International Adoption
In this article we will dive deep into how to adopt an infant or older child through international adoption. However, It is important to understand the macro landscape of adoption before diving so deep.
To ground yourself remember the three steps to the overall adoption process: define your journey, tell your story, and finally become a mother. In this article we are going to dive into Define Your Journey to discuss the different options to adopt and ultimately international adoption. I also created a handy reference guide for the options in the article, you can download that here.
Before diving right into International Adoption let’s review the total landscape of options to adopt a child. All of which have been covered on this blog in both a deep dive and a frequently asked questions format in other posts for your reference. Or you can get them emailed to you in depth at the link above.
There are 7 Ways to Adopt a Child:
Embryo Adoption
Adopting an Infant Internationally
Adopting an Infant Through Foster Care
Adopting an Infant with a Private Agency
Adopting an Infant with a Private Attorney
Adopting an Older Child Internationally
Adopting an Older Child from Foster Care
Adopting Internationally
Adopting Internationally can be challenging depending on your vision and the requirements from each country. The best way to adopt an infant internationally is to work with an adoption agency that has experience in the country you are most interested in, not all agencies have experience with different countries. Since the criteria varies so dramatically from country to country that experience is incredibly valuable.
The requirements vary dramatically between the countries, such as Body Mass Index health considerations, income requirements, contact or lack thereof after the placement, and multiple trips to the country to complete the process.
The timeline to adopt internationally is typically between 1-2.5 years even if the particular country you are wanting to adopt from has a policy of adopting children from birth. Each country will give a specific set of guidelines for placement based on their individual requirements and travel requirements.
Travel for international adoption is required at least once, but the average number of trips is 3 from start to finish. This ensures that you have the opportunity to complete the paperwork, meet the child, bond with the child and ultimately finalize the adoption in that country’s court system. Having a clear understanding of the travel requirements is important to ensure you have the time and money budget to cover what is required.
Risk sharing is not typical for international adoptions, so even if you get to the final court hearing and the country closes or does not approve your adoption you will not be reimbursed for your travel or adoption costs. Most successful adoptive parents of children born internationally cite this as being the most stressful part of the journey for them. Their main suggestion is always to complete your paperwork as quickly as possible so that you can ensure you are moving the process along as quickly as possible.
Adopting an Infant Internationally
Infant adoption internationally can be difficult to achieve in a timeline where the child is still an infant. Most often the adoption is finalized somewhere around the 6-12 month mark after a child has been born and matched with an adoptive family. While anything is possible it is critical to ask really detailed questions of the agency you choose to partner with if this is a must have criteria for your vision of your future family.
Adopting an Older Child Internationally
Adopting an Older Child Internationally is much easier than adopting an infant internationally and tends to have a higher success rate. The process overall is similar as it relates to background checks, travel requirements and often times the cost. The main difference is that often times you can adopt a bit faster if you are adopting an older child as there tend to be children waiting for the opportunity to be adopted.
The Process to Adopt Internationally
Agency interview: during this step you would have a conference call or in person meeting with the agency to get a better understanding of the overall process and requirements for that agency and the country. If you do not have a particular country that you are targeting to adopt from the agency can help give you some suggestions that fit your vision for your family.
Paperwork phase: each agency will have a mountain of paperwork for you to complete which typically includes previous years taxes, medical statements from doctors, reference letters from friends and family, questionnaires on what type of adoption opportunities you are open to, pre-adoption contact preferences and post finalization contact preferences. The list varies dramatically depending on the agency and country, but they should be able to give you a step by step checklist of what you are to complete
Home study phase: during this phase you will be paired with a social worker in your state that will physically come to your home to inspect that it is safe enough for a baby. While it may sound absurd you will need to ensure that your home is child proof at this stage. Typically, you do not need to have a nursery set up but need to have plans of where you will place a nursery. Again, the agency will have a detailed check list that you must adhere to, so it is important that you complete that list perfectly in order to be approved. Typically, this home study visit will include an interview where they will ask you questions about how you will parent the child. The questions typically include what life will be like with you on a daily basis, your family history growing up, etc. These background questions will feel unnecessary but it is important so that they can create an overview of what life will be like in your home.
Profile building phase: during this phase you will be asked to create a profile of your family that can be shown to potential birth families and/or government agencies that might be choosing the adoptive families to help them get to know you better. This phase is critical as it helps the birth families narrow down their options and ultimately pick a family to speak to and ultimately choose for placement. We will go deeper into how to do this effectively in another article on this blog so check back for more details. If you need help today in this step please email me directly at amanda@myadoptioncoach.com and I can help you today.
Matching phase: once your profile is ready to be shared with birth families/government agencies you are considered to be a “live” family. This means you can take placement of a child at any time. Typically, the agency will call you and go over each opportunity with you. You will get a review of the medical situation, the communication preferences of the birth family and the financial requirements that need to be met for each opportunity. Once you agree to these requirements you will typically be put into contact with the birth family or the orphanage that is caring for the child if they are already born.
Finalization: similar to domestic adoption this is where the adoption becomes legal! Typically you will need to travel the country to appear in court or sign the final paperwork.
US Citizenship for Adoption Child, USCIS phase: once you have been matched and potentially around the same time that you are legally finalizing the adoption you will need to apply for US Citizenship for the child in order to bring them back to the United States. This paperwork should be handled by your agency but might require a bit more detail or homework on your part. Each agency will have a checklist of what you will need to provide to clear this important step in the process.
Visa phase: similar to the USCIS phase there will need to be paperwork filed so that the child may return home with you. Again, typically this process is handled by the adoption agency and often times just requires you to sign a few incremental documents in order to complete this step.
COME HOME!: as easy as this step sounds there are a lot of factors to consider when planning an international trip for a child, and the age of the child will impact the factors to consider tremendously. When traveling home with your adopted child you will need to have all of the immigration papers necessary to prove that you are the child’s legal guardian and that they are a citizen of this country. You also need to have paperwork for their immunization record as well. Also, give some thought to how they will travel best for the long trip ahead. Do you need a baby carrier, extra bottles, more diapers and outfits, etc? While you don’t want to drown in the baby gear you need enough to care for this child during the planned travel time and a bit extra for those inevitable travel delays.
To recap there are 7 Ways to Adopt A Child to choose from and in this article we focused on International Adoption:
Embryo Adoption
Adopting an Infant Internationally
Adopting an Infant Through Foster Care
Adopting an Infant with a Private Agency
Adopting an Infant with a Private Attorney
Adopting an Older Child Internationally
Adopting an Older Child from Foster Care
Now that you are more familiar with how from foster care the next step is to review the other 6 options and pick a path that matches your vision for your life. And if you haven’t done my vision casting exercise make sure to head back to sign up to receive the Steps to Adoption free download to work through the vision casting exercise.
I know that picking a path from these options can be confusing and overwhelming but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s work together through your adoption process. You need someone that will be in your corner each step of the way. If you are interested in learning more, you can schedule a free call at the link below. We can put together your specific step by step journey through your adoption process, so you can reach your goal of motherhood.
Remember you can do this and I have your back, because after all, anything is achievable with a plan and support.
Hi, I Am Amanda
I help women build their families through adoption by giving them the step by step guide to adopt a child and support them on their journey