From Carrie Craft,
Your Guide to Adoption / Foster Care.
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First we must define orphan. A foreign-born child is an orphan if he/she does not have parents because of:

• death of parents
• disappearance of parents
• abandonment of parents
• desertion by parents
• separation or loss from parents


• or if sole surviving parent is unable to care for child and releases rights to child in writing allowing for emigration and adoption.

A.

If the above is true, this child may gain immigration benefits if an orphan petition is filed before his/her 16th birthday.

An orphan petition may be filed before the child's 18th birthday if the child has natural siblings that are also orphaned or adopted and the child is to be adopted by the same adoptive parents at the same time of after the siblings.

_{Source:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services}