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§ 5-3A-05. Foreign orders

West's Annotated Code of MarylandFamily Law

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Family Law (Refs & Annos)
Title 5. Children (Refs & Annos)
Subtitle 3a. Private Agency Guardianship and Adoption (Refs & Annos)
Part I. General Provisions (Refs & Annos)
MD Code, Family Law, § 5-3A-05
§ 5-3A-05. Foreign orders
“Order” defined
(a) In this section, “order” includes any action that, under the laws of another jurisdiction, has the force and effect of a comparable judicial order under this subtitle.
Order of another state
(b) In accordance with the United States Constitution, this State shall accord full faith and credit to:
(1) an order of another state as to adoption or guardianship in compliance with the other state's laws; and
(2) termination of parental rights in compliance with the other state's laws.
Other foreign orders
(c) As to a jurisdiction other than a state:
(1) an order for adoption or guardianship entered in compliance with the jurisdiction's laws shall have the same legal effect as an order for adoption or guardianship entered in this State; and
(2) termination of parental rights in compliance with the jurisdiction's laws shall have the same legal effect as termination of parental rights in this State.
Construction
(d) This section may not be construed to require an individual to petition a court in this State for adoption of an adoptee if:
(1) the individual adopted the adoptee in compliance with the laws of a jurisdiction other than a state; and
(2) the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services verifies the validity of that adoption by granting, under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act,1 an IR-3 visa for the adoptee.

Credits

Added by Acts 2005, c. 464, § 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2006.

Footnotes

June 27, 1952, ch. 477, 66 Stat. 163, codified at 8 U.S.C.A. § 1101 et seq.
MD Code, Family Law, § 5-3A-05, MD FAMILY § 5-3A-05
Current through legislation effective through April 9, 2023, from the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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