New statewide foreign adoption registration rules

HARRISBURG — The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has issued new rules to assist parents who adopt a child from a foreign nation by standardizing procedures to complete the adoption registration process. The new law — designed to make foreign adoption procedures less burdensome and more uniform — took effect Sept. 5. The new court rules provide a standardized foreign adoption registration form and instructions for its use. The rule changes eliminate the need for most adopting parents to attend a hearing or obtain legal counsel so long as they provide an authenticated copy of a foreign adoption decree, the child’s visa and some form of birth identification or an affidavit — if no birth certificate is obtainable.