<p>My mother came up with the bizarre idea of having me get adopted by my grand aunt in law (who is an American citizen) in order to receive financial aid.</p>
<p>This sounds totally weird and I'm not even sure the process is possible (being adopted to gain citizenship alone I doubt is possible), you guys have any information? Heard of anyone doing this before?</p>
<p>I’m not quite sure how being adopted will change your financial aid. </p>
<p>As for your second question, if a child below the age of 18 is adopted by an American citizen, he or she is eligible to become a citizen as well. All of the paperwork has to go through in order to become adopted and as a permanent resident, which is time-consuming.</p>
<p>Oh, sorry I forgot to mention I am an international, and since most schools aren’t international need blind I was wondering whether getting adopted and getting citizenship is going to mean anything regarding this.</p>
<p>But of course, there’s the wonder of being a citizen but never having stepped on America, educated in an Asian country my whole life.</p>
<p>Do colleges care? I guess this doesn’t happen often. Will they generally say the new citizenship is just a method of obtaining money for the applicant and has nothing to do with the application process itself, or will this move someone to a different applicant pool/a special circumstance?</p>
<p>How “time-consuming” is this process? If I begin pretty soon will I be done in time for the fin aid cycle of the fall of 2011?</p>
<p>Anyway all this sounds too fishy to actually do, I’m just wondering, I doubt even if it’s possible I’ll even attempt it.</p>
<p>I certainly suggest talking to a lawyer about the full implications of this. First, I doubt the process could be completed that quickly. The implications of this could be huge … all that follows are my guesses (I am not a lawyer) … your parents would have to renounce their parental rights to allow you to be adopted bu someone else … they no longer could claim you as a dependent on their taxes … you may have to live with you grand aunt when not in school to make your financial aid claim … it yor are no longer the legal child of your birth parents you may well lose your legal standing for things like having a say in your parents care when they got old and might change the tax consequences for any money they would want to will to you. One final thought … if I worked in the financial aid department of a school and this highly unusual situation arose I might require a lot of extra paperwork … perhaps requiring financial info from birth parents or proof that you have been emancipated from your parents (that they are giving you NO financial support and that you have NO contact with them anymore).</p>
<p>Sounds scary and cruel :P</p>
<p>It’s a very involved process, even for family members, and both you and your US relative must fit the criteria for adoption eligibility. The rules are different depending on whether or not your country of origin is covered by the Hague Adoption Convention, and there are currently some countries from which adoptions will not be processed. The child then enters the country on an immigrant visa as they are not yet a permanent resident or citizen. You can find detailed information from the US State Dept. here and should probably research requirements from your own government:
[Adopting</a> a Relative](<a href=“http://adoption.state.gov/about/who/relatives.html]Adopting”>http://adoption.state.gov/about/who/relatives.html)</p>
<p>Imo, this plan has limited chance of success, even if your great-aunt was willing to commit the necessary time and money to it. I would suggest putting the time into researching colleges that might be affordable or provide some financial aid to international students, that is, if it’s not possible to receive a decent education in your own country.</p>
<p>3togo is almost certainly right. I don’t know about the financial aid implications from colleges at all; I’ve never worked at a college. Pursuant to federal law, it is possible for an American citizen to adopt a child (Below the age of 18) from abroad and make that child a citizen when he or she enters the country as a permanent resident (PL 106-295).</p>
<p>Honestly, this isn’t something that I’d recommend at all. The paperwork for the adoption alone will likely take more than the time you have left (since after you turn 18, you have to apply for naturalization just like any adult and the whole “adoption” scam won’t be any help at all). As 3togo said, hiring your lawyer is your best bet if you want to become a citizen. There isn’t a uniform set time period that this takes and only someone who is intimately familiar with your personal situation can really help you with this. </p>
<p>If you’re just looking for financial aid, there are other, much more certain routes that you can take, such as by looking for need-blind universities that are need-blind to international students, universities that provide merit-based aid without requiring a FAFSA, and states that will allow you to take community college courses for the first two years that will give you enough time to become a permanent resident (if that’s possible).</p>
<p>I think it would be far less expensive to go to a state school and pay the OOS tuition rate.</p>
<p>Thanks for the affirmations guys, this doesn’t sound like a good path at all (I’m currently applying for a Schengen visa for tourism purposes, and it’s already been a hell of a process, can’t imagine the kind of paperwork for adoption lol).</p>
<p>hahaha thats one of the craziest ideas i’ve ever heard but i’m not saying its a bad one haha</p>
<p>I do believe this falls under the category of immigration fraud …</p>
<p>Reminds me of the vintage film “Greencard” with Annie McDowell…</p>