Shirley Chung was just a year old when she was taken in by a American couple during 1966.
Hailing from the Korean peninsula, her birth father served of the US armed forces, who went back shortly after Shirley was born.
"He abandoned us, is the kindest phrasing I can express it," states Shirley, currently in her sixties.
After around a year, Shirley was adopted by a American pair, who brought her to Texas.
An American Upbringing
Shirley grew up living a life similar to that of many young Americans.
"I moved and breathed and got in trouble like many teenage Americans during the eighties. I'm a child of the 80s," Shirley says.
She became a mother, got married and worked as a piano teacher.
Life carried on for many years with no reason to doubt her US citizenship.
But then in 2012, her world came crashing down.
Discovering Non-Citizen Status
She misplaced her Social Security card and required a new one.
However when she visited her local Social Security office, Shirley was informed she had to demonstrate her legal standing in the country.
"I had an emotional collapse upon discovering I lacked citizenship," she says.
Widespread Problem
Shirley is not alone. Estimates of how many US adopted individuals are without citizenship range from thousands to tens of thousands.
Dozens adoptees have been removed to their countries of birth in recent years, as reported by adoptee rights organizations.
Additional Account
A different individual, preferring to remain unnamed for concern about drawing notice of government officials, was taken in by an American couple from the Middle East in 1973 when she was just a toddler.
"I adapted to my life, always understanding that I was a US national. That was what I learned. I continue to feel that today," she says.
Legal Background
For decades, intercountry adoptions approved by courts and government agencies did not assure US citizenship.
The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 created progress in rectifying this, granting automatic citizenship to children adopted from abroad.
Present Concerns
These concerns for adoptees and their relatives have risen even further following shifts in administration.
Advocacy organizations say they have been overwhelmed by requests for help and some adoptees have disappeared from public view.
"When the election results came in, it started to really cascade with pleas for assistance," noted a legal professional specializing in adoptee cases.
Lacking National Identity
"At the end of the day, they don't care about your back story. They're not interested that your presence is lawful and it's merely documentation issues," she said.
"I frequently explain this one single piece of paper has fundamentally damaged my life," she stated.
"From my perspective currently, I feel without a country."
Potential Solution
Although these individuals being left in limbo for many years, attorneys believe it is simply a matter of legislative action that should unite people from all political parties.
"It should be an uncomplicated solution: children through adoption should be equal to their biological siblings of parents who were American nationals at the moment of their birth," commented a legal advocate.
Final Plea
The adoptee hopes she could meet with national leaders for a discussion, so she and similar individuals could explain their stories.
"I would ask him to please have some compassion. We aren't undocumented immigrants," she said.
"We were put on planes as infants and young children. Just please hear our accounts and please follow through with the promise that America gave each one of the babies that got on those planes: American citizenship."
