Can I adopt my stepchild who was born in another country in Washington?

Yes. You can ask a Washington Superior Court to approve a stepparent adoption of a stepchild who was born in another country, and you follow the same Washington process as any other stepparent adoption. A few details are specific to a foreign birth, and those are worth confirming with the clerk early.

Where and how you file:

• The petition is filed in the Superior Court in your county. Washington has 39 counties, and each clerk's office can explain local filing steps.
• Washington sets no minimum residency period before you can file (RCW 26.33.030).
• The usual timeline for a stepparent adoption is about 3-6 months.
• Washington requires criminal background checks for adoptive parents.
• Home study is not automatically waived in stepparent adoptions (RCW 26.33.220). Ask the clerk whether a waiver could apply to your family.

Consent:

• If your stepchild is 14 or older, the child's consent is required (RCW § 26.33.160).
• The child's other legal parent must also consent, or the court must find that parent abandoned the child (RCW § 26.33.120). Washington sets no fixed number of months for abandonment. It depends on the parent's overall conduct.
• Where that parent lives, including in another country, doesn't change the fact that consent or abandonment must be addressed. If the other parent can't be located or is likely to contest, the right steps depend on your facts. Check with the Superior Court clerk or an attorney about that specific issue.

Documents for a foreign-born child:

• You will want the child's foreign birth certificate. Ask the clerk whether the court requires an official English translation and how it should be presented.
• After the adoption, the Washington State Department of Health Center for Health Statistics handles Washington birth records. Ask that office what it can issue for a child born abroad. Your adoption decree is the court's legal record of the adoption.