Factsheet

DISCLAIMER: The information in this circular relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is provided for general information only. Questions involving interpretation of specific foreign laws should be addressed to foreign legal counsel.

All Immigrant Visa processing for Moldovan citizens, including adopted orphans, is done at the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, Romania. The U.S. Embassy in Chisinau, Moldova conducts the I-604 orphan investigation and a mandatory review of documents to verify an adopted orphan can qualify for a U.S. immigrant visa. Please see below under “U.S. Immigration Requirements” for further details.

GENERAL: The following is a guide for U.S. citizens who are interested in adopting a child in Moldova and applying for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. This process involves complex foreign and U.S. legal requirements. U.S. consular officers give each petition careful consideration on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the legal requirements of both countries have been met, for the protection of the prospective adoptive parent(s), the biological parents(s) and the child. Interested U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to contact U.S. consular officials in Moldova before formalizing an adoption agreement to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed, which will make it possible for the Embassy to issue a U.S. immigrant visa for the child.

ADOPTABILITY OF MOLDOVAN ORPHANS: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans (IR-3 and IR-4 visas combined)*:
FY 2003…. 12
FY-2002…. 7
FY-2001…. 46
FY-2000…. 79
FY-1999…. 63

*Immediate Relative (IR)-3 visas are issued to orphans adopted in Moldova. IR-4 visas are issued to orphans adopted or re-adopted in the United States.

International adoptions are permitted in exceptional cases, when no relatives or other Moldovan families are able to adopt orphans or become their guardians. Children who have health or developmental problems that Moldovan families cannot afford to treat are also considered exceptional cases.

Information about children eligible for adoption is published in the Monitorul Official, the Moldovan government’s official register. After publication, an adoptable child is available for domestic adoption by Moldovans for six months. After six months, an adoptable child is available for international adoption.

Prospective adoptive parents may indicate the sex and age range they prefer.

Credits: U.S. Department of State