The process for adopting a child from a country party to the Hague Adoption Convention differs in some key ways from adopting from a non-Convention country. To date, about 75 countries have joined the Hague Adoption Convention. If you are adopting a child from one of these countries, you will need to understand the Hague process.
This Guide for Parents is intended to provide prospective adoptive parents with an overview of both the treaty and the standards that govern accreditation of adoption service providers. We hope that it will answer questions you might have about the Hague Adoption Convention and its protections.
August 12, 2010
Regulations (Department of State)
Regulations (Department of Homeland Security)
August 12, 2010
What You Should Know
Countries from which children are most frequently adopted internationally (also called “sending countries”) include developing nations in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, and Central and South America. Each country has different intercountry adoption rules. Parents often find it helpful to compare adoption programs in several countries before making a final decision.
Here are some things to think about when selecting a country:
- Hague Convention participation. Requirements differ when you adopt from a country that has joined the Hague Convention versus a non-Convention country. As of September 2008, more than 75 countries were Convention members (see box, page 2). Find a list of Convention countries on the State Department website at: www.adoption.state.gov/hague/overview/countries.html.
- Eligibility requirements for adoptive parents. In addition to U.S. immigration rules, each country may have its own requirements for prospective adoptive parents based on such characteristics as age, marital status, sexual orientation, and others. Each State also has its own requirements.
- Ages of available children. The ages of children needing adoptive families vary widely, from 3 or 4 months to 16 years, depending on the country. The Convention and laws in some sending countries require that efforts be made to place infants with families in that country before they can be placed with a family overseas. In those countries, infants younger than 4 or 5 months old may not be available for intercountry adoption. Some countries have regulations prohibiting the separation of siblings.
- Ethnicity/Race/Culture. Depending on the country you select, your child’s ethnic, racial, and cultural background might be different from your own. Resources for transracial or transcultural families are available on the Information Gateway website: www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/types/families/trans_info.cfm.
- Child’s placement setting: Institution or foster care. In many sending countries, children who need permanent families are cared for in institutions or orphanages. Children who spend early months or years in institutions typically show delays in growth and development. Some countries place children waiting for permanent families with foster families. Research suggests that foster families may offer the child better opportunities to form attachments with caregivers. However, many factors affect the quality of foster care overseas.
- Travel requirements. Most countries require prospective adoptive parents to travel to the country to complete the adoption process. The number of trips (generally one or two) and the required length of stay in the country vary. A few countries will allow the child to be escorted to the United States by someone other than an adoptive parent, but costs may not be significantly lower than for the family to travel. Even when not required, parents have found many benefits from traveling to the child’s country of origin.
- Cost. Costs also vary widely depending on the country and service provider. They can range from $10,000 to $40,000 or more. See the Information Gateway publication Costs of Adopting: A Factsheet for Families for more information about costs for intercountry and other types of adoption: www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/s_cost/index.cfm
Finding Support
Talking with other adoptive parents about their experiences in different countries can help you with your decision. You can meet other parents through a support group for families who have adopted from certain countries or regions. Find a listing of adoptive family support groups in the National Foster Care and Adoption Directory, available on the Information Gateway website at www.childwelfare.gov/nfcad
Some Places to Go
The State Department website provides a country-by-country guide to the adoption process in many countries (http://adoption.state.gov/countryinformation.html ) and information about the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption (http://adoption.state.gov/pdf/PAP_Guide-1.pdf (PDF – 1.86 MB)).
Find information on the USCIS website about restrictions on adopting from areas experiencing political unrest or natural disasters by consulting How Do I Apply to Bring a Foreign-Born Orphan to the United States? (www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=5da2194d3e88d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=173e8c03ef929110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD)
You can find a current list of the signatory countries of the Convention at www.adoption.state.gov/hague/overview/countries.html.
The Report on Intercountry Adoption contains an overview of costs, requirements for prospective adoptive parents, and other information for many countries. Ordering information is available on the Adoption Resource Center of Connecticut website: www.arcct.org/included.htm.
