Applying for International adoptions is not an easy, instantaneous process, as all would-be adoptive parents would tell you. The time element, the emotional turmoil and the various legal entanglements require physical and emotional stamina, great patience and a preponderance of faith - culminating in bounteous joy. Two initial, major steps in this infant/child adoption process are 1) the would-be parent approval by the country’s adoption agency and 2) the matching of the right infant or child with the right would-be adoptive parents.

After going through the process of being approved as adoptive parents, couples wishing to adopt an infant or child from a country other than their own should expect a wait of a few months to perhaps a year before they begin the second step of being matched with the infant or child of their choice. Often but not always, in this second step of the infant/child adoption process, the adoptive parents are permitted to visit orphanages and see photos of the infants and children waiting to be adopted.

The third step is the Referral which is the information packet. Included with a photo are the two most important items in this information packet: the health status and the orphan status of the infant or child to be adopted. It is important now, before making any decisions or actually meeting the child, to involve all trusted personnel such as social workers, lawyer(s) or anyone with professional knowledge regarding this sort of information, in a careful review of these documents. Because foreign adoption laws are complex and diverse, it may be that legal problems may surface, such as the adoptive infant or child not qualifying as on orphan under U.S. law and cannot be issued a visa. Now is the time to uncover and deal with these issues that might abort this infant or child adoption. The decision of whether to go ahead or stop this particular infant or child adoption process and wait for another match should also be made at this point, before the meeting between the adoptive infant or child and parents actually occurs and ample time is allowed to do that. To do so before meeting avoids additional emotional upset, pain and distress for both the infant/child and the adoptive parents.

The next step is the legal adoption process which begins once the referral has been accepted by the adoptive parents. This may or may not involve traveling to the country of origin to finalize the infant or child adoption. Some countries allow the process to be handled in the U.S. courts. Although not required by adoption laws to do so, many adoptive parents choose to travel to the infant/child’s country to better understand the culture and circumstances involving their adoptive child’s life.

The process is still not complete. The U.S. requirements, which your legal advisors or adoption agency are familiar with, must now be met. There are still visa details to be completed: did your infant or child enter the U.S on an IR-4 visa or an IR-3 visa? You’re in luck if it was an IR-3 visa - your infant/child automatically became a U.S. citizen when he/she arrived in this country. If perhaps the infant you adopted entered the country on an IR-4 visa, before he/she becomes a citizen, his/her adoption must be finalized in a U.S. court.

One last hurdle remains. Your state may not recognize the decrees of foreign adoptions. If so, simply readopt once you arrive in your state. After that process is legally accepted, to complete the final hurdle of your intercountry infant or child adoption process, just get the proof of citizenship documents, a social security number and your new family is finally all yours!

About the Author

For more information on child adoption and various reputable adoption agencies please visit http://adoptionagencyinternational.com a website which specializes in tips, advice and resources on child adoption.

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