IR-4 Visa Law and Legal Definition
IR-4 Visa is an international adoption visa category. An IR-4 visa is issued to a child coming to the U.S. for adoption. If a child enters the U.S. on an IR-4 visa, the child's adoption must be finalized in a U.S. court to satisfy Child Citizenship Act requirements. However, the finalization is not required if the child was officially adopted in the child's country and the child's State of residence in the U.S. recognizes the foreign adoption without a requirement to readopt.
An IR-4 visa is issued to a child under the following circumstances:
a. The foreign country’s laws only permit the adoptive parents to obtain guardianship of the child. It does not allow to fully adopt the child in that country; and/or
b. The prospective adoptive parent(s) did not see and observe the child prior to the adoption process.
The child with an IR-4 visa will become a U.S. citizen on the day the adoption is finalized in the U.S., provided the child is under the age of 18 on the date of adoption. The child's family may then apply for a Certificate of Citizenship for the child.
