Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 1.djvu/874

 114 STAT. 838 PUBLIC LAW 106-279—OCT. 6, 2000 (B) has verified that the requirements of the Convention and this Act have been met with respect to the adoption. (2) LEGAL EFFECT OF CERTIFICATES. — If appended to an original adoption decree, the certificate described in paragraph (1) shall be treated by Federal and State agencies, courts, and other public and private persons and entities as conclusive evidence of the facts certified therein and shall constitute the certification required by section 204(d)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by this Act. (b) LEGAL EFFECT OF CONVENTION ADOPTION FINALIZED IN ANOTHER CONVENTION COUNTRY.— A final adoption in another Convention country, certified by the Secretary of State pursuant to subsection (a) of this section or section 303(c), shall be recognized as a final valid adoption for purposes of all Federal, State, and local laws of the United States. (c) CONDITION ON FINALIZATION OF CONVENTION ADOPTION BY STATE COURT. — In the case of a child who has entered the United States from another Convention country for the purpose of adoption, an order declaring the adoption final shall not be entered unless the Secretary of State has issued the certificate provided for in subsection (a) with respect to the adoption. SEC. 302. IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT AMENDMENTS RELATING TO CHILDREN ADOPTED FROM CONVENTION COUNTRIES. (a) DEFINITION OF CHILD. —Section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)) is amended— (1) by striking "or" at the end of subparagraph (E); (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (F) and inserting "; or"; and (3) by adding after subparagraph (F) the following new subparagraph: "(G) a child, under the age of sixteen at the time a petition is filed on the child's behalf to accord a classification as an immediate relative under section 201(b), who has been adopted in a foreign state that is a party to the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption done at ITie Hague on May 29, 1993, or who is emigrating from such a foreign state to be adopted in the United States, by a United States citizen and spouse jointly, or by an unmarried United States citizen at least 25 years of age— "(i) if- "(I) the Attorney General is satisfied that proper care will be furnished the child if admitted to the United States; "(II) the child's natural parents (or parent, in the case of a child who has one sole or surviving parent because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, the other parent), or other persons or institutions that retain legal custody of the child, have freely given their written irrevocable consent to the termination of their legal relationship with the child, and to the child's emigration and adoption; "(III) in the case of a child having two living natural parents, the natural parents are incapable of providing proper care for the child;

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