Indian-American orphan won't be deported

May 25, 2012 04:12

The 2001 American law that provides for automatic citizenship to foreign adopted children does not apply to an Indian-American orphan who now faces the prospect of being deported to India, a State Department official has said.

"Prior to 2001, US immigration law did not provide for automatic acquisition of US citizenship for an adopted child. The adopting parents had to affirmatively apply or the child had to apply after 18. That has now changed," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said.

She was commenting on the case related to Kairi Abha Shepherd who faces deportation after a US court refused to intervene in a federal government's deportation move on the ground that she is a criminal alien. Three decades ago 30-year-old Shepherd was adopted by an American woman in Kolkata.

"As of February 27, 2001, the Child Citizenship Act provides that a foreign-born child of a US citizen, including an adopted child, acquires US citizenship automatically if before reaching the age of 18 they are admitted as a lawful permanent resident of the United States and they are residing with and in the physical custody of that adopting parent," she said.

"So this case unfortunately arose before that stipulation, but it wouldn't be the case were the child to have been adopted since February 27, 2001," Nuland told reporters.

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