In order to establish a record by which an adoptee can prove the facts of a foreign adoption, existing law requires a state resident who has finalized an intercountry adoption in a foreign country to file a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptees entry into the United States or the adoptees 16th birthday. If the adoptive parent fails to file the petition within the prescribed timeframe or to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided adoption services to the adoptive parent, existing law requires the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption to file the petition within 90 days of the childs entry into the United States and to provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent, as specified. Existing law requires the petition to include, among other things, a report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the state. Existing law requires the clerk of the court to submit an order granting the petition to the State Registrar, as specified, and requires the State Registrar to issue a delayed registration of birth upon receipt of the order.

This bill would authorize an adoptee of any age to file a petition on their own behalf if both the adoptive parent or parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to file a petition to readopt pursuant to the above-described provisions. The bill would, notwithstanding the documentation requirements described above, authorize a court to grant a petition for readoption that does not include those documents if (1)the petitioner establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they are the adoptee, (2)the petitioner proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one or more of the required documents cannot be obtained due to the passage of time or other circumstances beyond the petitioners control, and (3)the petitioner is able to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition. The bill would authorize evidence presented to the court for these purposes to include both documentary and nondocumentary evidence, including, among other things, testimony, declarations, court records, agency records, correspondence, and other corroborating sources of information the court deems sufficient.

Existing law requires the court to notify all appropriate authorities if it finds that the child may be a subject of human trafficking or may be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court as a dependent child, as specified.

This bill would also expand the notice requirements described above to include any adoptee who may be, or may have been, a subject of human trafficking.

In order to establish a record by which an adoptee can prove the facts of a foreign adoption, existing law requires a state resident who has finalized an intercountry adoption in a foreign country to file a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptees entry into the United States or the adoptees 16th birthday. If the adoptive parent fails to file the petition within the prescribed timeframe or to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided adoption services to the adoptive parent, existing law requires the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption to file the petition within 90 days of the childs entry into the United States and to provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent, as specified. Existing law requires the petition to include, among other things, a report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the state. Existing law requires the clerk of the court to submit an order granting the petition to the State Registrar, as specified, and requires the State Registrar to issue a delayed registration of birth upon receipt of the order.

This bill would authorize an adoptee of any age to file a petition on their own behalf if both the adoptive parent or parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to file a petition to readopt pursuant to the above-described provisions. The bill would, notwithstanding the documentation requirements described above, authorize a court to grant a petition for readoption that does not include those documents if (1)the petitioner establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they are the adoptee, (2)the petitioner proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one or more of the required documents cannot be obtained due to the passage of time or other circumstances beyond the petitioners control, and (3)the petitioner is able to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition. The bill would authorize evidence presented to the court for these purposes to include both documentary and nondocumentary evidence, including, among other things, testimony, declarations, court records, agency records, correspondence, and other corroborating sources of information the court deems sufficient.

Existing law requires the court to notify all appropriate authorities if it finds that the child may be a subject of human trafficking or may be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court as a dependent child, as specified.

This bill would also expand the notice requirements described above to include any adoptee who may be, or may have been, a subject of human trafficking.

In order to establish a record by which an adoptee can prove the facts of a foreign adoption, existing law requires a state resident who has finalized an intercountry adoption in a foreign country to file a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptees entry into the United States or the adoptees 16th birthday. If the adoptive parent fails to file the petition within the prescribed timeframe or to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided adoption services to the adoptive parent, existing law requires the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption to file the petition within 90 days of the childs entry into the United States and to provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent, as specified. Existing law requires the petition to include, among other things, a report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the state. Existing law requires the clerk of the court to submit an order granting the petition to the State Registrar, as specified, and requires the State Registrar to issue a delayed registration of birth upon receipt of the order.

This bill would authorize an adoptee of any age to file a petition on their own behalf if both the adoptive parent or parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to file a petition to readopt pursuant to the above-described provisions. The bill would, notwithstanding the documentation requirements described above, authorize a court to grant a petition for readoption that does not include those documents if (1)the petitioner establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they are the adoptee, (2)the petitioner proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one or more of the required documents cannot be obtained due to the passage of time or other circumstances beyond the petitioners control, and (3)the petitioner is able to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition. The bill would authorize evidence presented to the court for these purposes to include both documentary and nondocumentary evidence, including, among other things, testimony, declarations, court records, agency records, correspondence, and other corroborating sources of information the court deems sufficient.

In order to establish a record by which an adoptee can prove the facts of a foreign adoption, existing law requires a state resident who has finalized an intercountry adoption in a foreign country to file a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptees entry into the United States or the adoptees 16th birthday. If the adoptive parent fails to file the petition within the prescribed timeframe or to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided adoption services to the adoptive parent, existing law requires the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption to file the petition within 90 days of the childs entry into the United States and to provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent, as specified. Existing law requires the petition to include, among other things, a report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the state. Existing law requires the clerk of the court to submit an order granting the petition to the State Registrar, as specified, and requires the State Registrar to issue a delayed registration of birth upon receipt of the order.

This bill would authorize an adoptee of any age to file a petition on their own behalf if both the adoptive parent or parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to file a petition to readopt pursuant to the above-described provisions.

The federal Child Citizenship Act of 2000 provides that a child born outside the United States shall automatically become a citizen of the United States when all of specified conditions have been fulfilled, including that at least one parent of the child is a citizen of the United States and the child is under 18 years of age. The federal act applies these provisions to an adopted child if the adopted child satisfies the applicable requirements under a specified provision of federal law. Existing state law generally provides for the adoption of a child native to a foreign country by a prospective adoptive parent or parents who are California residents that is either finalized in another country or this state.

This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation related to foreign-born child adoptees who are now adults and would make related findings and declarations.

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS  

Bill No: SB 927

Author: Choi (R), et al.

Amended: 6/3/26

Vote: 21

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 13-0, 4/21/26

AYES: Umberg, Niello, Allen, Ashby, Caballero, Durazo, Laird, Reyes, Stern, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/14/26

AYES: Cervantes, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab

SENATE FLOOR: 33-0, 5/22/26

AYES: Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Menjivar, Ochoa Bogh, Pérez, Reyes, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener

NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Becker, Hurtado, Niello, Padilla, Stern

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 70-0, 7/2/26 (Consent) - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Intercountry adoption finalized in a foreign country

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill permits a person of any age born in a foreign country and adopted by a U.S. citizen in another country to petition the family court for a record establishing the facts of the adoption, if the person’s parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to timely file such a petition; and permits a court to grant a petition for readoption for a person adopted through an intercountry adoption, even if the petitioner does not have all of the adoption documentation, when certain conditions are met.

