The Certificate of US Citizenship (form N-560 or N-561) is a document issued by the United States government as proof of U.S. citizenship. Individuals who are eligible to apply for the United States Certificate of Citizenship include those who obtained U.S. citizenship while residing in the United States or individuals who were born outside the United States to U.S. citizens. Specific details of eligibility include:

■ Your parents are U.S. citizens, but you were born abroad.
■ At least one of your parents became naturalized when you were under 18 years of age and met the special conditions of the law.

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What is a Certificate of Citizenship?

Unlike a child who has an IR-3 visa, a child who enters the country on an IR-4 visa will not receive their American citizenship until their adoption is complete in the United States.

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What is an IR-4 Visa?

To qualify for an IR-3, both parents must have seen the child prior to the adoption proceedings.

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What is an IR-3 Visa?

Will it be Guatemala, Russia, China, Vietnam, Korea, India, or the US?

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How To: Chinese Olympic Cheer

Russian Medial Reports can often be difficult to interpret because of the language translation but typically the medical care is sound, or at least they try to be with the money they are allotted.

Dr. Jenista, of Michigan, has a very detailed dictionary of Russian medical terms and how they apply to Russian adoptees.  These came in handy for us when the doctors downloaded AJ’s medical history to us in under 30 minutes. And, make sure to read this very frank PowerPoint presentation on adoption medicine and the truths of international adoption. If you are still in the process of adopting, don’t let it scare you…just open your eyes a little.

Find a medical clinic to help you with your referral or to help you when you get home.

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Medical Terms from Russian Orphanages

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Post Traumatic Stress in Adopted Children

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Health Issues in Orphanages

The layout of the early language is based on the ninth century Glagolitic alphabet that is influence by Greek and Hebrew and has adapted over the years of spoken language.

Russian letters that are (almost) the same.

А а – Pronounced like the “a” in the word “father” or “car”. It is not the ‘flat’ “a” sound you sometimes hear in words like”cat” or “Adam”.

К к – Pronounced like the “k” in “kitten” or “kangaroo”. This letter replaces the english “c” in words like “cat”.

М м – Pronounced like the “m” in man. (Note: Unlike english, the hand-written “м” should always start from the bottom)

O o – When stressed, it is pronounced like the “o” in “spot”. When un-stressed it is pronounced more like the letter “a”. (See later notes.)

Т т – Pronounced like the “t” in “tap”. (Note: The hand-written form for “т” should always start from the top, as it looks quite similar to the letter “м“)

Russian letters that look like English letters but sound different.

(These are the most important to learn so you don’t get them mixed up.)В в – Pronounced like the “v” in “vet”. (Equivalent to the english letter “v”).

Е е – Pronounced like the “ye” in “yes”.

Н н – Pronounced like the “n” in “no”. (Equivalent to the english letter “n”).

Р р – Pronounced like the “r” in “run”, but it is rolled. (Equivalent to the english letter “r”, but always rolled.).

С с – Pronounced like the “s” in “see”. (Equivalent to the english letter “s”). (It might help to remember that it’s used like the “s” sound in the english words “centre” and “cent”.)

У у – Pronounced like the “oo” in “boot” or “root”.

Х х – Pronounced like the “h” in “hello”. However, this is often pronounced more like the “ch” in the Scottish “Loch” or German “Bach”, or the spanish “x” in “Mexico”.

Russian letters that look unusual, but have familiar sounds

Б б – Pronounced like the “b” in “bat”. (Equivalent to the english letter “b”).

Г г – Pronounced like the “g” in “go”. (Equivalent to the english letter “g”).

Д д – Pronounced like the “d” in “dog”. (Equivalent to the english letter “d”).

З з – Pronounced like the “z” in “zoo”. (Equivalent to the english letter “z”).

И и – Pronounced like the “ee” in “see”. (Note: The hand-written form for “и” looks a little like the english “u”).

Л л – Pronounced like the “l” in “love”. (Equivalent to the english letter “l”).

П п – Pronounced like the “p” in “pot”. (Equivalent to the english letter “p”).

Ф ф – Pronounced like the “f” in “fat”. (Equivalent to the english letter “f”).

Э э – Pronounced like the “e” in “fed”.

New Russian letters and sounds

(The sounds will be familiar, but they don’t have their own letter).Ю ю – Pronounced like the “u” in “universe”. (Pronounced much like the english word “you”).

Я я – Pronounced like the “ya” in “yard”.

