Florida Adoption of Children Entering the United States on Guardianship

If your child entered the U.S. under a guardianship order or an adoption license, you must take the additional step to finalize your adoption in state court before your child will become a citizen. And, in order for your child to receive automatic citizenship through the finalization process, you must finalize your adoption before she turns eighteen. Otherwise she will have to go through the entire naturalization process, increasing your costs and the length of time before your child can become a full U.S. citizen. We can help you finalize your adoption in Florida.

Florida Recognition of Foreign Adoption

In other situations, you may have adopted your child in a foreign country and now seek a Florida Recognition of Foreign Adoption. Through a relatively straightforward court process, you can request a Florida court to recognize your child’s foreign adoption. Doing so will allow your child to receive a Certificate of Foreign Birth, which looks nearly identical to a Florida birth certificate. A Certificate of Foreign Birth may greatly simplify administrative processes such as school enrollment, obtaining a driver’s license, etc. Completing this process will allow you to change your child’s name at the same time. A Certificate of Foreign birth will be far simpler to read than a birth record written in a different language from a foreign country.