To be legal, an adoption must be valid under the law of the State or foreign country where it took place.

See GN 00306.155 for proof of legal adoption. See GN 00306.215 if the adoption proceedings were defective and invalid under State law.

A parent-child relationship is established when the adoption is effective under State law. See GN 00306.160 for a summary of State laws concerning effective dates of adoptions. The date of adoption may be important for entitlement purposes; for example, the requirements for dependency on the adopting parent may differ when the adoption is after the NH's entitlement.

Submit the case to the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) in accordance with GN 01010.815 ff. (in the absence of a precedent) for an opinion on the validity of the adoption.

See RS 00203.010 for a discussion of the first month of entitlement for the adopted child of a living NH.