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How long does it take to adopt a child internationally


What is the Timeline for an International Adoption?

What is the Timeline for an International Adoption?

Written by Caitlin Snyder 07 Jul 2016

How To Adopt, Pre-Adoption

Most families considering international adoption know that it takes a long time. Their friends have told them, adoptive families have shared their experiences, but how long exactly does an international adoption take?

The short answer is that the timeline for an international adoption can vary greatly depending on the country a family chooses to adopt from and the characteristics of the child that the family is hoping to adopt. But, most adoption journeys take between two and a half and three and a half years. Families seeking the adoption of an older child, sibling group, or child with additional special needs may see much shorter timelines.

Home Study and Dossier Preparation

Most families spend the first six months of their adoption journey working on their home study and compiling the documents required for their dossier. While some families are able to complete these two steps in less than six months, there are a large number of documents that will need to be notarized, apostilled and in some cases, authenticated, before the dossier can be translated and submitted to the country’s central authority. A variety of things may impact how long it takes your family to complete your home study and dossier: scheduling home visits, number of background checks required, the country’s dossier requirements, USCIS processing times and other factors outside the family’s control. It’s important that families understand that usually the waiting process does not officially start until the dossier has been submitted to the country because this is when the family can begin to receive a referral.

Referral Wait Times for International Adoption

Once a family has completed and submitted their dossier, the waiting process has begun. In most of the countries, families can expect to wait between one and three years to be matched with a child. That timeframe is dependent on the characteristics of the child or children the family is hoping to adopt, how many adoptions that country processes each year and the number of children in need of families at any given time. Adoptive families usually share that the waiting time to be matched is the hardest part of the adoption process.

Some families may be matched significantly quicker than others. It is important to remember that every adoption journey is different. It may also be helpful to ask your adoption agency for data for how long families waited for referrals of different aged children. Seeing this information may help set your family’s expectations appropriately.

Bringing the Child Home

After receiving a match with a child, each country has different travel requirements as far as stay in country, number of trips and when a family travels. For most country programs, families can expect to bring their adopted child home four to eighteen months after they’ve received the child’s referral.

The timeframes for an international are long and the process can be hard, but it is important to remember your family’s end goal – bringing a new child into your family!

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  • ARTICLE CONTRIBUTED BY

    MLJ Adoptions

Indiana Based

 91 Waiting Children  9 Adoption Programs
 Call 3178750058 617 E. North Street Indiana http://MLJAdoptions.com

MLJ Adoptions is a Hague Accredited International Adoption Agency based in Indianapolis, Indiana. We provide ethical, compassionate and attentive adoption services to loving and committed families from across the United States and around the world.

We’ve successfully placed over two hundred and fifty children through our international adoption programs in Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Samoa and Ukraine. MLJ Adoptions believes that every child deserves a loving and permanent family including older children and children with special needs. We also facilitate an Orphan Hosting Program from Ukraine each winter and summer for several weeks.

Our Special Needs Program connects these children with loving adoptive families willing to meet the needs of these special children. We focus on preparing parents by providing education and direct support to ensure that children are placed with families who are equipped and empowered to parent their child successfully. We continue to provide services after placement to ensure that our families are encouraged and supported before, during and after placement.

Adopt a Child Internationally | Homeland Security

Intercountry adoption is when U.S. citizens adopt children from overseas. When children are adopted from outside the United States, they must go through an immigration process. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines the eligibility and suitability of prospective adoptive parents (individuals) looking to adopt and the eligibility of children to immigrate to the United States.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website is the best place to start learning about intercountry adoption.

Visit these webpages for more information:

  • Before You Start introduces the intercountry adoption process.
  • Immigration through Adoption describes the intercountry adoption-related immigration processes.

Additionally, visit the U.S. Department of State Intercountry Adoption website for more information about individual country requirements, alerts and information about adoption service providers.

When children are adopted from outside the United States, they must go through an immigration process. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines the eligibility and suitability of prospective adoptive parents (individuals) looking to adopt and the eligibility of children to immigrate to the United States.

