AdoptionPros will provide the detailed instructions for each stage of your adoption process. Each program has its own requirements. The following are some steps common for most international programs:
Start your home study with a licensed adoption agency in your area of residence. At the same time select an agency to process the international part of your adoption. Your home study agency and your international agency may be two different agencies located in different states. Adoption Pros can provide home study services and also process international adoptions from all listed countries.
U.S. adoptive parents are advised to initiate the immigration process as soon as possible. Call 1-800-870-3676 for I-600 packet. You can also order forms on line http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis
The I-600 packet consists of the following forms: Form I-600A, I-600, and instructions. Call Adoption Pros if you need assistance. Mail I-600A form it to the appropriate US CIS office in your state of residence with the $545 application fee, and $70/per person fingerprinting fee.
Apply for a U.S. passport for yourself and your spouse, if needed. Passport applications can be obtained at any Post Office or downloaded from www.firstgov.gov
Referral of the child will be made by the foreign officials based on the home study recommendation and your application. It usually happens after you submit your international dossier to the foreign officials. If you receive a video of a child, we recommend that you show the video to medical professionals, relatives, friends, etc -- you need additional opinions and support before you make your decision about acceptance of the referral. Some countries do not provide videotapes or pictures. Many countries require adoptive parents to be personally involved with the matching process in the orphanage.
Travel is required to finalize most international adoptions. The in-country stay depends on the program you choose, and may vary from 3 to 21 and more days. Most countries require that you appear in front of a judge in court; some countries allow adoptions by proxy. While some countries may require at least one trip, others want you to travel two or more times. Some countries allow escorting your child to the United States. Adoption Pros will advise you on the differences and requirements by foreign countries.
When you complete your adoption you will receive all the documents pertaining to the adoption of your child and the necessary travel documents for the child. Adoption Pros will assist you throughout this process.
An interview with the adoptive parents is required for the child’s visa and entry into the U. S. The interview takes place in the US Embassy in the country you are adopting from. In Russia it is in Moscow, in Kazakhstan it is in Almaty. If you adopt in Ukraine your exit interview will take place in Kyiv. Prior to the interview, the child must receive a pre-visa medical check up at an approved location. Adoption Pros will provide detailed information concerning travel at that stage of processing your adoption application. It is at the visa interview that the BCIS Form I-600 is used along with other forms. The detailed intercountry instructions are provided at the US Department of State web site http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/adoption_485.html
U.S. citizens residing in other countries must comply with the entry requirements of the country in which they reside as well as meeting general instructions outlined in this information sheet. Finally, it must be remembered that a child adopted in another country or legally admitted to the parent’s country of residence retains citizenship in the country of birth (some exceptions apply).
(While the discussion in this information sheet outlines U. S. procedures, parents in other countries should learn the specific requirements which are unique to their own country of residence.)
