| (a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish guidelines for the procedure of filing adoptions for residents of the State of Texas who adopt children in foreign countries. (b) Certificate of birth. The state registrar shall prepare a new certificate of birth for a person adopted under the laws of a foreign country when the state registrar receives the following from a resident of this state: (1) an official certificate of adoption prepared and filed in accordance with the laws of the country in which the adoption occurred; (2) a certified copy of the decree of adoption granted in that country that has been authenticated by a court of competent jurisdiction (district court) of this state; (3) documentation and information with translation into the English language relating to the adoptive parents and the adoptee sufficient to prepare a new certificate. It is the responsibility of
the applicants to have all required documents translated into the English language; (4) a request by resident adoptive parents to file a new certificate of birth in the adoptive parent(s') name(s); and (5) payment of all applicable fees. (c) Guidelines. The state registrar shall use the following guidelines when preparing a new certificate of birth. (1) The state registrar shall not alter or change the place of birth or the date of birth from the information contained in the documentation presented. (2) The new certificate shall be prepared on the current certificate form in the same manner as an in-state adoption is prepared and shall bear the title "Certificate of Foreign Birth." (3) As prescribed in the Health and Safety Code, §192.008, the decree of adoption, original certificate of birth, and all documentation shall be placed in a sealed file and
accessed by an applicant only upon presentation of a certified copy of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction. (4) Once a file is sealed, a standard fee shall be charged for a search for the file and any certified copies of records. (d) Exceptions. The guidelines, as stated in subsection (c) of this section, do not apply if a child was born in a foreign country and was a citizen of the United States at the time of birth as this record may only be processed by the United States Department of State.
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