Adoptions

Terminology

Petitioner: the U.S. citizen parent who files a petition through the Embassy or BCIS on behalf of an adopted child, asking that the child be granted an immigrant visa to the U.S.

Beneficiary: the foreign citizen, in this case the orphan, who will come to the U.S. as a result of a petition being approved on his/her behalf.

BCIS: the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (former INS - Immigration and Naturalization Service).

Naturalization: the legal process by which an alien becomes a U.S. citizen.