Ё ё – Pronounced like “yo” in “yonder”.

Ж ж – Like “s” in “measure”, “pleasure” or “fusion” or like “g” in colour “beige”. (As there is no english symbol for this sound, it is usually represented as “zh”)

Ц ц – Similar to the “ts” sound in “sits” or “its”.

Ч ч – Pronounced like the “ch” in “chips” or “church” .

Ш ш – Pronounced like the “sh” in shut.

Щ щ – Pronounced like “sh” but with your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Try putting your tongue in the same position as you would to say “ch” but say “sh” instead. English speakers may find it hard to define the difference between “ш” and “щ”.

Ы ы – Pronounced like the “i” in “bit” or “ill”. (Said with your tounge slightly back in your mouth.)

Й й – This letter is used to form diphthongs. So “oй” is like the “oy” sound in “boy” or “aй” is like the “igh” in “sigh”.

Pronunciation Symbols

(These letters have no sound on there own, but are still considered letters.).Ъ ъ – The ‘Hard Sign’ is rarely used. It indicates a slight pause between sylables.

Ь ь – The ‘Soft Sign’ makes the previous letter ’soft’. Think of the “p” sound in the word “pew”. (Try inflecting a very slight “y” sound onto letter before it.)

A note about vowels

You may have noticed that there are often two forms of a vowel, hard and soft. It may help to note the corresponding vowels.

Ы, И and Й don’t really follow this pattern.

The “y” sound is always pronounced. It may take some time to get used to pronouncing it with consonants. Try the following:

НЕТ (No) – Pronounced “nyet”. This is one syllable.
МЕТРО (Metro, underground railway) – Pronounced “mye-tro”.

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The Russian Alphabet: Its all Greek to Me!

US Department of State 

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS:  Officially, Kazakhstan allows both single and married people to adopt, and there are no age requirements other than that an unmarried prospective adoptive parent must be at least 16 years older than the child s/he intends to adopt.  In practice, however, some unmarried prospective adoptive parents have found it difficult to adopt, as have prospective parents over age 60.

Prospective adoptive parents who have any type of arrest record, regardless of how minor or how long ago an offense occurred, should consult with an adoption professional before deciding to adopt from Kazakhstan.  In several cases adoptive parents have faced lengthy and costly delays in finalizing their adoptions in Kazakhstani courts because of decades-old arrest records.  An approved home study citing the arrest does not guarantee a favorable court decision.

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS:  Prospective adoptive parents must reside with the child for a minimum of 14 days at the child’s habitual place of residence in Kazakhstan prior to the adoption (“the Bonding Period”).  This pre-adoption bonding period cannot be waived.  Kazakhstani law also provides for a 15-day waiting period (“the Appeal Period”) after the court hearing, before the adoption becomes final.  A judge can waive this period at his or her discretion but this is a rare occurrence.  The court decision, adoption certificate, post-adoption birth certificate and child’s Kazakhstani passport cannot be obtained until the judge finalizes the adoption.

TIME FRAME:  Prospective adoptive parents should expect to stay in Kazakhstan a minimum of 60 days (sometimes longer) to complete Kazakhstani adoption requirements.  This period includes those listed under the “Residence Requirements” section above as well as the completion of all post-adoption and U.S. immigration paperwork.

ADOPTION AGENCIES AND ATTORNEYS: Kazakhstani law does not recognize the role of adoption agencies or assume that an intermediary represents adoptive parents.  However, the regulations allow foreign adoptive parents to have assistants, such as interpreters or lawyers, to help them through the process.  The result is that adoptive parents may work with any agency or individual they choose, but should be aware that there is no formal registration or oversight process for adoption intermediaries working in Kazakhstan.

Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services.  For U.S.-based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and/or the licensing office of the appropriate state government agency in the U.S. state where the agency is located or licensed.

Please also see the Important Notice Regarding Adoption Agents and Facilitators on the Bureau of Consular Affairs web site at www.travel.state.gov.

ADOPTION FEES IN KAZAKHSTAN:  U.S. citizen parents who have completed adoptions in Kazakhstan report that the total cost, including fees for services charged by U.S.-based agencies, averages approximately $18,000 to $25,000 per child. The amount includes the following official fees: application to court $4; new birth certificate $17; adoption certificate $17; exit stamp from Migration Police of Kazakhstan $8; registration of the child with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan $84. Expedited passport issuance is optional but available for $80. Regular passport issuance takes one month.

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Country Requirements: Kazakhstan