The application for recognition of an adoption may be submitted by the parents directly to the Court or, if they reside within this consular jurisdiction and are duly registered with AIRE, through this Consulate General. In the latter case, the documentation must be sent by mail.
Once the documentation has been verified as complete and correct, the applicants will be contacted by the Civil Status Office to schedule an appointment for submission of the application (Application for Recognition of a Court Judgment) and payment of any applicable consular fee for the authentication of the foreign parent’s signature. Payment must be made by Money Order, payable to the Consulate General of Italy in Boston (Article 24 – Consular Fees).
Documents to be submitted:
- Substitute declaration of certification of family status;
- Certified copy of the adoption judgment, issued directly by the Court and legalized with an Apostille issued by the Secretary of State of the U.S. state where the Court is located;
- Certified copy of the final judgment/order, issued directly by the Court and legalized with an Apostille issued by the Secretary of State of the U.S. state where the Court is located. The judgment must specify that the minor was abandoned or that the biological parent(s) gave authorization/consent for the adoption;
- Italian translation of the judgment and of the final judgment/order, prepared by a professional translator, who must issue a bilingual Certificate of Accuracy, and legalized with an Apostille;
- Original birth certificate issued after the adoption, showing the names of the adoptive parents, legalized with an Apostille issued by the U.S. state where the certificate was issued. Please note: if available, it is also useful to submit the original pre-adoption birth certificate, duly legalized and accompanied by an Italian translation*;
- Historical certificate of residence of the Italian citizen parent(s), to be requested from the Municipality (Comune) where the parent resided;
- Marriage certificate or certified extract of the marriage record, issued by the Municipality where the marriage was registered/transcribed;
- Certificate of citizenship;
- Documentation proving that the adopting parent(s) had been residing in the United States for at least two years as of the date of the adoption;
- Photocopy of the parent(s)’ passport(s);
- Money Order, payable to the Consulate General of Italy in Boston, for payment of any applicable consular fee, as specified above.
Translations
- Translations must be complete, accurate, typed, and must not include any conversion of measurements.
- The translation may be prepared by the applicant. If it is prepared by a translator, it must be properly notarized and apostilled, or legalized if the birth took place outside the United States (please contact the relevant consular authorities). This Consulate’s website provides a list of translators.