Adoption

This 90 minute audio seminar was presented live on March 28, 2013 from 2:00 pm-3:30 pm eastern time.

This seminar will discuss the procedural aspects and issues pertaining to adopted children and orphans, including procedures for Hague and non-Hague Convention countries. The seminar will cover issues including when an adoption should take place, establishing the two-year physical residence when required, and what constitutes parental control.

• Update on Trends and Important Issues in the Adoption of Orphans and Non-orphans
• Procedures for Adoption Under the Hague Convention
• Procedures for Adoption in Non-Hague Convention Countries
• Selecting and Working with a Family Law Attorney
• Fraud and Ethical Considerations
• Now That They've Changed the Rules, Who Is Still in the Game?

Faculty

Irene Steffas (dl), Marietta, GA
Irene Steffas is an Approved Person for incoming and outgoing convention cases under the Intercountry Adoption Act and The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. In June 2009, the State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs sent Ms. Steffas to Kyrgyzstan as a goodwill ambassador for international adoptions. Her practice is limited to adoption, surrogacy and immigration with an emphasis on inter-country adoption.

Tifany Markee, San Diego, CA
Tifany Markee received her J.D. from California Western School of Law, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She was also published in the California Western International Law Journal with an article on the Russian mail-order bride industry and the Violence Against Women Act, an article which won her an award for outstanding writing. Tifany was sworn into the California State Bar in 2001, and is licensed to practice law within the State of California. Tifany is also a Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law, one of only twenty operating within San Diego County.

Elizabeth Rompf Bruen, Chicago, IL
Elizabeth Rompf Bruen is an associate with Scott D. Pollock & Associates, P.C. She has contributed to AILA's Immigration & Nationality Handbook and its Immigration Options for Academics and Researchers. She co-chairs the AILA Chicago Chapter's Office of Chief Council Committee and serves on its Ethics Committee. She is a past chair of its Asylum Office and Executive Office of Immigration Review Committees. Ms. Rompf Bruen graduated, cum laude, from DePaul College of Law and the University of Notre Dame.