International Adoption - Trinidad and Tobago
NOTE: Foreigners may not adopt Trinidadian children unless they are domiciled and residing permanently in Trinidad. If parents are granted custody or legal guardianship of a child, they would have to adopt the child in the United States according to individual state law.
GENERAL
The following is a guideline for U.S. citizens who are interested in adopting a child in Trinidad/Tobago and applying for an immigrant visa for the child to return 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 parent(s), and the child. Interested U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to contact U.S. consular officials in Trinidad/Tobago 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.
AVAILABILITY OF CHILDREN FOR ADOPTION
Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans:
Number of Immigrant Visas Issued to Orphans From Trinidad and Tobago for Selected Years Fiscal Year IR-3 Immigrant Visas Issued to Trinidad and Tobago Orphans Adopted Abroad IR-4 Immigrant Visas Issues to Trinidad and Tobago Orphans Adopted in the U.S.
1992 0 3
1993 0 3
1994 0 12
1995 0 9
TRINIDAD/TOBAGO ADOPTION PROCEDURES
Children do not have to be orphans to be eligible for adoption. If parents give their consent, a child may be adopted.
Children do not have to be considered abandoned to be eligible for adoption. However, to be considered abandoned, the child must be deemed so by the court. If, for example, a child is left with a relative, he will not be considered abandoned until the relative brings the child's case to court and the court declares that the child has no suitable parents and the court declares that the child has no suitable parents and is abandoned. At that point, the child is either put in an orphanage or legal guardianship is granted to the relative, if the relative so desires.
The local adoption process takes approximately one year to complete. To adopt a child, a prospective parent must go to the Adoption Board, which is state-run and which is the only organization authorized to administer adoption proceedings and decisions, complete the appropriate paperwork, and wait for a home study to be performed.
The Adoption Board meets, and based on the home study, either grants custody of the child to the prospective parent for a six month probationary period. If the Board decides to recommend the adoption, the case will be brought to the court within three months. The Magistrate will decide to approve the adoption and is authorized to over rule the Board if deemed necessary.
Adoption in Trinidad is free, and payment to anyone, including the parents, is illegal. It is not illegal to take a child to another country to facilitate adoption. There are no country controls on the exit of children.
DOCTORS
The U.S. Embassy maintains current lists of doctors and sources for medicines should either you or your child experience health problems while in Trinidad/Tobago.
TRINIDAD/TOBAGO EMBASSY IN THE UNITED STATES
1708 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-467-6490
US EMBASSY IN TRINIDAD/TOBAGO
15 Queen's Park West (PO Box 752)
Port-of-Spain
Tel: 809-622-6372 through 6
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Prospective adoptive parents are strongly encouraged to consult INS publication M-249, The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children, as well as the Department of State publication, International Adoptions.
QUESTIONS
Specific questions regarding adoptions in Trinidad and Tobago may be addressed to the Consular Section of the US Embassy. You may also contact the Office of Children's Issues, 2401 E Street, N.W., Room L127, Washington, D.C. 20037; Phone: (202) 736-7000; Fax: (202) 312-9743. Recorded information concerning significant changes in adoption procedures is available 24 hours a day at: (202) 736-7000, or by automated fax (calling from the telephone on your fax machine) at (202) 647-3000. If the country you are interested in is not listed, procedures have not significantly changed. Information on immigrant visas is available from the State Department's Visa Office, at (202) 663-1225. This 24 hour automated system includes options to speak with consular officers during business hours for questions not answered in the recorded material. Application forms and petitions for immigrant visas are available from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the nearest office of which is listed in the federal pages of your telephone book, under U.S. Department of Justice.
In addition, the State Department publishes Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings. Consular Information Sheets are available for every country in the world, providing information such as the location of the U.S. Embassy, health conditions, political situations, and crime reports. When situations are sufficiently serious that the State Department recommends U.S. citizens avoid traveling to a country, a Travel Warning is issued. Both Consular Information Sheets and Travel Warnings may be heard 24 hours a day by calling the State Department's Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225 from a touch-tone telephone. The recording is updated as new information becomes available. In addition, this information is accessible through the automated fax machine, as above, and is also available at any of the 13 regional passport agencies, field offices of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad.
Furthermore, you may write in requesting information, sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Overseas Citizens Services, Room 4811 N.S., 2201 C St., N.W., U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818.
