Answers to common questions about the Adoptees United Citizenship Clinic.
What’s a “clinic?”
A legal clinic typically offers hands-on legal experience to paralegals, law students, or practicing attorneys, who in turn provide free or low cost legal services in specific matters. In this case, the Citizenship Clinic is intended to provide free legal services to intercountry adoptees, while at the same time building a corps of lawyers and paralegals to do the work. Our objective is both to serve intercountry adoptees in need while also building future capacity to expand legal services to others, whether with different priorities or different circumstances.
Is my information confidential?
Yes, absolutely. All information provided to the attorneys or paralegals who provide services for the clinic is confidential and cannot be shared with anyone without the client’s permission.
What is a legal screening and what does it involve?
Every case accepted by the clinic will involve an initial legal screening. This will typically (but not always) involve the following steps with an Adoptee Rights Law Center attorney:
- review your intake for eligibility;
- correspond by email, phone or virtually about your intake and what to expect;
- if we accept your case for review, we will send you a retainer agreement to review and sign (a sample agreement is here)
- review any documents you may already have and determine if we need to request your records from US immigration authorities (USCIS), through a “FOIA request” (it is very likely we will do our own FOIA request on your behalf because we must be assured that we have the full scope of your documents).
- determine your current immigration/citizenship status after a review of all available documents, including any documents received from a FOIA request (we will always provide you with the documents we receive);
Once we review all of your documentation and determine your immigration status, we will be able to provide advice about options. We will discuss that advice and those options with you. We will not take any additional steps without your agreement.
What will any advice involve?
We will provide legal advice after we have reviewed your documents and discussed your status with you. Our advice will always depend on a lot of factors, but in general it could involve advice about:
- your immigration status and the options you have with that status;
- whether you are already a US citizen but need to obtain a US passport or Certificate of Citizenship to prove it;
- whether you are not a US citizen and the options available to you to become a citizen, including naturalization;
- whether you are not a US citizen and naturalization is not a good option. In these cases we may discuss the possibility of renewing a green card; the availability of parole in place or deferred action; whether adjustment of status through a US citizen spouse is possible; or any other generally more complicated options to secure US citizenship or lawful status in the US
If our advice is to secure a US passport or Certificate of Citizenship, we will discuss clinic representation to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship.
Why are you focusing on Certificates of Citizenship?
We have three primary reasons for focusing on the N-600 (Application for Certificate of Citizenship):
- An application for a Certificate of Citizenship is generally easy to file. It can be completed and filed online and does not involve intensive background checks or USCIS interviews required in naturalization cases;
- Adult intercountry adopted people who qualify to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship are exempt from paying the USCIS filing fee. As of April 1, 2024, it is free to file an N-600 if you qualify and are an intercountry adult adopted person;
- We want to build a core roster of attorneys who can handle Certificates of Citizenship filings, especially if Congress fixes a loophole in current law that denies US citizenship to thousands of adult intercountry adoptees. If that loophole is removed, the likely next step for thousands of impacted adoptees is to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship. We want to have trained pro bono lawyers in place to help you get those Certificates of Citizenship.
What if the best or only option for me is to naturalize?
If a legal screening results in a recommendation to naturalize, we will discuss and consider pro bono (free) representation to file a naturalization application. Keep in mind, however, that a naturalization application requires a $710 USCIS filing fee (if it is filed online), unless you qualify for a fee waiver. It also involves an interview with an immigration officer at a local USCIS field office, for which we recommend an attorney be present with you. Accordingly, if the clinic represents you in a naturalization proceeding, it may also involve the need to reimburse the attorney’s travel expenses for attending the interview, unless the attorney is already in the location where the interview occurs.
What other legal options may be discussed as part of a legal screening?
This will obviously vary by your own circumstances and documentation. They could include:
- Renewing a legal permanent resident card (“green card”) or replacing one that has been lost (Form I-90);
- Obtaining a replacement copy of your Certificate of Citizenship or Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-565).
- Much more complicated matters, such as parole in place, deferred action, temporary protective status, or adjustment of status.
We will discuss these options with you if they apply to your case, including what any next steps may look like.
I’m already a US citizen. Can I just apply for a US passport?
Yes, if you are already a US citizen, you can apply for a US passport with the US Department of State. While it is generally quicker to get a passport than applying for and receiving a Certificate of Citizenship, it is not typically something attorneys handle. It is also often more difficult to get a US passport because of the need to provide certified copies of adoption documents. We can advise you on how to do it and provide resources, but we cannot promise an attorney is available to represent you in the US passport process.
Will you represent intercountry adoptees who are currently in deportation proceedings?
We do not have current capacity to represent individuals in USCIS removal proceedings. These are incredibly complex matters that also generally need an experienced immigration attorney who is in the area or region where the removal proceeding is located.
Will you represent intercountry adoptees who have already been deported?
We also do not have the capacity to represent individuals who have already been deported/removed from the United States. That said, if the Adoptee Citizenship Act is enacted, we will likely provide free or low cost legal assistance to deportees who wish to return to the US under a new law. Currently, however, there are very few, if any, viable options for deported intercountry adoptees who wish to return to their families in the United States. While one option in some limited cases may be to obtain a waiver to secure a (temporary) non-immigrant visa to visit family in the United States, it is not a service we can offer through the clinic.
Will you represent adoptive parents whose children need a Certificate of Citizenship?
No. We only represent adult intercountry adopted people, with one critical exception: intercountry adoptee youth, who are under 18, in state-based foster care, and do not have adequate proof of US citizenship. In such cases we will represent only the intercountry adopted person.
Why are you contracting with Adoptee Rights Law Center for cases?
There are a few reasons we did not keep the clinic “in house” and are instead contracting with Adoptee Rights Law Center to oversee inquiries, advice, and cases.
- Confidentiality. Having a separate law firm handle all client communications and case work will ensure confidentiality for all inquiries and clients. ARLC and any attorneys who agree to take a case have a professional and ethical obligation to keep client communications confidential; they cannot share confidential communications without a client’s permission. We felt it was necessary to contract with a law firm to protect those communications, including having a clear separation between Adoptees United, which funds and provides the clinic, and ARLC, which operates it.
- Liability. Adoptee Rights Law Center maintains legal malpractice insurance, which can also cover volunteer attorneys who take cases as part of the clinic. Extending liability insurance to other attorneys is important to convince volunteer attorneys to take cases.
- Expertise. Adoptee Rights Law Center and its attorney, Gregory Luce, is a recognized national expert on issues of US citizenship for intercountry adopted people. It has also long maintained a policy and commitment to free or low cost legal services for intercountry adoptees with US citizenship matters.