IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT AMENDMENTS RELATING TO CHILDREN ADOPTED FROM CONVENTION COUNTRIES.

SEC. 302. IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT AMENDMENTS RELATING TO CHILDREN ADOPTED FROM CONVENTION COUNTRIES. (a) Definition of Child.—Section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) is amended— (1) by striking “or” at the end of subparagraph (E); (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (F) and inserting “; or”; and (3) by adding after subparagraph (F) the following new subparagraph: “(G) a child, under the age of sixteen at the time a petition is filed on the child’s behalf to accord a classification as an immediate relative under section 201(b), who has been adopted in a foreign state that is a party to the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption done at The Hague on May 29, 1993, or who is emigrating from such a foreign state to be adopted in the United States, by a United States citizen and spouse jointly, or by an unmarried United States citizen at least 25 years of age— “(i) if— “(I) the Attorney General is satisfied that proper care will be furnished the child if admitted to the United States; “(II) the child’s natural parents (or parent, in the case of a child who has one sole or surviving parent because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, the other parent), or other persons or institutions that retain legal custody of the child, have freely given their written irrevocable consent to the termination of their legal relationship with the child, and to the child’s emigration and adoption; “(III) in the case of a child having two living natural parents, the natural parents are incapable of providing proper care for the child;114 STAT. 839 “(IV) the Attorney General is satisfied that the purpose of the adoption is to form a bona fide parent-child relationship, and the parent-child relationship of the child and the natural parents has been terminated (and in carrying out both obligations under this subclause the Attorney General may consider whether there is a petition pending to confer immigrant status on one or both of such natural parents); and “(V) in the case of a child who has not been adopted— “(aa) the competent authority of the foreign state has approved the child’s emigration to the United States for the purpose of adoption by the prospective adoptive parent or parents; and “(bb) the prospective adoptive parent or parents has or have complied with any pre-adoption requirements of the child’s proposed residence; and “(ii) except that no natural parent or prior adoptive parent of any such child shall thereafter, by virtue of such parentage, be accorded any right, privilege, or status under this Act.”. (b) Approval of Petitions.—Section 204(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1154(d)) is amended— (1) by striking “(d)” and inserting “(d)(1)”; (2) by striking “section 101(b)(1)(F)” and inserting “subparagraph (F) or (G) of section 101(b)(1)”; and (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b), no petition may be approved on behalf of a child defined in section 101(b)(l)(G) unless the Secretary of State has certified that the central authority of the child’s country of origin has notified the United States central authority under the convention referred to in such section 101(b)(1)(G) that a United States citizen habitually resident in the United States has effected final adoption of the child, or has been granted custody of the child for the purpose of emigration and adoption, in accordance with such convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000.”. (c) Definition of Parent.—Section 101(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(2)) is amended by inserting “and paragraph (1)(G)(i)” after “second proviso therein)”.