Assembly Amendments

authorize a court to grant a petition for readoption, when the parents or adoption agency did not properly have an intercountry adoption recognized by the state, even in the absence of certain documentation relating to the adoption, if the petitioner can establish certain facts by a preponderance of the evidence.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines the following relevant terms:
   1. “Adoptive parent” means a person who has obtained an order of adoption of a minor child, or in the case of an adult adoption, an adult. (Family (Fam.) Code, § 8503.)
   2. “Intercountry adoption” means the adoption of a foreign-born child for whom federal law makes a special immigration visa available, and includes completion of the adoption in the child’s native country or completion of the adoption in this state. (Fam. Code, § 8527.)
   3. “Licensed adoption agency” means any agency licensed by the State Department of Social Services (DSS) to provide services including assessing prospective adoptive parents, matching parents and children for adoption, and, in the case of a full-service adoption agency, assuming care, custody, and control of a child through relinquishment of the child to the agency or termination of parental rights. (Fam. Code, § 8530; see also Health & Safety (Saf.) Code, § 1502(a)(9) & (10).)
   4. “Adoption service” means specified services, including (1) identifying a child for adoption and arranging adoption; (2) securing the necessary consent to termination of parental rights and to adoption; (3) performing a background study on a child or a home study on any prospective adoptive parent, and reporting on the study; and (4) monitoring a case after a child has been placed with any prospective parent until final adoption. (Fam. Code, § 8900.5(b).)
2. Establishes the processes and procedures for the adoption of an unmarried minor. (Fam. Code, Division (div.) 13, pt. 2, §§ 8600 et seq.)
3. Establishes specific processes and requirements for an intercountry adoption of an unmarried minor. (Fam. Code, div. 13, pt. 2, Chapter (ch.) 4, §§ 8900 et seq.)
4. Establishes a procedure through which a state resident who has adopted a minor from a foreign country can establish a record to prove the facts of the foreign adoption by filing a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptee’s entry into the United States or the adoptee’s 16th birthday. The petition must include all of the following:
   1. A certified or otherwise official copy of the foreign decree, order, or certification of adoption that reflects finalization of the adoption into the foreign country.
   2. A certified or otherwise official copy of the child’s foreign birth certificate.
   3. A certified translation of all required documents that are not written in English; the court shall accept the certified translation, if any, that was completed abroad for purposes of obtaining the child’s visa or passport.
   4. Proof that the child was granted lawful entry into the United States as an immediate relative of the adoptive parent or parents.
   5. A report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the state.
   6. A copy of the home study report previously completed for the international finalized adoption by an adoption agency authorized to provide intercountry adoption services. (Fam. Code, § 8919(a).)
5. Provides that a readoption order petitioned for under 4) shall not be granted unless the court receives a copy of the reports listed in 4)(e) and (f), and the court shall consider the postplacement visit or visits and the previously completed home study when deciding whether to grant or deny the petition for readoption. (Fam. Code, § 8919(b).)
6. Provides that, if an adoptive parent who has adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country fails to file a petition pursuant to 4) by the earlier of 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or the child’s 16th birthday, or fails to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided the adoption services to the adoptive parent, then the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption shall file a petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States and shall provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and to any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent within five days of filing.
   1. An adoptive parent shall be liable to the adoption agency for all costs and fees incurred as a result of good faith actions taken by the adoption agency to fulfill this requirement.
   2. If the adoption agency fails to file a petition as required, DSS may take appropriate disciplinary action against the adoption agency if it is licensed in the state and DSS has actual or constructive knowledge that the petition was not filed. (Fam. Code, § 8919(c).)
7. If the court finds that the child who is the subject of a petition in 4) may be the subject of human trafficking or may be a victim of, or at risk of, abandonment, abuse, or neglect, the court shall, in accordance with existing law, notify all appropriate authorities. (Fam. Code, § 8919(d).)
8. Provides that, within 10 business days of the granting of a petition in 4), the clerk of the court shall submit to the State Registrar the order granting the petition to adopt; upon receipt, the State Registrar shall issue a delayed registration of live birth in accordance with 11), below that lists the adoptive parent or parents as the child’s legal parent or parents. (Fam. Code, § 8919(e).)
9. Provides that a state resident who has adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country may obtain a birth certificate for a child in accordance with 12) or 13), below. (Fam. Code, § 8919(f).)
10. Provides that a Convention adoption certificate or, in outgoing cases, a Convention custody declaration, obtained pursuant to specified federal regulations, shall be recognized as a final valid adoption for purposes of all state and local laws. (Fam. Code, § 8925.)
11. Provides that a court report of adoption received from any court of record in the State, wherein the birth occurred outside the United States, the Territories, or Canada shall constitute a court order of delayed registration of birth, provided the court report contains a statement of the date and place of birth. (Health & Saf. Code, § 102695.)
12. Provides that a new birth certificate shall be established by the State Registrar upon receipt of either of the following:
    1. A report of readoption from any court of record that has record of jurisdiction in this state, another state, the District of Columbia, in any territory of the United States, or in any foreign country, for any child born in California and whose birth certificate is on file in the office of the State Registrar.
    2. A readoption order issued pursuant to 4)-9). (Health & Saf. Code, § 102635.)
13. Provides that a verified petition may be filed by any beneficially interested person with the clerk of the superior court in and for (1) the county in which the birth, death, or marriage is alleged to have occurred, (2) the county of residence of the person whose birth or marriage it is sought to establish, or (3) the county in which the person was domiciled at the date of death in order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place of, a birth, death, or marriage that is not registered or for which a certified copy is not obtainable. (Health & Saf. Code, § 103450.)

This bill:

1. Permits an adoptee of any age who was adopted through an intercountry adoption to file a petition for readoption on their own behalf, if both of the following conditions are met:
   1. The adoptive parent or parents failed to file a petition within 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or the child’s 16th birthday, whichever is earlier; and
   2. The adoption agency that provided adoption services failed to file a petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States.
2. Permits a court to grant a petition for readoption that does not include all of the otherwise-required documentation if the petitioner establishes all of the following by a preponderance of the evidence:
   1. That they are the adoptee, including using the evidence described in 3) to establish their identity as the adoptee and the consistent use of that identity over time.
   2. That one or more of the required documents cannot be obtained due to the passage of time or other circumstances beyond their control, including, but not limited to, the death or unavailability of the adoptive parent or parents and the closure, dissolution, or unavailability of the adoption agency.
   3. The fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition.
3. Permits evidence presented to the court in a proceeding under 2) to include documentary and nondocumentary evidence, including, but not limited to, testimony, declarations, court records, agency records, correspondence, and other corroborating sources of information the court deems sufficient to establish the fundamental facts necessary to make the findings required to grant the petition.
4. Provides that no single category of evidence shall be required or determinative to the decision of whether to grant a petition under 2); the court shall, instead, evaluate the totality of the circumstances and the relevance and reliability of the presented evidence to determine whether the petitioner has met the burden of proof to establish the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition.

Comments

Currently, a child born in a foreign country and adopted by American parents is automatically a U.S. citizen. Federal law establishes different processes for having such a child’s citizenship recognized based on the nature of the proceedings in the child’s original country of origin and type of visa issued to the child to enter the United States.

The prior law for naturalizing a foreign-born child was, unfortunately, significantly more complicated than it is today, and many foreign-born adoptees have learned that their adoptive parents simply never completed the naturalization process. As a result, people who were brought here by Americans and have lived here for their entire lives now live in fear of deportation under President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. Although bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both houses of Congress to close this loophole, Congressional leadership refuse to schedule the bills for hearings.

This bill is intended to help foreign-born adopted persons obtain important state documents when their parents or the adoption agency failed to follow the appropriate processes. Specifically, this bill permits an adopted person to file a petition for recognition of their foreign adoption when their parents, or the adoption agency, failed to timely file such a petition; amendments taken in the Assembly also permit an adoptee to have their adoption finalized even if they are missing certain documentation due to circumstances out of their control, provided they can establish the facts of the adoption through a preponderance of the evidence. These provisions will enable adult adoptees to receive legal proof of their adoption and entitle them to a new birth certificate issued by the State Registrar. These documents cannot, on their own, confer citizenship on the adopted person, but they may be able to help them on their path to naturalization or otherwise establish a right to various privileges and entitlements.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill presents likely minor and absorbable costs to courts to consider readoption petitions, as provided by this bill.

SUPPORT: (Verified 7/10/26)

Adoptee Rights Law Center

California Alliance for Adoptee Rights

Concerned United Birthparents

Sacramento Valley Korean American Community

Saving Our Sisters

U.S. Korea Alliance Association & Combined Korea USA Veterans Assoc.

