A FactSheet 

for Families

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Children’s Bureau/ACYF

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW

Eighth Floor

Washington, DC 20024

703.385.7565 or 800.394.3366

Email: info@childwelfare.gov

www.childwelfare.gov

May 2007

The number of Americans adopting children from 

other countries is growing. According to the U.S. 

Department of State, 22,728 children received visas 

in 2005 to come to the United States for adoption. In 

1990, only about 7,000 children received these visas. 

This factsheet provides an overview of the steps 

involved in any intercountry adoption. Your 

process will vary depending on your State, your 

agency, and the country from which you adopt. 

What’s Inside:

STEP 1: Decide if intercountry adoption is right 

for your family

STEP 2: Select a country

STEP 3: Select an agency

STEP 4: Meet eligibility requirements for your family

STEP 5: Make sure your child meets eligibility 

requirements

STEP 6: Bring your child home

STEP 7: Fulfill remaining immigration or 

citizenship requirements

STEP 8: Begin your life as a new family

Resources

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Intercountry Adoption: 

Where Do I Start?
Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start? www.childwelfare.gov

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Child Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_inter/index.cfm.

In every case you must meet the basic 

requirements of U.S. immigration law.

STEP 1

Decide if Intercountry 

Adoption Is Right 

for Your Family 

What You Should Know

Many families consider the following 

issues when deciding whether intercountry 

adoption is right for them:

The process can be more predictable 

than domestic adoption. Like any 

adoption, intercountry adoption involves 

some uncertainty. However, the length of 

your wait to adopt a child from another 

country can be easier to predict than 

when adopting an infant from the United 

States. The timeframe varies depending 

on the country, agency, lawyer, and 

individual child involved, but it generally 

takes from 1 to 3 years to complete an 

intercountry adoption. 

Children become available for adoption 

in other countries for many of the same 

reasons children come into foster care 

in the United States. Reasons commonly 

include abandonment, poverty, illness 

or death of the parents, or family issues 

such as substance abuse, child abuse, 

or neglect. Children often have health 

problems related to these reasons.

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Younger children are available for 

adoption. U.S. Citizenship and 

Immigration Services (USCIS) reports 

that in 2003, nearly half (46 percent) of 

children adopted internationally were 

less than 12 months old, while 42 percent 

were between 1 and 4 years old. 

Intercountry adoption offers 

opportunities for a connection to the 

child’s first culture. Some prospective 

adoptive parents are interested in a child’s 

country of origin and want to make that 

culture a part of their lives. 

Contact with birth parents is rare. 

Immigration laws require children to 

be defined as “orphans” for purposes of 

intercountry adoption. Therefore, contact 

with birth parents is not common. 

However, contact with birth families is 

starting to take place in a few countries. 

Some Places to Go

Compare the different ways to adopt. Read 

the Child Welfare Information Gateway 

(Information Gateway) publications 

Adoption Options: A Factsheet for Families

(www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adoptoption.

cfm) and Adoption Options at-a-Glance: 

A Companion Guide for Families (www.

childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_adoptoptionglance.

cfm).

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Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?

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www.childwelfare.gov

Adopting relatives from other countries 

can be difficult. The child must still be 

defined as an orphan according to U.S. 

immigration law. If the child meets 

this requirement, an adoption agency 

that places children in the child’s home 

country may be able to help you with 

the adoption. If the child does not meet 

this requirement, a lawyer familiar 

with immigration law can help you 

explore other options. USCIS provides 

information on adopting relatives in The 

Immigration of Adopted and Prospective 

Adoptive Children (see Difficult Issues in 

Orphan Cases, Section D. Intra-Familial 

Adoptions on page 30)1: 

www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/

adopt_book.pdf

Also see Intercountry Adoption of Relatives

on the U.S. Department of State website: 

http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/

notices/notices_474.html

What if the child I want

to adopt is my relative?

STEP 2

Select a Country

What You Should Know

Countries that allow children to be adopted 

internationally (also called “sending 

countries”) are usually developing nations 

 To access the most current links to this and other resources 

mentioned in this factsheet, visit the online version of 

Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?, available on the 

Child Welfare Information Gateway website: www.childwelfare.

gov/pubs/f_inter/index.cfm.

in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, 

Africa, and Central and South America. 

Each country has different intercountry 

adoption rules. Parents often find it helpful 

to compare adoption programs in several 

countries before making a final decision. 

Here are some things to think about when 

selecting a country:

Eligibility requirements for adoptive 

parents. USCIS has two basic eligibility 

requirements for prospective adoptive 

parents: applicants must be U.S. citizens 

and at least 25 years old when they 

apply. For married couples, only one 

spouse must meet both requirements. 

In addition, each country and agency 

sets its own requirements for prospective 

adoptive parents based on age, 

marital status, sexual orientation, and 

other characteristics. 

Ages of available children. The ages of 

children available for adoption vary 

widely, from 3 or 4 months to 16 years, 

depending on the country. Laws in some 

sending countries require that efforts be 

made to place infants with families in 

that country before they can be placed 

with a family overseas. In those countries, 

infants less than 4 or 5 months old 

often are not available. According to 

U.S. immigration law, children must be 

younger than 16 years old in order to be 

eligible to immigrate to the United States 

on an orphan visa, unless a younger 

brother or sister is being adopted at the 

same time or has been adopted by the 

same family. The Immigration of Adopted 

and Prospective Adoptive Children, on the 

USCIS website, gives more details in 

Eligibility for Immigration Benefits, Section 

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Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start? www.childwelfare.gov

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A. What is an Orphan? (see page 6):

www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/

adopt_book.pdf

Culture/ethnicity. Depending on the 

country you select, your child’s ethnic 

and racial background might be different 

from your own. Adopting a child of 

a different culture or race can present 

special challenges. Read Information 

Gateway’s factsheet Transracial and 

Transcultural Adoption to help you prepare 

for adopting a child from another culture 

or race: www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/

f_trans.cfm

Child’s placement setting: Institution 

or foster care. In many sending 

countries, children who need permanent 

families are cared for in institutions or 

orphanages. Children who spend early 

months or years in institutions typically 

show delays in growth and development. 

