Adoptee Rights Law Center

Legal representation and advocacy for adult adopted people

Q&A: US Citizenship and Immigration Issues for Intercountry Adoptees

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Join my friends and colleagues at Adoptees United as well as transnational adoptees and advocates with the Michigan Adoptee Rights Coalition as we answer questions about US citizenship and immigration issues for intercountry adopted people, specifically in how to prepare for the new (and anti-immigrant) US administration.

Register today and join us virtually on December 3, 2024, at 4pm PST/6pm Central/7pm Eastern, moderated in part by Anna Thompson and Katie Cisneros Restrepo.

Co-sponsored by Adoptees United, Adoptee Rights Law Center, and Michigan Adoptee Rights Coalition

While open to all, this QandA will center intercountry adoptees, who may be worried or fearful about what to expect after January 20, 2025, including discussions about what you can do today to prepare. We’ll tackle a number of issues and answer questions such as:

  • Can I really be denaturalized?
  • What proof of citizenship should I possess and how do I get it?
  • What if I don’t have US citizenship already?
  • What’s the status of the Adoptee Citizenship Act?
  • What’s does the Adoptees United Citizenship Clinic do?
  • Who are likely targets for “mass deportations?”
  • What can we do to support broader immigration reform and advocacy efforts?

Date: December 3, 2024
Time: 4pm Pacific/6pm Central/7pm Eastern
Venue: Virtually via Zoom (limited to 100)

Registration

Moderators

Anna Thompson

Anna Thompson is an international adoptee from Saratov, Russia. She has been traveling the country as a travel nurse since January 2021, an adventure that has taken her and her husband to Baltimore, Detroit, Dearborn, Palo Alto, and Boston. Last Fall she settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Now, she can be found nursing at Corewell Health in outpatient Neurology. Free time for Anna means working with Adoptee Advocates of Michigan as its diversity and culture coordinator, Russian language classes, and spending time with her beloved pets. To learn more about Anna read this piece she wrote about her experience as an adoptee.

    Katie Cisneros Restrepo

    Katie, the education and outreach specialist for Adoptee Advocates of Michigan, is an international adoptee from Colombia who grew up in the Ann Arbor area. She is a Psychiatric Care Worker for a large medical facility in Michigan, and frequently works with adopted youth in crisis and educates families about adoption trauma to help them gain a broader understanding of the adoptee experience. Katie is also a Certified Life Coach, has been active in the adoptee community for 25 years and enjoys helping Colombian adoptees searching for their roots. She has two children and enjoys dancing, music and reading in her free time.

      About Gregory D. Luce

      I am a Minnesota lawyer, born and adopted in the District of Columbia, and the founder of Adoptee Rights Law Center PLLC. I've been practicing law in Minnesota state and federal courts since 1993, and have been the executive director of Adoptees United Inc. since 2021. I also have a sense of humor.

      Get Involved with Adoptees United Inc.

      Logo of Adoptees United Inc.Did you find this post interesting? Then get involved nationally with Adoptees United Inc., a national tax-exempt non-profit organization dedicated to securing equality for all adult adopted people in the US. Find out more here, and join me and others in working for equality.

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      What’s an Original Birth Certificate?

      Most adopted persons know what an original birth certificate (OBC) is. Many non-adopted people do not. An original birth certificate is the initial birth certificate created shortly after a person's birth. For most people, it is their only birth certificate.

      For persons born and adopted in the United States, a new or "amended" birth certificate replaces the OBC once the adoption is final. In addition to replacing the original, the names of the birth parents are also replaced with the names of the adoptive parents. Some states may also alter or omit additional information on a new certificate, including the adoptee's specific place of birth.

      Depending on state law, an original birth certificate is sealed and remains unavailable to the adopted person, even when they become an adult. If you are not adopted, your original birth certificate is your only birth certificate---and it is always available to you upon request.