One individual

OPPOSITION: (Verified 7/10/26)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to Concerned United Birthparents:

SB 927 addresses a longstanding gap in California law. While existing statutes require adoptive parents or agencies to finalize intercountry adoptions during childhood, many individuals adopted decades ago were left without completed legal documentation, through no fault of their own. As a result, some adult adoptees lack the ability to prove their legal identity or family relationships.

This bill provides a narrow and practical remedy by allowing an adult adoptee to petition the court to finalize their adoption when both the adoptive parents and the responsible agency failed to do so. Upon approval, the individual may obtain a delayed registration of birth and the appropriate documentation.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 70-0, 7/2/26

AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Johnson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas

NO VOTE RECORDED: Bains, Bryan, Calderon, Chen, Elhawary, Ellis, Papan, Ransom, Sanchez

Prepared by: Allison Whitt Meredith / JUD. / (916) 651-4113

7/30/26 14:49:32

**** END ****

Date of Hearing: June 24, 2026

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 927

Author:(Choi) – As Amended Ver:June 3, 2026

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill permits a person of any age born in a foreign country and adopted by a U.S. citizen in another country to petition the family court for a record establishing the facts of the adoption, if the person’s parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to timely file such a petition.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Likely minor and absorbable costs to courts to consider readoption petitions, as provided by this bill.

COMMENTS:

The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over naturalization. Under federal law passed in 2001, certain foreign-born biological and adopted children of American citizens are eligible for automatic naturalization without needing to file a formal naturalization application. For those who do not automatically receive citizenship, California law provides two pathways by which the adoptive parent or adoption agency may finalize the adoptee’s citizenship status: a process to finalize adoption in California courts, and a “readoption” petition process to establish a record of adoption in California for adoptions that were already completed out of the country.

Some foreign-born adoptees were ineligible for the automatic citizenship, namely, those adopted before the federal law was implemented, or were 18 older in 2001. And in those instances, if the adoptee’s adoptive parent or adoption agency did not comply with state court procedure to finalize the intercountry adoption, the adoptee may never have formally obtained U.S. citizenship. This bill seeks to remedy that legal loophole, not by entitling those adoptees to citizenship—something that state cannot do—but, rather, by providing these adult adoptees with access to state documentation, such as a revised birth certificate, which may assist in establishing their citizenship with the federal government.

Analysis Prepared by: Shiran Zohar / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: June 9, 2026

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Ash Kalra, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 927

Author:(Choi) – As Amended Ver:June 3, 2026

SENATE VOTE: 33-0

SUBJECT: INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION FINALIZED IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY

SYNOPSIS

The United States Constitution grants the federal government exclusive jurisdiction over naturalization. Federal law dictates who automatically becomes a United States citizen, as well as how and when foreign nationals may obtain citizenship through naturalization. Since 2001, with the passage of the Child Citizenship Act (CCA) of 2000, most people adopted from another country are automatically eligible for citizenship once they enter the country. For those who do not automatically receive citizenship, California law provides two pathways by which the adoptive parent or adoption agency can finalize the adoptee’s citizenship status: a process to finalize adoption in California courts, and a “readoption” petition process to establish a record of adoption in California for adoptions that were already completed out of the country. However, individuals who were adopted before the CCA was implemented, or were 18 or older in 2001, were not eligible for the CCA’s automatic citizenship. In those cases, if the adoptee’s adoptive parent or adoption agency failed to comply with the state court procedure to finalize the intercountry adoption, the adoptee may never have formally obtained U.S. citizenship. While state law cannot entitle someone to citizenship, this bill seeks to provide some adult adoptees access to state documentation, such as a revised birth certificate, that may ultimately assist the adoptee in establishing their citizenship.

This author-sponsored bill is supported by a number of adoptee advocacy organizations including the Sacramento Valley Korean American Community, and the U.S. Korea Alliance Association. There is no known opposition.

SUMMARY: Authorizes an adoptee to file a petition for readoption on their own behalf. Specifically, this bill:

1. Authorizes an adoptee of any age to file a petition for readoption on their own behalf if the adoptive parent or parents failed to file a petition as required and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to file a petition as required.
2. Clarifies that if a court finds that the adoptee may have been the subject of human trafficking or may be a dependent child, the court shall notify all appropriate authorities.
3. Authorizes the court to grant a petition for readoption that does not include all of the required documentation if all of the following apply:
   1. The petitioner establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they are the adoptee. The petitioner may present evidence as specified to establish the petitioner’s identity as the adoptee and the consistent use of that identity over time;
   2. The petitioner establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one or more of the required documents cannot be obtained due to the passage of time or other circumstances beyond the petitioner’s control, including, but not limited to, the death or unavailability of the adoptive parent or parents and the closure, dissolution, or unavailability of the adoption agency;
   3. The petitioner is able to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition.
4. Specifies that evidence presented to the court for purposes of a petition for an adoptee’s petition for readoption that does not include all of the required documentation may include both documentary and nondocumentary evidence, including, but not limited to, testimony, declarations, court records, agency records, correspondence, and other corroborating sources of information the court deems sufficient to establish the fundamental facts necessary for the courts to make the findings required to grant the petition.
5. Specifies that no single category of evidence is required or considered determinative to grant the petition and requires the court to evaluate the totality of the circumstances and the relevance and reliability of the presented evidence to determine whether the petitioner has met the burden of proof to establish the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes the processes and procedures for the adoption of an unmarried minor. (Family Code Section 8600 et seq.)
2. Establishes specific processes and requirements for an intercountry adoption of an unmarried minor, and processes for convention adoptions and non-convention adoptions. (Family Code Section 8900 et seq.)
3. Establishes a procedure through which a state resident who has adopted a minor from a foreign country can establish a record to prove the facts of the foreign adoption by filing a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptee’s entry into the United States or the adoptee’s 16th birthday. Specifies documents to be included with the application, such as a certified or otherwise official copy of the foreign order of adoption and birth certificate, a report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or contractor, a copy of a previously completed home study report, and proof that the child was granted lawful entry into the United States as an immediate relative of the adoptive parent or parents. (Family Code Section 8919 (a).)
4. Prohibits a readoption order petitioned for under 3) from being granted unless the court receives a copy of the reports, and requires the court to consider the postplacement visit or visits and the previously completed home study when deciding whether to grant or deny the petition for readoption. (Family Code Section 8919 (b).)
5. Requires an adoption agency that facilitated the adoption, if an adoptive parent who has adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country fails to file a readoption petition by the earlier of 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or the child’s 16th birthday, or fails to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided the adoption services to the adoptive parent, to file a petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States and provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and to any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent within five days of filing.
   1. Makes an adoptive parent liable to the adoption agency for all costs and fees incurred as a result of good faith actions taken by the adoption agency to fulfill this requirement.
   2. Authorizes the Department of Social Services to take any appropriate disciplinary action against the adoption agency that fails to file the petition as required if the agency is licensed in the state and the department has actual or constructive knowledge that the petition was not filed. (Family Code Section 8919 (c).)
6. Requires a court that finds that the child who is the subject of a readoption petition may be the subject of human trafficking or may be a victim of, or at risk of, abandonment, abuse, or neglect, to, in accordance with existing law, notify all appropriate authorities. (Family Code Section 8919 (d).)
7. Requires the clerk of the court to submit the order granting the petition to adopt to the State Registrar within 10 business days of granting the readoption petition, and requires the State Registrar to issue a delayed registration of live birth that lists the adoptive parent or parents as the child’s legal parent or parents upon receipt. (Family Code Section 8919 (e).)
8. Authorizes a state resident who has adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country to obtain a birth certificate for the child as specified. (Family Code Section 8919 (f).)
9. Provides that a Hague Convention adoption certificate or, in outgoing cases, a Hague Convention custody declaration, obtained pursuant to specified federal regulations, shall be recognized as a final valid adoption for purposes of all state and local laws. (Family Code Section 8925.)
10. Provides that a court report of adoption received from any court of record in the State, wherein the birth occurred outside the United States, the Territories, or Canada shall constitute a court order of delayed registration of birth, provided the court report contains a statement of the date and place of birth. (Health and Safety Code Section 102695.)
11. Provides that a new birth certificate shall be established by the State Registrar upon receipt of either of the following:
    1. A report of readoption from any court of record that has record of jurisdiction in this state, another state, the District of Columbia, in any territory of the United States, or in any foreign country, for any child born in California and whose birth certificate is on file in the office of the State Registrar.
    2. A readoption order. (Health and Safety Code Section 102635.)
12. Provides that a verified petition may be filed by any beneficially interested person with the clerk of the superior court in and for (1) the county in which the birth, death, or marriage is alleged to have occurred, (2) the county of residence of the person whose birth or marriage it is sought to establish, or (3) the county in which the person was domiciled at the date of death in order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place of, a birth, death, or marriage that is not registered or for which a certified copy is not obtainable. (Health and Safety Code Section 103450.)
13. Automatically confers United States citizenship on a child adopted by United States citizen parent if the child satisfies specified requirements. (8 U.S.C. Sections 1101, 1431.)

FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.

COMMENTS: While states generally maintain jurisdiction over family law, including adoption law, federal and state law can come into conflict as it relates to international adoptions. The United States Constitution grants the federal government exclusive jurisdiction over naturalization. Federal law dictates who automatically becomes a United States citizen, as well as how and when foreign nationals may obtain citizenship through naturalization. Generally, foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizen parents are automatically conferred citizenship. However, federal law provides different processes for establishing the child’s citizenship depending on various underlying facts, such as the child’s country of origin or type of visa issued to enter the country following the adoption.

Citizenship through adoption under existing law. Since 2001, and the enactment of the Child Citizenship Act, most foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizens automatically become citizens when they enter the country. If the adopted child was born in a country that is a party to the Hague Convention and their adoption was completed in their birth country, that child receives citizenship upon entry into the United States and should receive their Certificate of Citizenship within 60 days. If either the adoption was not finalized in the child’s birth country or that country is not a party to the Hague Convention, the adoptive parents must comply with the federal procedure to recognize the child’s citizenship. The procedure includes a state-level process to either finalize the adoption in the United States or “readopt” the child.

California law bifurcates the processes for international adoptions between 1) children whose adoptions were not finalized in their birth country and 2) children whose birth country is not party to the Hague Convention. For those not finalized in their birth country, existing law requires birth parents to file a petition for adoption in California within 30 days of entry into the United States, at which point the court conducts the regular adoption process including a home study and a court finding that the adoption is in the child’s best interest. At the conclusion of the adoption proceeding, the court issues an order of adoption which the parents can use to apply for citizenship with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). (Family Code Section 8911.)

For adoptions finalized in a non-Hague country, California law provides a “readoption” procedure. Existing law requires parents to file a petition for readoption within 60 days of arriving in the United States or before the child turns 16, whichever is earlier. If the adoptive parents fail to do so, the obligation falls to the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption. In either case, the petition must include specified documents, including the original home study and a report of at least one postadoption home visit by the agency. If the court finds the adoption is in the child’s best interest, it will issue a readoption order. The readoption order is then sent to the State Registrar who issues a delayed registration of birth, and may also be used to obtain a new birth certificate for the child with the adoptive parent’s names. (Family Code Section 8919.)

California law recognizes adoptions completed in a Hague-member country, and recognizes the Hague adoption certificate as a final adoption certificate, and as such adoptive parents to these proceedings do not need to complete either additional state-level adoption procedures although they can proceed with the readoption petition should they so choose.

The problem facing many pre-2001 adoptees. Unfortunately, the existing statutory scheme for recognizing international adoptions for purposes of obtaining citizenship only applies to adoptees who were younger than 18 on February 27, 2001. As a result, thousands of foreign-born adoptees whose adoptive parents or adoption agency never completed their naturalization process or otherwise establish their citizenship obtained through their adoption have been left without clear legal status, with estimates ranging between 30,000 to 200,000 affected individuals. In the wake of the second Trump administration, many of these adoptees fear arrest and deportation. Furthermore, many of these adoptees only recently realized they were not clearly citizens of the United States. Some discover they do not have citizenship while attempting to access government services such as applying for a passport or drivers licenses, or, in some particularly devastating cases, when they are stopped by federal agents on the street. Increased immigration enforcement actions across the country can also cause adoptees who discover they are not citizens from initiating their naturalization process for fear of bringing attention to their lack of status. (Elizabeth Williamson, Born Abroad and Fearful of Ice, Adoptees Try to Prove They Belong (March 23, 2026) The New York Times available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/us/politics/foreign-adoptees-citizenship-immigration-enforcement.html.)

Congress has recognized the legal loophole and has considered numerous bills to provide a solution, but none have been successful. (see: S. 2923 and HR 5492, Protect Adoptees and American Families Act (PAAF) (119^th Congress, 1^st Session).)

According to the author:

Since the 1950’s, California has consistently ranked as one of the top destinations for foreign adoptee placements in the nation. When an intercountry adoption takes place, it is the responsibility of the adoptive parent or parents to finalize the adoption of their child once they reach the United States. However, the adoptive parents do not always complete the process.

Each time an adoptive parent in California fails to finalize their child’s intercountry adoption, the adoptee is never issued a delayed registration of birth from the State Registrar to prove they are a legal US resident. After decades of adoptive parents failing to finalize foreign adoptions, tens of thousands of former adoptees are adults living in the United States without necessary identification or documentation, vulnerable to possible deportations.

I introduced AB 677 in 2019 to ensure that either a parent or adoption agency would finalize intercountry adoptions in order for adoptees to establish a record of their adoption prior to reaching adulthood.

SB 927 provides a process for foreign adoptees who are adults to petition on their own behalf when both their adoptive parents and adoption agency fail to complete their adoption. This ensures that intercountry adoptees can establish an official record of their adoption and legal residency in the US.

In an attempt to provide some recourse for international adoptees who fall into this legal limbo, this bill authorizes an adoptee to bring a petition for readoption if both their adoptive parents and adoption agency failed to do so. Recent amendments also allow an adoptee to proceed with the petition without all the required documentation so long as they can otherwise establish the relevant facts to allow a court to make the required findings. These amendments address the reality that many pre-2001 adoptees may have lost access to some, if not all, of the required documents as their adoptive parents may have passed away or the adoption agency may no longer exist.

As previously discussed, states have no authority to confer citizenship, that responsibility is reserved exclusively for the federal government. Therefore, while states can enact laws to facilitate issuance of documentation to help demonstrate someone is eligible for citizenship, including recognizing international adoptions, whether someone can ultimately become a United States citizen is beyond the reach of state law. However, this bill represents a measured attempt to provide potential recourse for adoptees in California to obtain documentation that may assist in their naturalization process and to that extent seems a worthwhile effort.

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: This bill is supported by a number of adoptee advocacy organizations, the Sacramento Valley Korean American Community, and the U.S. Korea Alliance Association. In support of the measure, the Sacramento Valley Korean American Community submits:

SB 927 addresses a longstanding gap in California law. While existing statutes require adoptive parents or agencies to finalize intercountry adoptions during childhood, many individuals adopted decades ago were left without completed legal documentation, through no fault of their own. As a result, some adult adoptees lack the ability to prove their legal identity or family relationships.

This bill provides a narrow and practical remedy by allowing an adult adoptee to petition the court to finalize their adoption when both the adoptive parents and the responsible agency failed to do so. Upon approval, the individual may obtain a delayed registration of birth and the appropriate documentation.

