American citizen adopting USA baby while on ILR. How to get home.

[yankmontrose77]

Hi! We're an American married couple adopting a baby in the USA. We started the process years ago while on Tier 2. We were just matched and scrambled to get our ILR this past month before heading over. We just ended our second Tier 2 and were advised to get ILR. We now have ILR and head to USA to get baby next week.

We don't know how to get baby home. We will have US passport for baby with birth mother's last name + court docs to prove us being guardians, so getting into UK on visitor visa shouldn't be a problem but we don't see a pathway to bring our baby's status in line with ours once here.

Finalization and name change will take place in US courts while we're back in UK, in October. Once that happens and we have the baby's name changed to ours, we will need to apply for ILR.

Is there a pathway to do this without having to leave the country to do so? From what I see on the home office is that we have to get a family visa before applying for ILR.

Because we're not technically an intercountry adoption (all of our processes have been USA only, we spoke with our trust), we don't have the usual adoption route that UK residents/citizens would normally take.

Thanks,
Tom

[Frontier Mole]

This guidance may be helpful

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... pdf#page10

[Frontier Mole]

I personally don’t think that a visitor visa will be issued to the baby at the point of entry as you suggest.
I think attempting to try this method of entry for the baby may well result in a refusal and potentially the involvement of social services.
I would suggest you take professional advice before you make any attempt to bring the child to the UK

[Frontier Mole]

More research suggests that there is a significant process to follow.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... lement.pdf