Interested in Adopting?

Monday, May 21, 2007

India Adoption

Country Profile: India is a country of great history. It is the second most populous country in the world, immediately following China. It borders China, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the Indian Ocean. It is also the largest democracy in the world.

Children Available: Babies to children age 12 are available. The adoption of two unrelated children at once is not allowed. The children are cared for in orphanges. Children are left as a result of poverty, neglect, death in the family, or single motherhood which is greatly looked down upon in India.

Requirements: Couples are allowed to adopt. Single women are permitted case-by-case, if they are between the ages of 30-45. Couples must be at least 30 years of age to adopt from India and no older than 55, however there is a requirement of a combined age difference of the parents and the child which is 90. Also, there must be no more than 45 years of an age difference between older parent and child. Couples must be married for 5 years, and must have no more than a total of 2 divorces. The number of children already in the family could be a factor for India as prioity is given to childless couples. Also, couples with just one child will be given priority. Exceptions to this are non-gender specific (open to boy or girl) and special needs adoption.

Time line: After submitting your dossier to India, the wait for referral can be anywhere between a few to 12 months. The wait is significantly shorter for special needs/older child adoptions, as well as adoptions in which at least one parent is of Indian heritage. The wait for the referral of a healthy, as young as possible, girl, seems to be the longest. After referral, the time to travel can be anywhere from 4-8 months.

Cost: $13,000- 16,000

Children placed in 2006: 320 children came home from India to the United States in 2006.

Adoption Agencies for Adopting from India:

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at: bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Vietnam Adoption

Country Profile: Vietnam borders China, Laos and Cambodia. It is the 13th most populated country in the world. Vietnam also is the farthest east nation on the Indochina Peninsula.

Children Available: The children available for adoption in Vietnam range in age from 3 months to 15 years at referral. Children with special needs are also available. Siblings groups are rare and the adoption of two unrelated children at once is not illegal, but it is also not encouraged. Both boys and girls are available for adoption, although some agencies state that the wait for the referral of a boy will be shorter.

Requirements: Both couples and singles are permitted to adopt. There is no upper age limit, but must be at least 20 years older than the child adopting. Vietnam has no requirements for length of marriage or divorce, although some agencies may have different guidelines. The country has no set limit on the number of children in home, however if you have more than 4 children in the home, you might need special permission.

Time line: After compiling a dossier, you send it to Vietnam. The wait time for referral is varied with each agency. To get recent and realistic wait times, call a few agencies. Again, some agencies also state that the wait time for the referral of a boy will be shorter. After referral until travel it should be approximately 3-6 months. Travel to Vietnam is required, although, if needed, it may be only one parent. It is one trip of 2-3 weeks.

Cost: $17,000-24,000

Children placed in 2006: 163 children came home from Vietnam to the United States in 2006.

Adoptions Agencies for Adopting from Vietnam:

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Saturday, May 5, 2007

China Adoption

Country Profile: China is one of the world's oldest civilizations. It is rich in history and culture. China is a vast country with 1.3 billion people. In 1979, the Government of the People's Republic of China implemented a new law in efforts to control their growing population. This law allows most families to only have one, sometimes two children. It is called the "Planned Birth Policy", but is known most widely as the "One Child Policy". Because of China's birth control policy, many children are abandoned each year. Most are girls, because of the old preference for male children. If you have additional children then what you are allowed you can face heavy fines. Each year thousands, perhaps even millions, of children are abandoned.

Children Available: Children age 6 months-13 years are available. The average age of child at time of coming home is 10-13 months. China does not allow the adoption of two unrelated children at once, sibling groups (other than twins) are not available. Twins are available, although limited. 95% of the children adopted from China are girls, although there are still many, many precious boys waiting for families in China too.

Requirements: Married couples age 30-50 for the non-special needs program. 50-55 for the special needs program. If neither of the parents has been divorced, the length of marriage must be 2 years. However, if either parent has been divorced, the length of marriage must be at least 5 years. A total of no more than 2 divorces is allowed for China. There is a limit of 4 children (biological or adopted) in the home at time of adoption. Unfortunately, China is not accepting single applicants at this time, however, there are many countries that do. On May 1, 2007 China's new requirements for adoptive families went into effect. For a complete list of these new regulations click here.

Special Needs/Waiting Child Program: After reading the requirements, if you do not already know, you may wonder what China's special needs program is exactly. China's special needs or "waiting child" program is a very good option for families interested in adopting from China. Different agencies are given waiting child listings from the CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) for the agencies to place. The children on these lists have minor, correctable special needs (examples are cleft lip/palate, hepatitis b, missing limb, heart defect, clubfoot, birthmark, etc.) and/or the children can be older. My little sister, Sarah Lu, has a corrected cleft lip and was on a waiting child list.

Time line: The wait for healthy referrals is looking like it is about 18-24 months for dossier submission to referral. From referral to travel, it is about 6-8 weeks.