SB 927 promotes legal clarity and administrative efficiency by:

• Providing a corrective pathway for individuals impacted by past procedural failures
• Ensuring consistency in adoption records and documentation
• Reducing legal uncertainty for affected adoptees
• Aligning state processes with principles of due process and equitable treatment

Importantly, this measure does not alter the underlying requirements for adoption. It ensures that those requirements can be fulfilled when they were previously left incomplete.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Adoptee Rights Law Center PLLC
California Alliance for Adoptee Rights (CAAR)
Concerned United Birthparents
Sacramento Valley Korean American Community
Saving Our Sisters - Sos, Incorporated
U.S. Korea Alliance Association - Since 2011

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Manuela Boucher-de la Cadena / JUD. / (916) 319-2334

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 927

Author: Choi (R), et al.

Amended: 4/23/26

Vote: 21

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 13-0, 4/21/26

AYES: Umberg, Niello, Allen, Ashby, Caballero, Durazo, Laird, Reyes, Stern, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/14/26

AYES: Cervantes, Seyarto, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grayson, Richardson, Wahab

SUBJECT: Intercountry adoption finalized in a foreign country

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill permits a person of any age born in a foreign country and adopted by a U.S. citizen in another country to petition the family court for a record establishing the facts of the adoption, if the person’s parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to timely file such a petition.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Defines the following relevant terms:
   1. “Adoptive parent” means a person who has obtained an order of adoption of a minor child, or in the case of an adult adoption, an adult. (Family (Fam.) Code, § 8503.)
   2. “Intercountry adoption” means the adoption of a foreign-born child for whom federal law makes a special immigration visa available, and includes completion of the adoption in the child’s native country or completion of the adoption in this state. (Fam. Code, § 8527.)
   3. “Licensed adoption agency” means any agency licensed by the State Department of Social Services (DSS) to provide services including assessing prospective adoptive parents, matching parents and children for adoption, and, in the case of a full-service adoption agency, assuming care, custody, and control of a child through relinquishment of the child to the agency or termination of parental rights. (Fam. Code, § 8530; see also Health & Safety (Saf.) Code, § 1502(a)(9) & (10).)
   4. “Adoption service” means specified services, including (1) identifying a child for adoption and arranging adoption; (2) securing the necessary consent to termination of parental rights and to adoption; (3) performing a background study on a child or a home study on any prospective adoptive parent, and reporting on the study; and (4) monitoring a case after a child has been placed with any prospective parent until final adoption. (Fam. Code, § 8900.5(b).)
   5. “Convention” means the Hague Convention. (Fam. Code, § 8900.5(d).)
   6. “Convention adoption” means the adoption of a child resident in a convention country by a United States citizen, or an adoption of a child resident in the United States by an individual or individuals residing in a convention country, if, in connection with the adoption, the child has or will move between the United States and the convention country. (Fam. Code, § 8900.5(e).)
   7. “Convention country” means a country that is party to the convention and with which the convention is in force for the United States. (Fam. Code, § 8900.5(f).)
2. Establishes the processes and procedures for the adoption of an unmarried minor. (Fam. Code, div. 13, pt. 2, §§ 8600 et seq.)
3. Establishes specific processes and requirements for an intercountry adoption of an unmarried minor, and processes for convention adoptions and non-convention adoptions. (Fam. Code, div. 13, pt. 2, ch. 4, §§ 8900 et seq.)
4. Establishes a procedure through which a state resident who has adopted a minor from a foreign country can establish a record to prove the facts of the foreign adoption by filing a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptee’s entry into the United States or the adoptee’s 16th birthday. The petition must include all of the following:
   1. A certified or otherwise official copy of the foreign decree, order, or certification of adoption that reflects finalization of the adoption into the foreign country.
   2. A certified or otherwise official copy of the child’s foreign birth certificate.
   3. A certified translation of all required documents that are not written in English; the court shall accept the certified translation, if any, that was completed abroad for purposes of obtaining the child’s visa or passport.
   4. Proof that the child was granted lawful entry into the United States as an immediate relative of the adoptive parent or parents.
   5. A report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the state.
   6. A copy of the home study report previously completed for the international finalized adoption by an adoption agency authorized to provide intercountry adoption services. (Fam. Code, § 8919(a).)
5. Provides that a readoption order petitioned for under 4) shall not be granted unless the court receives a copy of the reports listed in 4)(e) and (f), and the court shall consider the postplacement visit or visits and the previously completed home study when deciding whether to grant or deny the petition for readoption. (Fam. Code, § 8919(b).)
6. Provides that, if an adoptive parent who has adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country fails to file a petition pursuant to 4) by the earlier of 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or the child’s 16th birthday, or fails to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided the adoption services to the adoptive parent, then the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption shall file a petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States and shall provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and to any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent within five days of filing.
   1. An adoptive parent shall be liable to the adoption agency for all costs and fees incurred as a result of good faith actions taken by the adoption agency to fulfill this requirement.
   2. If the adoption agency fails to file a petition as required, DSS may take appropriate disciplinary action against the adoption agency if it is licensed in the state and DSS has actual or constructive knowledge that the petition was not filed. (Fam. Code, § 8919(c).)
7. If the court finds that the child who is the subject of a petition in 4) may be the subject of human trafficking or may be a victim of, or at risk of, abandonment, abuse, or neglect, the court shall, in accordance with existing law, notify all appropriate authorities. (Fam. Code, § 8919(d).)
8. Provides that, within 10 business days of the granting of a petition in 4), the clerk of the court shall submit to the State Registrar the order granting the petition to adopt; upon receipt, the State Registrar shall issue a delayed registration of live birth in accordance with 11), below that lists the adoptive parent or parents as the child’s legal parent or parents. (Fam. Code, § 8919(e).)
9. Provides that a state resident who has adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country may obtain a birth certificate for a child in accordance with 12) or 13), below. (Fam. Code, § 8919(f).)
10. Provides that a Convention adoption certificate or, in outgoing cases, a Convention custody declaration, obtained pursuant to specified federal regulations, shall be recognized as a final valid adoption for purposes of all state and local laws. (Fam. Code, § 8925.)
11. Provides that a court report of adoption received from any court of record in the State, wherein the birth occurred outside the United States, the Territories, or Canada shall constitute a court order of delayed registration of birth, provided the court report contains a statement of the date and place of birth. (Health & Saf. Code, § 102695.)
12. Provides that a new birth certificate shall be established by the State Registrar upon receipt of either of the following:
    1. A report of readoption from any court of record that has record of jurisdiction in this state, another state, the District of Columbia, in any territory of the United States, or in any foreign country, for any child born in California and whose birth certificate is on file in the office of the State Registrar.
    2. A readoption order issued pursuant to 4)-9). (Health & Saf. Code, § 102635.)
13. Provides that a verified petition may be filed by any beneficially interested person with the clerk of the superior court in and for (1) the county in which the birth, death, or marriage is alleged to have occurred, (2) the county of residence of the person whose birth or marriage it is sought to establish, or (3) the county in which the person was domiciled at the date of death in order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place of, a birth, death, or marriage that is not registered or for which a certified copy is not obtainable. (Health & Saf. Code, § 103450.)

This bill permits an adoptee of any age who was adopted through an intercountry adoption to file a petition for readoption on their own behalf, if both of the following conditions are met:

• 1. The adoptive parent or parents failed to file a petition within 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or the child’s 16th birthday, whichever is earlier; and
  2. The adoption agency that provided adoption services failed to file a petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States.

Comments

Currently, a child born in a foreign country and adopted by American parents is automatically a U.S. citizen. Federal law establishes different processes for having such a child’s citizenship recognized based on the nature of the proceedings in the child’s original country of origin and type of visa issued to the child to enter the United States.

