Factsheet

Disclaimer: The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child in Lithuania and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of Lithuania govern all activity in Lithuania including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in country. 2) U.S. Federal immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States. The information in this flier relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of Lithuania and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.

PLEASE NOTE: Two U.S. Embassies play complementary roles in the Immigrant visa process for Lithuanian citizens, including adopted orphans. The U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland ultimately issues all immigrant visas for citizens and residents of Lithuania. The U.S. Embassy in Vilnius conducts the mandatory I-604 Orphan Investigation interview for orphan adoption visas.

PATTERNS OF IMMIGRATION OF ADOPTED ORPHANS TO THE U.S.: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphansfrom Lithuania.

Fiscal Year	Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2004	29
FY 2003	15
FY 2002	21
FY 2001	30
FY 2000	29

ADOPTION AUTHORITY IN LITHUANIA:

The Adoption Agency (Ivaikinimo Agentura)
Ministry of Social Security and Labor
Sodu g. 15
LT-2006 Vilnius, Lithuania
Tel: 370-5-231-0928
Fax: 370-5-231-0927
http://www.ivaikinimas.lt./

Credits: U.S. Department of State