The wait time for special needs is significantly lower (Sarah Lu was home 6 months after our dossier submission).

Cost: $15,000-20,000

Children placed in 2006: 6,493 children came home from China to the USA in 2006 and was the 1st most adopted from country of international adoptions from the United States.

Adoptions Agencies for Adopting from China:

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Our China Adoption Story:

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Kazakhstan Adoption

Country Profile: Kazakhstan is the world's 9th largest country as far as land mass. It shares borders with China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.

To see a video of one family's journey to their daughter in Kazakhstan on All God's Children International, click here.

Children Available: Babies (Infant to 6 months), as well as toddlers, older children, and children with special needs are available. Siblings groups are not very readily available and the adoption of more than one unrelated child being adopted depends on the region on the country.

Requirements: Couples and single women may adopt. Kazakhstan has no specific country requirements regarding age, however most agencies will have their own guidelines. Couples are preferred to of been married for at least 1 year. The number of divorces allowed is varied, generally 3 divorces divorces between both parents is the limit. There is no limit on the number of children in the home as long as you have the ability to support.

Time line: After submitting your dossier to Kazakhstan, you can expect to receive travel permission within 2-10 months. Usually, you will not receive a referral like many other countries, but instead, Kazakhstan does what is called a "Blind Referral", which is when you will receive your referral in-country.

Cost: $20,000-38,000

Children placed in 2006: 587 children came home from Kazakhstan to the USA in 2006 and was the 6th most adopted from country of international adoptions from the United States.

Adoption Agencies for Adopting from Kazakhstan:

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Monday, April 23, 2007

Ethiopia Adoption

Country Profile: Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second most-populous African nation. Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world.

Children Available: Children aged from newborns to teenagers are available. Sibling groups are available and the adoption of more than one unrelated child at once is allowed. Both girls and boys are available, parents may request gender.

Requirements: Married couples and singles may adopt. 25-60 is the age requirement. There are no restrictions on the number of children in family nor any divorce requirements. There is some flexibility within the length of marriage, although 1-2 years seems to be the minimum.

Time line: After dossier is submitted, the wait for referral can be anywhere from 1-10 months. After referral, wait time until home can be anywhere from 3-5 months.

Cost: $11,000-22,000

Children placed in 2006: 732 children came home from Ethiopia to the USA in 2006 and was the 5th most adopted from country of international adoptions from the United States.

Adoptions Agencies for Adopting from Ethiopia:

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Liberia Adoption

Country Profile: Liberia is a country on the west coast of Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Cote d'Ivoire. The official language of Liberia is English due to the fact that it was founded by freed American slaves. Liberia means, "Land of the Free". Children are relinquished due to poverty or parents killed in war.

Children Available: Newborn to teenage children are available. Although, 2 years and up seems to be most common. Sibling groups are available, as is adopting more than one unrelated child at a time. Parents may request gender.

Requirements: Married couples, as well as single men and women may adopt. Liberia has no age restrictions or family size requirements. Also, Liberia has no divorce requirements or length of marriage requirements.

Time line: After compiling a dossier and sending it to Liberia, you should expect to receive your referral within 0-4 months. After acceptance of your referral, it should be around 2-4 months until your child comes home. Children may be escorted home.

Cost: $7,000-14,000

Children placed in 2006: 353 children came home from Liberia to the United States in 2006 and was the 8th most adopted from country of international adoptions from the U.S.A.

Adoption Agencies for Adopting from Liberia:

Independent Adoptions:

The West African Children Support Network

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Haiti Adoption

Country Profile: Just 5oo miles of the coastline of Miami, Florida sits on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic, is Haiti. The poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

Children Available: There are thousands of infants, toddlers and school age children available for adoption. The adoption of sibling groups are common and the adoption of two unrelated children at one time is also a possibility, depending on which orphanage you work with. The children are cared for in privately-funded orphanages.

Requirements: 30 seems to be the minimum age requirement. There is no upper age requirement. Both couples and single women are allowed to adopt. Couples must be married for a minimum of 5 years. No more than 3-4 biological children, No limits of number of adopted children.

Time line: After submitting your dossier to Haiti, you should receive a referral shortly. However, the time until your child comes home could be as long as 12 months.

Cost: The approximate total cost of adopting from Haiti usually falls somewhere into the range of $13,000- $17,000. However, doing what is called an "Independent Adoption", which means not using an agency, reduces the fees significantly. In the case of an Independent Adoption, you would work through a specific orphanage that is used to doing this instead of an agency. This will decrease fees, as you will not have agency fees.

Children placed in 2006: 309 children came home from Haiti to the USA in 2006 and was the 11th most adopted from country of international adoptions from the United States.

Adoption Agencies for Adopting from Haiti:

Orphanages in Haiti (May do Independent Adoptions):

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bound4meimei@yahoo.com