The prior law for naturalizing a foreign-born child was, unfortunately, significantly more complicated than it is today, and many foreign-born adoptees have learned that their adoptive parents simply never completed the naturalization process. As a result, people who were brought here by Americans and have lived here for their entire lives now live in fear of deportation under President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. Although bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both houses of Congress to close this loophole, Congressional leadership refuse to schedule the bills for hearings.

This bill is intended to help foreign-born adopted persons obtain important state documents when their parents or the adoption agency failed to follow the appropriate processes. Specifically, this bill permits an adopted person to file a petition for recognition of their foreign adoption when their parents, or the adoption agency, failed to timely file such a petition, which will result in proof of adoption and entitle them to a new birth certificate issued by the State Registrar. These documents cannot, on their own, confer citizenship on the adopted person, but they may be able to help them on their path to naturalization or otherwise establish a right to various privileges and entitlements.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

SUPPORT: (Verified 5/14/26)

Adoptee Rights Law Center

California Alliance for Adoptee Rights

Concerned United Birthparents

Sacramento Valley Korean American Community

Saving Our Sisters

U.S. Korea Alliance Association & Combined Korea USA Veterans Assoc.

One individual

OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/14/26)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to Concerned United Birthparents:

SB 927 addresses a longstanding gap in California law. While existing statutes require adoptive parents or agencies to finalize intercountry adoptions during childhood, many individuals adopted decades ago were left without completed legal documentation, through no fault of their own. As a result, some adult adoptees lack the ability to prove their legal identity or family relationships.

This bill provides a narrow and practical remedy by allowing an adult adoptee to petition the court to finalize their adoption when both the adoptive parents and the responsible agency failed to do so. Upon approval, the individual may obtain a delayed registration of birth and the appropriate documentation

Prepared by: Allison Whitt Meredith / JUD. / (916) 651-4113

5/14/26 16:28:21

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Sabrina Cervantes, Chair

2025 - 2026 Regular Session

SB 927 (Choi) - Intercountry adoption finalized in a foreign country

Bill Summary:

This bill permits a person born in a foreign country and adopted by a U.S. citizen in another country to petition the family court for a record establishing the facts of the adoption, if the person’s parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to file the petition in a timely manner.

Fiscal Impact:

This bill could result in additional, unknown cost pressure to the courts to adjudicate new cases each year for adoptees who lack readoption paperwork and elect to file petitions. While the superior courts are not funded on a workload basis, the increase in workload could result in delayed court services and put pressure on the General Fund to fund additional staff and resources (Trial Court Trust Fund, General Fund).

Background:

Existing law establishes specific processes and requirements for an intercountry adoption of an unmarried minor, and processes for convention adoptions and non-convention adoptions. It establishes a procedure through which a state resident who has adopted a minor from a foreign country can establish a record to prove the facts of the foreign adoption by filing a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptee’s entry into the United States or the adoptee’s 16th birthday. The petition must include specified components, including a copy of the certified or otherwise official copy of the foreign decree, order, or certification of adoption that reflects finalization of the adoption into the foreign country. Existing law provides that a readoption order shall not be granted unless the court receives a copy of these reports, and the court shall consider the postplacement visit or visits and the previously completed home study when deciding whether to grant or deny the petition for readoption.

Existing law provides that, if an adoptive parent who has adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country fails to file a petition by the earlier of 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or the child’s 16th birthday, or fails to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided the adoption services to the adoptive parent, then the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption shall file a petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States and shall provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and to any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent within five days of filing.

Proposed Law:

This bill permits an adoptee who was adopted through an intercountry adoption to file a petition for readoption on their own behalf if both of the following conditions are met: the adoptive parent or parents failed to file a petition within 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or the child’s 16th birthday, whichever is earlier; and the adoption agency that provided adoption services failed to file a petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States.

Related Legislation:

AB 677 (Choi, Chapter 805, Statutes of 2019) revised the intercountry adoption recognition process and established a process if the adoptive parent of a foreign adoption fails to complete readoption.

Staff Comments:

According to the analysis of this bill by the Senate Committee on Judiciary:

Currently, a child born in a foreign country and adopted by American parents is automatically a U.S. citizen. Federal law establishes different processes for having such a child’s citizenship recognized based on the nature of the proceedings in the child’s original country of origin and type of visa issued to the child to enter the United States. The prior law for naturalizing a foreign-born child was, unfortunately, significantly more complicated than it is today, and many foreign-born adoptees have learned that their adoptive parents simply never completed the naturalization process. As a result, people who were brought here by Americans and have lived here for their entire lives now live in fear of deportation under President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. Although bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both houses of Congress to close this loophole, Congressional leadership refuses to schedule the bills for hearings.

This bill is intended to help foreign-born adopted persons obtain important state documents when their parents or an adoption agency have failed to follow the appropriate processes. Specifically, this bill permits an adopted person to file a petition for recognition of their foreign adoption when their parents, or the adoption agency, failed to timely file such a petition, which will result in proof of adoption and entitle them to a new birth certificate issued by the State Registrar.

According to the author: “Since the 1950’s, California has consistently ranked as one of the top destinations for foreign adoptee placements in the nation. When an intercountry adoption takes place, it is the responsibility of the adoptive parent or parents to finalize the adoption of their child once they reach the United States. However, the adoptive parents do not always complete the process. Each time an adoptive parent in California fails to finalize their child’s intercountry adoption, the adoptee is never issued a delayed registration of birth from the State Registrar to prove they are a legal US resident. After decades of adoptive parents failing to finalize foreign adoptions, tens of thousands of former adoptees are adults living in the United States without necessary identification or documentation, vulnerable to possible deportations.

I introduced AB 677 in 2019 to ensure that either a parent or adoption agency would finalize intercountry adoptions in order for adoptees to establish a record of their adoption prior to reaching adulthood. SB 927 provides a process for foreign adoptees who are adults to petition on their own behalf when both their adoptive parents and adoption agency fail to complete their adoption. This ensures that intercountry adoptees can establish an official record of their adoption and legal residency in the US.”

-- END --

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

Senator Thomas Umberg, Chair

2025-2026 Regular Session

Bill No: SB 927 (Author:Choi)

Version: March 23, 2026

Hearing Date: April 21, 2026

Fiscal: Yes

Urgency: No

Consultant: AWM

SUBJECT

Intercountry adoption finalized in a foreign country

DIGEST

This bill permits a person born in a foreign country and adopted by a U.S. citizen in another country to petition the family court for a record establishing the facts of the adoption, if the person’s parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to timely file such a petition.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Currently, a child born in a foreign country and adopted by American parents is automatically a U.S. citizen. Federal law establishes different processes for having such a child’s citizenship recognized based on the nature of the proceedings in the child’s original country of origin and type of visa issued to the child to enter the United States.

The prior law for naturalizing a foreign-born child was, unfortunately, significantly more complicated than it is today, and many foreign-born adoptees have learned that their adoptive parents simply never completed the naturalization process. As a result, people who were brought here by Americans and have lived here for their entire lives now live in fear of deportation under President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. Although bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both houses of Congress to close this loophole, Congressional leadership refuse to schedule the bills for hearings.

This bill is intended to help foreign-born adopted persons obtain important state documents when their parents or an adoption agency failed to follow the appropriate processes. Specifically, this bill permits an adopted person to file a petition for recognition of their foreign adoption when their parents, or the adoption agency, failed to timely file such a petition, which will result in proof of adoption and entitle them to a new birth certificate issued by the State Registrar. These documents cannot, on their own, confer citizenship on the adopted person, but they may be able to help them on their path to naturalization or otherwise establish a right to various privileges and entitlements. The author has agreed to minor amendments to clarify that an adoptee can initiate their own procedure for recognition of their foreign adoption at any age.

