[MatthewScanlon]

My wife is not a US citizen. We now have 6 children in our family, two of whom are not mine, legally speaking. The first child, a girl of 15, comes from her first marriage, but has lived with my wife and since we were married nearly 8 years ago. This girl's father is known, and we could probably get his consent.

The second child is a 3 year old boy, whom we took from the hospital the day after he was born. The mother did not want to keep him and my wife legally adopted him in the foreign country. The father is not known. On his birth certificate my wife's father was listed as the boy's father per local law.

My wife is a foreign national, as are these two children. In her country, and the country of these two children, foreigners (i.e. me) are not allowed to adopt. We were married in the US, but are not now resident there, we live in a third country.

[ScottGem]

You need to consult a Family Law attorney where you live. This is a VERY complex situation that may involve laws of several countries. I wouldn't begin to try and unravel this. You will need an attorney anyway to prepare the petititon.