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There is no way to predict exactly the length of the wait at each stage. To some extent, this depends upon the general availability of children and how long the legal processing takes in the foreign country. In addition, it is important to realize that your specifications can influence how long you have to wait for a child: the more particular you are about age, sex, health background, and general history, the longer you will have to wait.
According to estimates made by one agency with contacts in Asia and North and South America, the length of a wait for a child is usually between 6 and 18 months, and averages 12 months. Once a child is found, the length of time necessary for processing in the country of birth varies due to bureaucratic procedures, changes in laws, political upheavals, etc. If you live in a State that mandates State approval of the child's documents before the INS approval of the visa, this can also lengthen the wait.
In an article on surviving these stressful periods, Deborah McCurdy suggests the following strategies:
After a successful postplacement period during which agency staff will monitor the child's adjustment in your home, the agency will write a recommendation for adoption to be filed with the court. It is generally recommended to have a knowledgeable attorney coordinate the adoption process. In any case, the agency recommendations, if any, the child's documents, proof of at least one parent's U.S. citizenship, proof that the child was under 16 when adopted, and a petition to finalize adoption must be filed in your local juvenile or family court. The adoption process in your State can take several months. Hiring an attorney may expedite this, and most agencies are also willing to help you complete the process.
Adoption does not confer U.S. citizenship on your child. Therefore, you must take steps to naturalize the child. If your child entered the United Sates in the IR-3 immigrant visa category, you may begin the naturalization process immediately. If the child entered the United States in the IR-4 immigrant visa category, you must adopt/readopt the child prior to proceeding with the naturalization. The child will be naturalized by INS, which has developed a shortened procedure for naturalization under these circumstances in which a formal court hearing is no longer required. In this procedure, the parent files INS form N. 600 or a modified version N600K, the parent and child are interviewed, and the oath of allegiance is sworn. A certificate of citizenship is then mailed to the family.
After the child has been naturalized, you may wish to consider applying for a U.S. passport for the child. While this is not a legal requirement, in the case of an adopted child, a U.S. passport not only proves the child's citizenship and identity, it is also more convenient to present than a naturalization or citizenship certificate. A U.S. passport application also creates citizenship records that are far more easily available than the child's naturalization records.
Most adoption agencies mandate counseling and supervision for client families for a certain amount of time--ranging from 6 months to 3 or more years after the child has been placed. The purpose of this service is to provide counseling for the new family, monitor the development and integration of the child in the new home, and provide parents with information and referrals if necessary. Most foreign countries also require postplacement supervision for 6 months to 2 years to ensure that the child has been well-placed and is receiving adequate care and love. For this reason, your agency may ask you to furnish photographs, written reports, and medical reports, so they can be sent to the foreign country. As part of postplacement, many agencies have organized support groups for new adoptive parents. If your agency does not have such a group, it may be able to refer you to one in your community.
Tips for Singles
If you are single and you have started investigating adoption in general, you have found that your choices are somewhat limited. Intercountry adoption, however, is often a good alternative. A number of countries accept single applicants and have infants and young children available for adoption. Although adoption laws can change, countries that have a history of permitting singles to adopt include Brazil, India, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, and Bolivia. The volatile nature of the governments in these countries makes it difficult to know, with certainty, what the adoption policy will be over a long period of time.
Betsy Burch, Director of Single Parents Adopting Children Everywhere (SPACE), a Massachusetts support group, thinks that singles should consider adopting siblings. "If you want more than one child, and you want both children from the same country, you may want to adopt them at the same time" she says. In doing this, you will not have to deal with the very changeable international adoption scene, where a country may accept single adopters one year and close their doors the next year. It may also speed the process, since countries are eager to keep families intact and will let you adopt, for instance, an infant with his 8 year-old brother. The Committee for Single Adoptive Parents at P.O. Box 15084, Chevy Chase, MD 20825 can provide a listing of adoption agencies that will work with singles to locate a foreign child or children.
Conclusion
To help you determine whether you are truly interested in pursuing intercountry adoption, an experienced intercountry adoption agency, Holt International Children's Services of Eugene, Oregon, has devised a series of questions and comments for prospective adoptive parents to consider. They deal with issues of race (since many of the children are of Asian, Indian, or African heritage) and of your motivation for adoption. You also might try to find people who have adopted children from abroad and meet their children. You could attend parent group meetings where children accompany their parents or look at photographs of children from other countries. A child from Chile looks different from an Indian child or a child from El Salvador. This way you could see if this type of adoption "feels right" for you. Like other kinds of adoption, intercountry adoption can be expensive, complicated, and fraught with uncertainties. However, by being well- informed, maintaining a strong commitment, and working with a good agency, you will accomplish all that is required, and your dream of adoptive parenthood can be fulfilled. This article was written by Lisa O'Rourke and Ruth Hubbell with substantial contributions by Sherrell Goolsby, Executive DirAr, Lutheran/World Child, Washington, DC, July 1988. New material was added in June, 1994, by Debra G. Smith, Director, NAIC, with thanks to Laura Livingston, US. Department of State.
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