What are your options and what should you look for when you are considering a child adoption internationally? Read on to learn more about the process and considerations to make.
When you are considering child adoption,
you have two options, domestic and international. Most times, when you are adopting internationally you should expect more structure and predictability than a domestic adoption because foreign children are often orphans and need an families so there would be less chance for the parents fighting for custody of the child.
There are many children available for child adoption all over the world and as newborns become less available in the United States, more adoptive families will be looking over seas for their adoption and three fourths of these adoptions come from the countries of Guatemala, Russia, China, Ethiopia, and South Korea.
Because no two international adoptions are the same, there are varying conditions that lead to the availability of children. For example, China has strict population control measures that allow for only one child per family and boys are preferred, so girls end up available more often. The poverty in some of the Eastern European and African countries, such as Russia and Ethiopia, make it harder for families to feed and care for several children, which results in parents voluntarily giving up their children.
Because it can take several months to a couple of years for the child adoption to finalize, the birth parents will most likely no longer be a part of the child's life by the time you are matched with your child. This could happen for many reasons such as abuse, poverty, abandonment, illness, or even death. The matching usually starts when the child is born, and because it takes a few months to process all the paperwork, the baby will usually be a few months old when you are able to bring him home. Sometimes siblings are available and many times orphanage operators will not separate them, so there are sometimes options for multiple adoptions at one time. Keep in mind that changes to either the United States or to the adoptive country financially or economically can change adoption statuses at any time.
If you live in the United States you have two main options for your child adoption. These are agency adoptions, where you could go through any one of a number of private agencies, which often monitor orphanages around the world, and independent adoptions, where you choose your own facilitator, but you do all the legwork and paperwork yourself with the help of the government. Keep in mind that you do need to follow all immigration laws in your state and country and the country from which you are adopting.
Things you need to consider when making the choice to adopt internationally are the financial costs, restrictions on adoptions, child's health, your age, and marital status. You also need to be a U.S. citizen and are required to have a visa to bring your child home.
There are definitely many benefits to adopting a child from another country and you will not regret the decision to add to your family from another culture and another world.