This bill is sponsored by the author and is supported by the Adoptee Rights Law Center. The Committee has not received timely opposition to this bill. Should the bill pass this Committee, it will then be referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE LAW

Existing law:

1. Defines the following relevant terms:
   1. “Adoptive parent” means a person who has obtained an order of adoption of a minor child, or in the case of an adult adoption, an adult. (Fam. Code, § 8503.)
   2. “Intercountry adoption” means the adoption of a foreign-born child for whom federal law makes a special immigration visa available, and includes completion of the adoption in the child’s native country or completion of the adoption in this state. (Fam. Code, § 8527.)
   3. “Licensed adoption agency” means any agency licensed by the State Department of Social Services (DSS) to provide services including assessing prospective adoptive parents, matching parents and children for adoption, and, in the case of a full-service adoption agency, assuming care, custody, and control of a child through relinquishment of the child to the agency or termination of parental rights. (Fam. Code, § 8530; see also Health & Saf. Code, § 1502(a)(9) & (10).)
   4. “Adoption service” means specified services, including (1) identifying a child for adoption and arranging adoption; (2) securing the necessary consent to termination of parental rights and to adoption; (3) performing a background study on a child or a home study on any prospective adoptive parent, and reporting on the study; and (4) monitoring a case after a child has been placed with any prospective parent until final adoption. (Fam. Code, § 8900.5(b).)
   5. “Convention” means the Hague Convention. (Fam. Code, § 8900.5(d).)
   6. “Convention adoption” means the adoption of a child resident in a convention country by a United States citizen, or an adoption of a child resident in the United States by an individual or individuals residing in a convention country, if, in connection with the adoption, the child has or will move between the United States and the convention country. (Fam. Code, § 8900.5(e).)
   7. “Convention country” means a country that is party to the convention and with which the convention is in force for the United States. (Fam. Code, § 8900.5(f).)
2. Establishes the processes and procedures for the adoption of an unmarried minor. (Fam. Code, div. 13, pt. 2, §§ 8600 et seq.)
3. Establishes specific processes and requirements for an intercountry adoption of an unmarried minor, and processes for convention adoptions and non-convention adoptions. (Fam. Code, div. 13, pt. 2, ch. 4, §§ 8900 et seq.)
4. Establishes a procedure through which a state resident who has adopted a minor from a foreign country can establish a record to prove the facts of the foreign adoption by filing a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptee’s entry into the United States or the adoptee’s 16th birthday. The petition must include all of the following:
   1. A certified or otherwise official copy of the foreign decree, order, or certification of adoption that reflects finalization of the adoption into the foreign country.
   2. A certified or otherwise official copy of the child’s foreign birth certificate.
   3. A certified translation of all required documents that are not written in English; the court shall accept the certified translation, if any, that was completed abroad for purposes of obtaining the child’s visa or passport.
   4. Proof that the child was granted lawful entry into the United States as an immediate relative of the adoptive parent or parents.
   5. A report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the state.
   6. A copy of the home study report previously completed for the international finalized adoption by an adoption agency authorized to provide intercountry adoption services. (Fam. Code, § 8919(a).)
5. Provides that a readoption order petitioned for under 4) shall not be granted unless the court receives a copy of the reports listed in 4)(e) and (f), and the court shall consider the postplacement visit or visits and the previously completed home study when deciding whether to grant or deny the petition for readoption. (Fam. Code, § 8919(b).)
6. Provides that, if an adoptive parent who has adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country fails to file a petition pursuant to 4) by the earlier of 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or the child’s 16th birthday, or fails to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided the adoption services to the adoptive parent, then the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption shall file a petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States and shall provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and to any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent within five days of filing.
   1. An adoptive parent shall be liable to the adoption agency for all costs and fees incurred as a result of good faith actions taken by the adoption agency to fulfill this requirement.
   2. If the adoption agency fails to file a petition as required, DSS may take appropriate disciplinary action against the adoption agency if it is licensed in the state and DSS has actual or constructive knowledge that the petition was not filed. (Fam. Code, § 8919(c).)
7. If the court finds that the child who is the subject of a petition in 4) may be the subject of human trafficking or may be a victim of, or at risk of, abandonment, abuse, or neglect, the court shall, in accordance with existing law, notify all appropriate authorities. (Fam. Code, § 8919(d).)
8. Provides that, within 10 business days of the granting of a petition in 4), the clerk of the court shall submit to the State Registrar the order granting the petition to adopt; upon receipt, the State Registrar shall issue a delayed registration of live birth in accordance with 11), below that lists the adoptive parent or parents as the child’s legal parent or parents. (Fam. Code, § 8919(e).)
9. Provides that a state resident who has adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country may obtain a birth certificate for a child in accordance with 12) or 13), below. (Fam. Code, § 8919(f).)
10. Provides that a Convention adoption certificate or, in outgoing cases, a Convention custody declaration, obtained pursuant to specified federal regulations, shall be recognized as a final valid adoption for purposes of all state and local laws. (Fam. Code, § 8925.)
11. Provides that a court report of adoption received from any court of record in the State, wherein the birth occurred outside the United States, the Territories, or Canada shall constitute a court order of delayed registration of birth, provided the court report contains a statement of the date and place of birth. (Health & Saf. Code, § 102695.)
12. Provides that a new birth certificate shall be established by the State Registrar upon receipt of either of the following:
    1. A report of readoption from any court of record that has record of jurisdiction in this state, another state, the District of Columbia, in any territory of the United States, or in any foreign country, for any child born in California and whose birth certificate is on file in the office of the State Registrar.
    2. A readoption order issued pursuant to 4)-9). (Health & Saf. Code, § 102635.)
13. Provides that a verified petition may be filed by any beneficially interested person with the clerk of the superior court in and for (1) the county in which the birth, death, or marriage is alleged to have occurred, (2) the county of residence of the person whose birth or marriage it is sought to establish, or (3) the county in which the person was domiciled at the date of death in order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place of, a birth, death, or marriage that is not registered or for which a certified copy is not obtainable. (Health & Saf. Code, § 103450.)

This bill permits an adoptee who was adopted through an intercountry adoption to file a petition for readoption on their own behalf if both of the following conditions are met:

• 1. The adoptive parent or parents failed to file a petition within 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or the child’s 16th birthday, whichever is earlier; and
  2. The adoption agency that provided adoption services failed to file a petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States.

COMMENTS

1. Author’s comment

According to the author:

Since the 1950’s, California has consistently ranked as one of the top destinations for foreign adoptee placements in the nation. When an intercountry adoption takes place, it is the responsibility of the adoptive parent or parents to finalize the adoption of their child once they reach the United States. However, the adoptive parents do not always complete the process.

Each time an adoptive parent in California fails to finalize their child’s intercountry adoption, the adoptee is never issued a delayed registration of birth from the State Registrar to prove they are a legal US resident. After decades of adoptive parents failing to finalize foreign adoptions, tens of thousands of former adoptees are adults living in the United States without necessary identification or documentation, vulnerable to possible deportations.

I introduced AB 677 in 2019 to ensure that either a parent or adoption agency would finalize intercountry adoptions in order for adoptees to establish a record of their adoption prior to reaching adulthood. SB 927 provides a process for foreign adoptees who are adults to petition on their own behalf when both their adoptive parents and adoption agency fail to complete their adoption. This ensures that intercountry adoptees can establish an official record of their adoption and legal residency in the US.

2. Background on the international adoption process for non-convention adoptions

In most cases, a child born in a foreign country after 2001 and adopted by American parents is automatically a U.S. citizen.^[1] Federal law establishes different processes for having such a child’s citizenship recognized based on the nature of the proceedings in the child’s original country of origin and type of visa issued to the child to enter the United States. A child whose adoption was completed in their original country of origin, when the country is a party to the Hague Convention, becomes a citizen automatically upon entering the country and should be sent a Certificate of Citizenship within 60 days.^[2] For children whose adoptions are not finalized in the original country, or when the country is not a party to the Hague Convention, adoptive parents must go through additional steps to have the child’s citizenship recognized, including going through a state procedure to either finalize the adoption or “readopt” the child.

