07 August 2008

Update on Complications

I e-mailed the question to a couple of US-citizens-abroad-adoption-listservs. This is a common issue for US citizens living elsewhere who adopt via US domestic adoption.

Only thing to do is wait until after the baby is born, take the birth certificate and guardianship papers to any airport that has a ticket desk for the airline and you can book the ticket at that time.

It ends up more expensive due to the late purchasing of the infant's ticket, but in the grand scheme of things it's not the worst thing in the world.

What I find interesting is that you actually do not have to inform the airline you are in the process of adopting a child. But because the infant isn't with you on the incoming flight, they start asking questions. It's a red flag.

You really cannot blame them for wanting to make certain we are not kidnappers or traffickers. Hopefully these same policies prevent children from being taken from the country illegally.

Sidenote: We have now also been advised by the other adoptive parents that in the case of a transracial adoption it is best to always travel with a photocopy of the adoption decree. When it is obvious the child is not connected to you biologically, it raises questions in the minds of immigration officials, airline agents and security personnel. Especially when crossing international borders.

2 comments:

Marcy said...

I don't know if you read my post about this, but we encountered similar problems when checking in for our return trip to Switzerland after having been in the US for 2 weeks-- they needed proof of either a flight back to the US, or of us living abroad. I had my residency permit with me, Zach did not but his Swiss license seemed to be enough. The only documentation we had for Donovan was his passport, but they didn't seem to care about him-- I guess they figured that since he's with us and we had proof of living abroad, that was enough for them. Do they really need separate proof for Global Baby even though you as his parents have proof of living abroad?

If Zach's license hadn't been enough proof we would've had to buy separate one-way (fully refundable) tickets back to the US, which we would have canceled as soon as we got back to Switzerland. Would that be an option, to buy him a one-way ticket with you now and a separate one-way back later that you then cancel? Cost shouldn't be an issue, at least for the 2nd ticket, since you'll be canceling (as long as you have a high enough credit limit to just purchase the ticket initially).

It sounds like the whole adoption (and baby only flying one way with you) is part of the issue, too, though... What a headache. I'm sure it will all work out, one way or another. Good luck!!!

Princess Cat's Pajamas said...

I'm sorry y'all are having to deal with such a hassle! Hopefully it will be smooth sailing from here on out...