U.S. immigration law provides three different processes for children to immigrate to the United States based on their intercountry adoption.  Children may only immigrate under one of the three processes and they must meet all of the requirements for the selected process.

  • If you are a U.S. citizen adopting children internationally, you may use either the Hague or the Orphan (non Hague) process. Under these processes, a child may immigrate immediately after the adoption or may immigrate to the U.S. to be adopted here. The adoption process that may be available will depend in part on whether a child is from country that is party to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). Depending on what country you choose to adopt from will determine which process you will adopt by.
  • The third process applies to U.S. citizens or permanent residents who may petition for their adoptive children through a Family-Based Petition.

Tips

Become as familiar as you can with the intercountry adoption laws, processes, resources and contacts.

An adoption service provider will be able to help you arrange an international adoption placement, but cannot represent you before USCIS or advise you on the legal aspects of a child's immigration. An attorney can provide legal advice or representation for adoption proceedings.

USCIS National Benefits Center (NBC) has a Call Center to assist you during your adoption process.

  • Call 877-424-8374 Monday – Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time
  • Email [email protected]

    Topics

  • Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman

    Keywords

  • How Do I - For the Public
  • How Do I?
  • U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

International adoption - Legal portal for foster parents www.adoptlaw.ru.

Main — Archive of questions and answers — International adoption

I am a citizen of Russia and have been married to an Italian for 8 years. A few years ago, I wanted to apply for adoption in Tatarstan (at the place of registration), where they told me that it was impossible, referring to the law prohibiting adoption by foreign citizens ... As a result, I applied for international adoption here in Italy.
after a long study of our case, the judge denied us the opportunity to be foster parents based on the negative statements of my husband's adult children. What do i do. Do I have the right as a citizen of Russia to adopt in Russia? thank you very much

Natalia, good afternoon!

This section contains all the information I have about international adoptions. For any non-standard situations and questions, please contact lawyers specializing in international adoption. For example, lawyer Alexander Golovanov (I did not personally work with him, but I know about successful cases with his participation) or others.

NO! As a preliminary to your situation, I can say the following. I would advise you to contact the PLO again at the place of permanent registration - and this time submit only a complete set of documents and require only a written response.

Apparently - "a few years ago I wanted to apply for adoption in Tatarstan (at the place of residence) where I was told that this is impossible, referring to the law prohibiting adoption by foreign citizens ..." - you were denied verbally, and you did not even saw the law referred to by the official. This way of communication (in words) is the most ineffective for you, because he allows the official to answer you completely irresponsibly. Here's how to act in such cases - on the example of Russian adoptive parents.

Best regards,
Olga Mityreva

Anna (04/08/2016 11:46)

Hello!
We are still citizens of Ukraine. but now we are doing all the documents for the citizenship of the Russian Federation and are engaged in the process of selling an apartment in Ukrainian. - it will drag on for another year or so. But we have already chosen the children we want to take under guardianship (Two sisters 16, 10 years old and a brother 15 years old). They are located in the Trans-Baikal Territory, and we are in the Chelyabinsk Region. Are there any legal grounds for us to transfer them to an orphanage in our city, to at least take them on guest mode until we settle all our paperwork? If I get citizenship earlier, but until I sell an apartment there in order to buy here - can I do such a thing - "transfer children from one city to another with distant custody"?

Anna, good afternoon!

I'm glad that you found "your" children, but I'm afraid that even a guest regime is impossible before obtaining citizenship of the Russian Federation (but maybe you could keep in touch in correspondence - through the administration of DD). In theory, the PLO of the Trans-Baikal Territory could send children to the children's home of the Chelyabinsk region, transferring personal files to the PLO at the location of the new home. But in practice, this requires much more weighty arguments than plans to take the children. After all, plans can change...

Best regards,
Olga Mityreva

Xenia (05/07/2014 11:03)

Hello Olga!
Please tell me what to do in such a situation. The child goes to foreign adoption. There have been no court hearings yet. Do I understand correctly that I have the right to get a referral to meet this child? The guardianship of the child refuses to issue a referral and refers to the RO or FBD, arguing that if they give a referral, the guardianship will sign. Are they right? Thanks for the answer.