California law governs both (1) when the state will recognize the adoption of a foreign-born child, and (2) when a child adopted from another country can obtain a U.S. birth certificate that lists their adoptive parents. California recognizes a Hague adoption certificate as a valid final adoption certificate, so in an adoption from a Hague Convention country completed in the foreign country, the parents do not need to finalize or readopt the child for the adoption to be given full faith and credit by the state.^[3] For adoptions not completed in the child’s birth country, the parents must file a petition for adoption in California within 30 days of bringing the child into the country.^[4] The court then conducts an adoption proceeding pursuant to state law, which includes the requirement of a home study and that the court find that the adoption is in the child’s best interest.^[5] When the court grants the petition for adoption, the parents can use the court order to obtain citizenship and a new California birth certificate for the child.^[6]

For children whose adoptions were finalized in a foreign country that is not a party to the Hague Convention, California has a streamlined “readoption” procedure to obtain a state court order recognizing the adoption.^[7] Parents falling under this category must file a petition for readoption within 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or before the child turns 16, whichever is earlier; if they fail to do so, the licensed adoption agency that facilitated the adoption must file a petition for the child.^[8] The petition must include specified documentation relating to the foreign adoption, including certified translations where the documents were not written in English, the original home study, and a report detailing the events of at least one postadoption home visit by the adoption agency.^[9] Assuming the court finds that the adoption is in the best interest of the child, the court will issue a readoption order.^[10] The clerk of the court must forward the readoption order to the State Registrar, who must then issue a delayed registration of birth for the child; the readoption order may also be used to obtain a new birth certificate for the child that reflects the child’s adoptive parents.^[11]

The readoption process may also be used by, but is not required for, parents whose children were adopted in a foreign country through the Hague Convention process.

3. A gap in federal law leaves many foreign-born adoptees in legal limbo

The United States Constitution grants Congress the exclusive power “to establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization.”^[12] This provision, combined with the federal government’s “inherent power as sovereign to control and conduct relations with foreign nations” give the federal government “broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration and the status of aliens.”^[13]

As discussed above, the Immigration and Naturalization Act currently provides that persons born in a foreign country and adopted by U.S. citizens automatically become citizens, and sets forth the procedures for having that citizenship recognized.^[14] These provisions were added to the United States Code through the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 but apply only to persons who were younger than 18 years of age on February 27, 2001.^[15] This left many of foreign-born adoptees—as many as up to 200,000—without a clear legal status, either because their adoptive parents never obtained U.S. citizenship for their child, or because they never got the documents necessary to prove citizenship.^[16] This legal uncertainty also extends to children born in non-Hague Convention countries whose parents failed to go through all of the steps for naturalization.^[17] Immigration attorneys agree that there is no statutory path for these adoptees to obtain citizenship or have their citizenship recognized.^[18]

The adoptees without citizenship, or proof of citizenship, now live in fear that they will be arrested by ICE and deported.^[19] Many of them did not even realize they were not American citizens until later in life, such as when they applied for a passport.^[20] Even adoptees who may be able to establish citizenship are now reluctant to call attention to their status, because they are “fearful of an administration that is using every legal avenue to meet deportation quotas.”^[21]

Congress could easily fix this problem. Bills named the Protect Adoptees and American Families Act were introduced in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives in 2025 but neither bill can get a hearing from the Republican majorities in Congress.^[22]

4. This bill permits a person to file a readoption petition on their own behalf if the person’s adoptive parent and the agency failed to do so

California cannot change federal immigration law. California can, however, help foreign-born adoptees obtain documentation from the state, specifically, an adoption decree and a birth certificate. To that end, this bill permits a foreign-born adoptee to file a petition for re-adoption on their own behalf when neither their parents nor the adoption agency filed the necessary petition. Upon completion of the proceeding, the adoptee would have legal recognition of their adoption and would be able to obtain a new birth certificate from the State Registrar. The author has agreed to minor amendments to clarify that an adoptee of any age may file such a petition on their own behalf.

The Adoptee Rights Law Center, writing in support of the bill:

In substance, the bill allows an adult adopted person to validate a previously finalized foreign adoption in a California state court, specifically if the adoptive parents or the responsible adoption agency had failed to do so before the adoptee reached 18 years of age. It further allows a California state court to issue an order of “readoption,” which documents the facts of the foreign adoption and allows for issuance of a California state-issued delayed registration of birth.

5. Amendments

As noted above, the author has agreed to a minor amendment, set forth below, and subject to any nonsubstantive changes the Office of Legislative Counsel may make.

Amendment

At page 3, in line 38, after “adoptee” insert “of any age”

SUPPORT

Adoptee Rights Law Center

OPPOSITION

None received

RELATED LEGISLATION

Pending legislation: None known.

Prior legislation:

AB 677 (Choi, Ch. 805, Stats. 2019) established the streamlined re-adoption procedure discussed in Comment 2 of this bill.

AB 724 (Choi, 2018) was substantially similar to AB 677 (Choi, Ch. 805, Stats. 2019). AB 724 was vetoed by Governor Brown, who stated in his veto message that the bill was “well-intentioned but goes too far because it requires a private adoption agency to proceed with the re-adoption process if the parents do not. I believe that parents who adopt foreign-born children can and will make their own decisions with respect to their child.”

**************

1. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1431. ↑

2. See United States Customs and Immigration Services, Certificate of Citizenship for an Internationally Adopted Child, https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/after-your-child-enters-the-united-states/certificate-of-citizenship-for-your-internationally-adopted-child. All links in this analysis are current as of April 16, 2026. ↑

3. See Fam. Code, § 8925. ↑

4. Id., §§ 8911, 8912. ↑

5. Id., §§ 8913-8918. ↑

6. See Health & Saf. Code, §§ 102635, 102695. ↑

7. See Fam. Code, § 8919. ↑

8. Ibid. Parents who fail to file the petition must reimburse the agency for the agency’s expenses in filing the petition. (Id. at § 8919(c).) ↑

9. Id., § 8919(a). ↑

10. Id., § 8919(b). ↑

11. Id., § 8919(e), (f). ↑

12. U.S. Const., art. I, § 8, cl. 4. ↑

13. Arizona v. U.S. (2012) 567 U.S. 387, 394-395. ↑

14. 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101(b), 1431. ↑

15. Galofaro & Tong-Hyung, Thousands were adopted to the US but not made citizens. Decades later, they risk being deported (Oct. 24, 2024) AP News, https://apnews.com/article/adoption-citizenship-congress-immigration-a1ec84a94f2442e3dc4b7a31cad27d21. ↑

16. Williamson, Born Abroad and Fearful of ICE, Adoptees Try to Prove They Belong (Mar. 23, 2026) New York Times, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/us/politics/foreign-adoptees-citizenship-immigration-enforcement.html. ↑

17. Ibid. ↑

18. Solis, Thousands of adoptees were never given US citizenship. Now they risk deportation (Jul. 18, 2025) KPBS, https://www.kpbs.org/news/border-immigration/2025/07/18/thousands-of-adoptees-were-never-given-us-citizenship-now-they-risk-deportation. ↑

19. Ibid. ↑

20. Kim, She grew up believing she was a U.S. citizen. Then she applied for a passport (Apr. 19, 2025) NPR, https://www.npr.org/2025/04/19/g-s1-60166/trump-immigration-citizenship-deportation-adoptee-south-korea. ↑

21. Williamson, supra. ↑

22. See ibid; S. 2923 (119th Cong. 1st Sess.) as introduced; H.R. 5492 (119th Cong. 1st Sess.), as introduced. ↑