August 10, 2010
What You Should Know
Intercountry adoption is just one way to build a family through adoption. Other options include adoption from domestic foster care and domestic infant adoption. Many families consider the following issues when deciding whether intercountry adoption is right for them:
- Adoptive parent requirements. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which must approve all intercountry adoptions, has two basic eligibility requirements for prospective adoptive parents: Petitioners must be U.S. citizens and, if unmarried, must be at least 25 years old when they file the petition to adopt. For married couples, USCIS has no age requirement and only one spouse must be a U.S. citizen.
- Timeframe. Like any adoption, intercountry adoption involves some uncertainty. The length and predictability of the process vary depending on the country, agency, lawyer, and individual child involved, but it generally takes from 1 to 4 years to complete an intercountry adoption.
- Child circumstances. Children in other countries need adoptive families for many of the same reasons children in the United States need foster care and adoptive families. These reasons may include abandonment, poverty, illness or death of the parents, or family issues such as substance abuse, child abuse, or neglect. Children may have health or emotional problems related to these reasons. There also may be cultural factors that contribute to the child’s need for a permanent family, including the government’s policies on population control, the country’s economy, or others. It is helpful to understand what these factors are in the specific countries you are considering.
- Child’s age. The Office of Immigration Statistics, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, reports that in 2006 approximately 42 percent of children adopted internationally were younger than 12 months old, and another 42 percent were between 1 and 4 years old. According to U.S. immigration law, children must be younger than 16 years old on the filing date of the immigration petition in order to be eligible to immigrate to the United States for purposes of adoption. (There are some exceptions to this. See page 2 of I am a U.S. Citizen: How Do I Immigrate an Adopted or Prospective Adopted Child or Help My Adopted Child Become a U.S. Citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident? at www.uscis.gov/files/article/A3eng.pdf.)
- Eligibility for adoption and immigration to the United States. U.S. Immigration laws (the Immigration and Naturalization Act and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000) require children entering the United States for purposes of adoption to be classified as “orphans” (if they are from non-Convention countries) or as “Convention adoptees” (if they are from Convention countries), as defined by these laws. Convention adoptees must have parents who are “incapable of providing proper care.” (See I am a U.S. Citizen: How Do I Immigrate an Adopted or Prospective Adopted Child or Help My Adopted Child Become a U.S. Citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident? at www.uscis.gov/files/article/A3eng.pdf.)
Adoption of Relatives
Prospective adoptive children who are related to the petitioners/prospective adoptive parent(s) must qualify for adoption and immigration to the United States under all the same criteria as unrelated children. Relatives may be able to adopt if the children qualify as orphans or Convention adoptees. The requirements depend on the country in which the relative lives. (Information regarding specific requirements can be found on page 3 of I am a U.S. Citizen: How Do I Immigrate an Adopted or Prospective Adopted Child or Help My Adopted Child Become a U.S. Citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident? at www.uscis.gov/files/article/A3eng.pdf.)
Some Places to Go
Compare the different ways to adopt. Read the Child Welfare Information Gateway (Information Gateway) publications Adoption Options: A Factsheet for Families (www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adoptoption.cfm) and Adoption Options at-a-Glance: A Companion Guide for Families (www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adoptoptionglance.cfm).These and other Information Gateway publications can be located through the Publications Catalog on the Information Gateway website: www.childwelfare.gov/catalog/
August 10, 2010
What is International (Intercountry) Adoption?
Intercountry adoption is the process by which you:
1. Adopt a child from a different country than your own through permanent legal means; and
2. Bring that child to your home country to live with you permanently.
Through intercountry adoption, the legal transfer of parental rights from birth parent(s) to another parent(s) takes place. Over the last decade, U.S. families have adopted on average approximately 20,000 children from foreign nations each year.
The intercountry adoption process varies depending on the State, adoption agency, and country involved. In every case, prospective adoptive parents must meet the basic requirements of U.S. immigration law and all children adopted through intercountry adoption must obtain a visa from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of State.
The Hague Convention
On April 1, 2008, the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) went into force for the United States. It establishes important standards and safeguards to protect intercountry adoptions. These protections apply to you if you choos to adopt from a country that is also party to the Convention. Your adoption will be known as a Convention adoption. It will be important early on to determine if you wish to pursue a Convention adoption.
August 3, 2010
