA 2024). · cites it 2× “See 42 U.S.C. §§ 14901–14954 (2018) (implementing the Hague Convention); 22 C.”
In re Santiago G. (Conn. 2015). · cites it 2× “’’ 42 U.S.C. § 14901 (b) (2). Maria G. and the respondent knowingly agreed to engage in a subterfuge to evade the strictures of these adoption laws and achieve more expeditiously their own goals, albeit admirable ones.”
United States v. Mary Mooney (4th Cir. 2019). “In 2006, Mooney applied for accreditation for IAG under the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. §§ 14901– 14954, which governs international adoptions.”
Eur. Adoption Consultants, Inc. v. Pompeo (D.D.C. 2020). “And this broader definition of the term “disruption” is consistent with the IAA’s explicitly stated purpose of “protect[ing] the rights of, and prevent[ing] abuses against, children,” 42 U.S.C. § 14901 (b)(2), a purpose that would not be well served by strictly limiting the…”
Nat'l Council for Adoption v. Pompeo (D.D.C. 2020). “Background Congress enacted the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. § 14901 et seq., (“IAA”) to implement the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the “Convention” or “Hague Convention”).”
Stoll III v. Cowan (E.D. Cal. 2021). “” 42 U.S.C. §14901 (a)(1) and (b)(2). The habitual residency 12 requirement, and the USCIS regulations defining that requirement, provide consistency in 13 intercountry adoptions by looking at the child’s citizenship rather than the child’s physical 14 location.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.