Process of International Adoptions

Despite the number of children available for adoption in foreign countries, the process is not a simple one. The first step in the procedure is to get approval to adopt. Depending on the country, approval may come from a state agency, from the government or even from a private adoption agency. Each country has different requirements on where the approval derives from.

The United States has many different agencies to choose from, most of them depending on what country you wish to adopt from as there are different agencies designated for different countries. The possibility of going with an independent adoption (not involving an agency) will be much less expensive; however, many countries do not permit this. Most prospective parents would prefer to work with an agency to assure everything goes smoothly especially if it is their first adoption.

After the first meeting with the agency, they will put together a complete dossier of the parents wishing to adopt. This will be a very thorough and complete history of the parents (again varying from country to country) consisting of but not limited to:

• Financial information on the prospective parents
• A complete background check complete with fingerprints
• An in-home study by a social worker or adoption agent

When all the information is gathered and complete, the appropriate authorities receive the dossier to review and either approve or deny the parents. If the parents are approved by the agency, they are then “matched” to an eligible child. The process of a referral takes place then which consists of the parents being sent information about the child, such as age, gender, health history and many times a travel date telling them when they can meet the child. If the prospective parents are still interested, they sign any additional paperwork accepting the referral. In some countries, the parents are given a “blind referral” where the parents have to travel first and get information second.

In some countries, the parents are saved the trip overseas and the child is escorted to their new home; but some countries require the prospective parents to make a few trips to the child’s country. All of these facts are important to check into prior to choosing to participate in international adoptions.

At this point in the adoption, the next step is to make the child a citizen of the United States. This again is more paperwork or they may re-adopt the child under the laws of the United States. After the child is in their new home, there may be follow up visits for a social worker in the states or by an agency from the child’s country. This varies depending on each country’s laws. Due to the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, if at least one of the parents is a U.S. citizen, citizenship is automatically granted to any foreign-born child. The law in Canada is slightly different, where the child is not automatically a citizen but granted “permanent resident” status. If they want to apply for citizenship, there is a lengthy process can take up to a year or more to finalize.

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