Rhune
ForumsNet Administrator
    
 
Gender: 
Posts: 292
|
 |
Angelina/Billy Bob adoption approved
« on: May 13th, 2002, 3:08pm » |
 Quote  Modify
|
INS Approves Angelina Adoption
by Josh Grossberg
May 8, 2002, 11:00 AM PT
Good news for Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton: They can finally bring their adopted Cambodian baby to their Hollywood home.
The final approval by the Immigration and Naturalization Service clears the way for the tattoo-friendly twosome to bring their nine-month-old son, Maddox, into the States, ending an anxious two-month waiting period in which the couple and Maddox had to remain outside the U.S. while the agency reviewed the child's case to make sure he was obtained legally.
Now, Jolie, 26, and Thornton, 46, have one last bit of red tape to cut through, namely they must get a U.S. visa for their son, which should just be a formality now that the INS has signed off.
INS spokesman William Strassberger tells the Associated Press that Maddox is among 18 Cambodian children that had been cleared for adoption by the U.S. government. In total, more than 113 American families have adopted 121 Cambodian kids since December 21.
The reason behind the hold up has to do with Cambodia's illegal child-trafficking trade. Impoverished mothers are offered large sums of cash to give up their children to orphanages where they can be adopted by wealthy Westerners. Because of such dealings, federal regulations were enacted barring Americans from adopting Cambodian children for fear such kids had been illegally obtained. The December date was the cut-off date set by the federal government for Americans to adopt Cambodian children.
However, even if would-be parents like Jolie and Thornton met the deadline, they still had to have their children subjected to a background check to make sure the children weren't illegally obtained.
The Oscar-winning pair spotted Maddox (who also has a traditional Cambodian name) while touring an orphanage in November. Jolie and Thornton say they fell in love with him instantly and went ahead and filed the paperwork shortly thereafter.
The adoption was approved by Cambodian officials in March, and Jolie took custody of the child in Africa, where she was on location shooting the humanitarian aid-worker love story, Beyond Borders. She and Thornton also bought property in Cambodia and have spent much of the past few months shuttling between Asia and Africa, along with Thornton's two young sons, Willie and Harry. (Jolie did make a brief return to the States to do press for her current film, Life or Something Like It.)
Last summer, the reformed Hollywood bad girl was appointed a United Nations goodwill ambassador, charged with helping to focus attention on the plight of refugees worldwide. As part of her duties, Jolie has toured several refugee encampments in Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Cambodia, where she shot scenes for last summer's action flick Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and has since continued to visit.
|
Sponsored by: The Fans!
Home
Help
Search
Members
Chat
Member Map
Login
Register
Reply
Add Poll
Notify of replies
Send Topic
Print