Should you decide to adopt internationally, it is in your best interest and that of your future child to learn the adoption procedures both in the United States and abroad. You will be handling much of the paperwork in cooperation with your U.S. social worker and your international agency or attorney. Your function is that of expediter. Endless delays can be avoided if you take responsibility for the paperwork shuffle; always know who has your papers, why they have them and what happens next. The more you know about the process, the more likely it is that your experience will go smoothly.
One of the best ways to become familiar with the adoption process itself and to understand the issues facing both the parents and children of international adoption is to attend orientations or educational seminars. These are typically sponsored by private, licensed adoption agencies to provide potential adopters with information on how a home study is conducted and to give an overview of the U.S. immigration and foreign adoption process. Adoptive parent support groups may also sponsor seminars and usually invite all of the adoption agencies to participate. At seminars for international adoption, postadoptvie parents usually bring their children and speak about their experiences. Prospective adoptive parents find out about seminars by word of mouth, by keeping in contact with local agencies, and through public service announcements on television, radio and newspapers. Attend as many seminars as possible before selecting and agency. Information more specific to you and your personal situation may require and individual consultation. International adoption professionals with degrees in social work or human development can give you the attention you need to make an informed decision.
In addition, begin learning all you can about international adoption from other sources, such as books, newsletters, magazines, videos, the Internet, and adoptive parent groups. The typical adoption candidate has access to the Internet and orders books on adoption, parenting and the country he or she is planning to adopt from on-line. The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (NAIC) also offers a series of publications on carious aspects of the international adoption process. Many of these are free. Write or call the NAIC at:
330 C Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20447
1-888-251-0075
International adoptions occur in eight major steps:
- Preliminary home state approval
- Preliminary INS approval
- Application to a foreign adoption source
- Receiving referral of the child.
- Filing the orphan petition
- Travel abroad
- Emigration, Immigration
- postplacement procedures.
Twenty-three steps are dealt with, from agency registration to U.S. naturalization, or citizenship.
(Reprinted from:"How to Adopt Internationally" by Jean Nelson-Erichsen and Heino Erichsen.)
| Step 1 | Learn all you can about international adoption from available resources. Attend seminars hosted by adoptive parent organizations and private adoption agencies. |
| Step 2 | Collect agency information. |
| Step 3 | Choose an international adoption agency. |
| Step 4 | Choose the agency that will conduct your home study (if different from your international adoption agency). |
| Step 5 | Initiate home study by applying to appropriate agency. |
| Step 6 | Obtain documents required for home study. |
| Step 7 | Prepare documentation required for Form I-600A (Application for Advance Processing). |
| Step 8 | File Form I-600A (Application for Advance Processing). |
| Step 9 | Apply for a passport |
| Step 10 | Select an adoption program in a foreign country. |
| Step 11 | Obtain documents required for your foreign dossier |
| Step 12 | Obtain translations for documents in your foreign dossier. |
| Step 13 | Obtain naturalization, verification (or apostille), and authentication of documents in your dossier. |
| Step 14 | Prepare for the referral of your child |
| Step 15 | Obtain visa or tourist card (if necessary) for travel to your child's country. |
| Step 16 | File Form I-600 (Orphan Petition) if this is to be filed in the United States.(This is usually filed abroad if the adoption is finalized in the child's country and both parents travel to meet the child.) |
| Step 17 | Prepare for your adoption trip. |
| Step 18 | Meet your child. |
| Step 19 | Obtain the guardianship or final adoption decree. |
| Step 20 | Apply for the orphan visa and file Form I-600 (Orphan Petition) if this was not filed earlier. |
| Step 21 | Participate in postplacement supervision. |
| Step 22 | Readopt your child in your state of residence. |
| Step 23 | File for U.S. citizenship for your child. |
It is best to follow the steps in the order they appear, whenever possible. Based on our experience and that of the many adoptive parents we have guided, prospective U.S. adopters who try to alter this approach will encounter serious difficulties along the way.
This information is from an excerpt in the book "How to Adopt Internationally" by Jean Nelson-Erichsen and Heino Erichsen, which may be purchased in our book shop. We thank them for allowing us to reprint this.
