Social Security Card

It is possible to obtain a social security number for your child with Ethiopian paperwork, and if you are going to be filling out your taxes very soon, you may want to go ahead and do this with just the Ethiopian paperwork. But many families decide to wait until after re-adoption to avoid the name change process.

We usually head straight for the social security office as soon as we leave court with our copies of the adoption decree. The social security office needs all the same paperwork that the court does (birth certificates, marriage license, etc) so it works well to go there when we already have everything gathered for court anyway. Once you show the proper proof, you'll usually have a social security card mailed to you within a month.


Proof of citizenship


There are two basic ways that you can prove that your child is a U.S. citizen. You can either apply for a Certificate of Citizenship or you can get your child a passport.


Certificate of Citizenship

Children who arrive in the U.S. with an IR-3 visa (meaning their adoptive parents both saw them BEFORE the Ethiopian court date) should receive the certificate within 45 days of entering the country. If your child arrived with an IR-4 visa, as is the case with the vast majority of Ethiopian adoptees, you will need to apply for the certificate of citizenship yourself. You do this through the USCIS, and this privilege will set you back $255.

Passport

A US Passport is also acceptable proof of U.S. Citizenship. Getting a passport is cheaper than the Certificate of Citizenship. We have opted to get a passport for each of our children. If you go this route, be sure to bring EVERY piece of paperwork you could possibly need in to the passport office, including your child's green card, Ethiopian and U.S. adoption decrees, birth certificates for both parents, and marriage license. Passport offices can be very picky about the paperwork, and have been known to give adoptive families hassles. You should also keep in mind that a passport does have an expiration date, whereas a certificate of citizenship never expires.