Xenia, good afternoon!

Yes, you are right - before the court decision is made, Russian candidates have priority in getting to know and adopting a child. I advise you to submit a written application to the PLO with a request to issue a referral and with appropriate citations from this article. The response from the PLO should only be required in writing, as described here.

A copy of your application to the PLO can be sent to the RO and the court, just to let them know about your intentions.

Best regards,
Olga Mityreva

Sarah (19.07.2013 20:29)

Hello!
Please tell me, I am a foreigner (I have a residence permit, registered for work), and my husband is Russian, we live in the Leningrad Region. Are we allowed to adopt a child? We submitted all documents for obtaining permission to the local guardianship authority on June 11 (now the end of July). We call, we worry, and they either have a vacation or they are on sick leave. Maybe they are slowing down because I do not have citizenship? We went through the School of Adoptive Parents in the spring. How long do we have to wait for a local guardian's decision?
Sincerely, Sarah

Sarah, good afternoon!

I'm afraid, if you do not have Russian citizenship, then in fact you will only have the option of international adoption, with all the ensuing restrictions (for more details, I invite you to the "International Adoption" section). You could avoid them if only a Russian husband acted as an adoptive parent (with your consent, as a spouse), however, in this case, in the birth certificate of the child in the column "mother" there will either be a dash, or the data of the biomother will remain ...

As for the delay of the PLO, it is most likely due to ignorance of the deadlines for responding to your application. I invite you to read about them here. I advise you to send a written reminder to the PLO with a quote from the law (link) and demand the fastest response in the prescribed form.

Sincerely,
Olga Mityreva

Marina (21.10.2012 20:09)

Hello, Olga!
I am going to marry a German citizen living abroad. I have a son who is now 17 years old, he is studying at a technical school. What does a foreign stepfather need for adoption in Russia? Is it possible to adopt a teenager of this age? Thank you.

Marina, good afternoon!

As a foreign citizen living abroad, your spouse will have to adopt under the international adoption rules. You can read more about them in the "International Adoption" section.

As for the age limit for adoptees, according to the Family Code of the Russian Federation, only persons under the age of 18 are subject to adoption. Considering that the collection of documents and obtaining an opinion on the possibility of being an adoptive parent (in Germany), as well as filing an application with the court (in the Russian Federation at the place of registration of your son) take some time, your spouse may not have time ...

Sincerely,
Olga Mitireva

How long does the adoption procedure take

We are often asked about this in the SPR. It seems that it happens in different ways: from three months to two years. And here are the processes that take this time:

  1. COLLECTION OF DOCUMENTS takes from 2 months. The most time-consuming school of foster parents (on average 6 weeks) and the conclusion about the state of health.
  2. OBTAINING A CONCLUSION ON THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING ADOPTIVE PARENT. The guardianship authority, within 10 working days from the date of submission of documents, makes a decision on the possibility / impossibility of citizens to be adoptive parents. The conclusion is sent (delivered) by the guardianship authority to the applicant within 3 days from the date of its signing.
  3. SEARCH FOR A CHILD. Everyone is different. Someone finds on the first day of the search, and someone searches for months. Where to looking for? District departments of guardianship, regional operators of the data bank of orphans, the federal data bank of orphans, websites of charitable foundations and organizations.
  4. RECEIVING A REFERRAL to visit a child. Issued on the day of the application by the guardianship authority at the location of the children's institution or operators of the regional and federal data bank.
  5. GET TO KNOW YOUR CHILD. Referral to visit a child is valid for 10 days. During these days you can meet with the child. You must then inform the relevant operator in writing of the results of the visit to that child and the decision made.
  6. COURT. If you have made the decision to adopt this child, you will apply to the court. It will take time for paperwork and consideration of the case - from several days to several months. The court decision on adoption shall enter into force 10 days from the date of its adoption. (At the request of the adoptive parents, the judge may indicate in the decision that it is “for immediate execution” and issue a copy of the court decision immediately after the end of the court session. In this case, the adoptive parents have the right to take the child home on the same day).

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