To my Chinese adoptee friends and kin who became United States citizens under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 and have not traveled outside of the U.S. with a passport after your adoption, now is the time to check and make sure that you have a Certificate of Citizenship. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 essentially combined the processes of international adoption and citizenship, so adoptees who came to the U.S. on an IR4 visa for adoption automatically became citizens once their adoption was finalized in the U.S. Adoptive parents did not have to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship for their children but could if they wanted one. 

We are living in strange times where a permanent resident graduate student has been detained by ICE and a surgeon/professor has been deported despite a judge’s order. Both of these individuals have a legal right to be here. Just a couple of days ago, Republicans introduced a new law to ban Chinese international students from coming to the United States. In this anti-immigrant, anti-China administration, documented proof of citizenship feels more important than ever. Though international adoptees may not always be recognized by others (and sometimes by ourselves) as immigrants, the law sees us this way. If you do not have a Certificate of Citizenship, you can file for one for free as an adoptee at this website. Please, protect yourself.