Documents for adopted children

[myra914]

We just returned from A FABULOUS family gathering on the Wonder....Only hitch was trying to get on the boat. Our children were adopted from Russia and even though they are citizens of the US according to the Immigration Act of October 2000 - Disney would not let us board without their permanent resident cards. We did not think we needed to get passports for our kids with the new law - but we found out the hard way! Disney was understanding and said this happens often because the law is confusing....but we had to get the cards. We had a friend break into our house and get the cards and fax them to Disney then Fedex.

We are getting passports tomorrow. Please read or pass this onto someone you know that may be traveling with children adopted from a foreign country. I never thought of my kids as non US citizens - but seems our government is not quite sure!

 

[missmulan]

this is a great post. thank you for making sure everyone out there with adopted children are prepared. in our last cruise we saw many, many families with adopted children.

 

[CBEB]

I recommend passports for sure. We traveled last March on the Magic with our adopted Vietnamese daughter. Even with her US passport we were "grilled" a bit by the immigration officers at one of the ports.

Also, even though Disney says you don't need IDs for the kids getting on and off the ship, we always carried her passport just in case.

 

[Verandah Man]

We have an adopted DD from Mexico and we've been on two cruises with DCL and never had a problem like this. We did adopt her in Mexico, then did the adoption process a second time once we arrived in the states so that our DD has a New Jersey birth certificate. All we showed to get her on the ship was the NJ birth certificate. Sorry to hear that you had so much trouble. We do have the paperwork to get her a US passport, I guess we had better get that filed before her next cruise, just in case.

 

[GritsGirl]

My husband and I have lost our minds and will be taking SIX teens (ages 13 to 18) on a 4-day cruise in June. Four of those kids were adopted from Russia. I will definately pass this thread to my sister to make sure all of the ducks are in a row for the trip. I am Disney CRAZY, but if the trip started out with my nieces and nephews being "second class," I would be coming over the counter-----I KNOW the castmembers would just be doing their jobs and would mean NOTHING ugly or personal..........I am just VERY DEFENSIVE because I have been appalled at family members' bigotry toward the adopted kids.

My sister has US birth certificates for three of the kids but one of the birth certificates is in Russian attached to an English translation......that one might put them over the edge. We might need to put some money together and get passports.

Thanks again for your post. The six kids will find out about the trip on Christmas night when they put their "pages" together in order and it will ask them to go on Mickey's ship and to WDW with us. I think I am way more excited than they will ever be.

GritsGirl

 

[crisi]

Our son is Korean.

I've heard horror stories about INS dragging small kids into rooms away rom their parents because of a racial mismatch and grilling them.

The citizenship act is very confusing, even years later not all government employees are familiar with it.

If you were born outside this country -carry a passport. My son has a Minnesota birth certificate - but his location of birth is South Korea and its stamped "NOT PROOF OF US CITIZENSHIP."

I'd recommend carrying a copy of your finalization as well. Shouldn't need it - but I never want some government employee to decide its best to grill my kids away from me.

 

[GritsGirl]

Myra914,
My sister has asked me to ask you what documents you were originally trying to board with....were they US Birth Certificates or Russian ones? I was going to e-mail you, but that option wasn't available. My sister has run into obstacles over the Immigration Act of 2000 in her hometown on several ocasions.
Thanks,
GritsGirl

 

[DIScruisers4]

We have two children who were born in Korea and are now US citizens through adoption. We always carry US passports for them and us. We have been on three prior Disney cruises, and are going on our fourth next month. We have never had a problem traveling, or ever experienced a suspicious "second look." I highly recommend getting passports.

Have a great trip.

 

[cmaasfamily]

We cruised in 2003 with the permanent resident card for our born-in-China DD (who, as other folks have pointed out, became a US citizen upon first entry into the US). No problems other than having to show up at immigration at a ridiculous hour (6:00AM, as I recall) and the fact that they held onto her card until we disembarked. We have her US passport now to avoid the hassle. Comes in handy for other things too!

Bottom line: you'll survive either way, but if you have time, get the passport.

 

[NJ Cruisers]

As soon as the citizenship act passed we got a passport for my DS who was adopted from Russia a few months prior to the act passing. There are SOOOO many people (including government workers - a couple years ago, anyway) who didn't understand that he was automatically a citizen. We got the passport to prove that he is a US citizen.

I'd recommend that everyone get a passport if you can afford it. (If you can afford a cruise I would assume you could afford the passport). It makes things so much easier when you travel.

Diane

 

[dsnymomadopt2china]

We returned from China with our 2nd daughter this last April and 3 weeks later her Certificate of Citizenship came in the mail. I was so impressed with BCIS! But, I decided to go ahead and get a passport, too. I didn't want to have to haul the cert of cit with me. My other daughter who we brought home in Feb of 2002, I had to get a US passport to prove to China in the postplacement that she is a US citizen. I am still waiting for my youngest's passport, but I have a month.

 

[rae519]

We have both an Indiana birth certificate and a Passport for our adopted son. We also had the military give us a dependent ID card for him, just so we wouldn't have any problems. So far, we've travelled all over the world with him, even on DCL and no problems.

Sounds like you have some great friends as neighbors - maybe you'd like to give them a key so they won't ever have to "break in" again. It also comes in handy for emergencies!!!!

Rae

 

[Regina]

Thanks Myra914. It's not often that "something new" comes along. By sharing your experience, you're helping others who may not be aware of the requirements.

 

[randytenn]

Thanks for the info. We are in the process of adopting from Russia, so this is good information for our next cruise.

BTW, could I ask for some pixie dust and prayers for the adoption process. Russia has currently stopped all international adoptions indefinatley. We've been waiting quite a while, and are a bit heartbroken. We hope to travel after the new year.

We want someone to share Disney with!

 

[CBEB]

Clouds of pixie dust sent your way!

 

[Regina]

I'm sorry to hear that Randytenn. I hope that the New Year brings a little one into your life.

 

[CPM]

Thanks for your post.
We will be taking a Carnival cruise with my adopted neice in July. I was concerned about this. I will forward your post to my sister.

 

[CPM]

BTW, could I ask for some pixie dust and prayers for the adoption process. Russia has currently stopped all international adoptions indefinatley. We've been waiting quite a while, and are a bit heartbroken. We hope to travel after the new year.
We want someone to share Disney with!

Aww. I hope it all works out for you. We have many adopted children within our family. My SIL said when she went to Russia she just wanted to take them all. What a shame they have stopped this, there are kids just laying in orphanages.
My sister adopted from Romainia and had similar problems, but it all worked out eventually. Alina was worth the wait!!
Hang in there, we'll all be thinking of you

 

[crisi]

Randytenn,

Best wishes. I know the wait is hard. We had four months from referral to arrival - over the holidays - and it wasn't easy.

The "good" news is that this isn't uncommon for Russia - and in the past things have always opened up in a few months.