A few countries place children waiting for 

permanent families with foster families. 

Research suggests that foster families 

may offer the child better opportunities 

to form attachments with caretakers. 

However, many factors affect the quality 

of foster care overseas. 

Travel requirements. Most countries 

require prospective adoptive parents to 

travel to the country to complete the 

adoption process. The number of trips 

(generally one or two) and the required 

length of stay in the country vary. A 

few countries will allow the child to be 

escorted to the United States, but costs 

may not be significantly lower than for 

the family to travel to the child’s country.

Cost. Costs also vary widely depending 

on the country and agency. They can 

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range from $7,000 to $30,000 or more. 

See the Information Gateway publication 

Costs of Adopting: A Factsheet for Families

for more information: www.childwelfare.

gov/pubs/s_cost/index.cfm

Talking with other adoptive parents 

about their experiences in different 

countries can help you with your 

decision. You can meet other parents 

through a support group for families 

who have adopted from certain countries 

or regions. Find a listing of adoptive 

family support groups in the National 

Foster Care and Adoption Directory, 

available on the Information Gateway 

website: www.childwelfare.gov/nfcad

Some Places to Go

The Office of Children’s Issues section of the 

U.S. Department of State website provides a 

country-by-country guide to the adoption 

process in more than 60 countries: http://

travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/

country_369.html

The U.S. Department of State provides 

information on countries with intercountry 

adoption restrictions: http://travel.state.

gov/family/adoption/country/country_

431.html

Find information on the USCIS website 

about restrictions on adopting from areas 

experiencing political unrest or natural 

disasters. From the USCIS home page (www.

uscis.gov), click on “Services & Benefits,” 

and then select “Adoption” in the left 

menu. Scroll down the page until you see 
Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?

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www.childwelfare.gov

the link titled “How Do I Apply to Bring a 

Foreign-Born Orphan to the United States?” 

and click on this link. See Can I adopt a child 

from any country in the world? to view the 

information on restrictions.

The Report on Intercountry Adoption contains 

an overview of costs, requirements for 

prospective adoptive parents, and other 

information for many countries. Ordering 

information is available on the Adoption 

Resource Center of Connecticut website: 

www.arcct.org/included.html

STEP 3

Select an Agency 

What You Should Know

Requirements of individual countries will 

determine whether you will need to work 

through a licensed, accredited adoption 

agency or if you may work with an adoption 

lawyer. The U.S. Department of State 

strongly recommends that families work 

with a reputable private adoption agency 

licensed by the State in which it is located 

and experienced in intercountry adoption. 

Nonagency intercountry adoptions are 

rarely regulated and may pose additional 

risks. To help you determine whether an 

adoption agency is reputable, see the tips 

in How to Assess the Reputation of Licensed, 

Private Adoption Agencies on the Information 

Gateway website: www.childwelfare.gov/

pubs/twenty.cfm

Take time to research and carefully select 

your adoption agency. An experienced, 

reputable adoption agency should be 

willing to walk you through the adoption 

process, help you prepare to become 

adoptive parents (through educational 

classes on parenting and adoption issues 

or referrals to such programs), contact 

USCIS about immigration regulations and 

forms, help you handle problems along 

the way, and provide support after you 

bring your child home. Before deciding 

on a particular agency, attend information 

sessions or orientations and ask questions 

about the services the agency provides. 

Reputable adoption agencies will answer 

your questions openly. These initial sessions 

are usually free. Visiting several different 

agencies may help you find the one that 

best meets your needs. 

Questions to ask adoption agencies:

By which State is the agency licensed? Is 

the license in good standing?

How long has the agency been involved 

in intercountry adoption? 

In which countries does the agency 

have intercountry adoption programs? 

How long have they had programs in 

those countries? 

How many children has the agency 

placed? 

What are the agency’s minimum 

requirements for prospective parents?

How does the agency prepare parents for 

an intercountry adoption?

Does the adoption agency have its own 

overseas staff or use the services of 

facilitators or lawyers?

How do agency contacts (such as 

facilitators or lawyers) working in other 

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Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start? www.childwelfare.gov

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countries identify children available 

for adoption?

What are the agency’s fees? (Ask for a 

detailed list of expenses and schedule 

for payment.)

What, if any, is the refund policy if an 

adoption falls through?

What services does the agency provide 

after your child comes home? How long 

are they available?

Find more questions to ask in “What to 

Ask Before Choosing an Adoption Agency” 

from Adoptive Families magazine: www.

adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=327

Some Places to Go

Search by country for licensed private 

adoption agencies in U.S. Adoption Agencies 

That Place Children From Abroad on the 

Information Gateway website: www.

childwelfare.gov/pubs/country_resource_

lists.cfm

Some countries allow only agencies that are 

accredited with the country’s government 

to place children internationally. The 

U.S. Department of State’s Country-Specific 

Adoption Fliers provide information on 

countries with such requirements: http://

travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/

country_369.html

The Hague Convention on Intercountry 

Adoption will affect the accreditation of 

adoption agencies in the United States. 

For more information on the Hague 

Convention, see the U.S. Department of 

State website: http://travel.state.gov/

family/adoption/convention/convention_

462.html

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STEP 4

Meet Eligibility 

Requirements for 

Your Family

What You Should Know

Regardless of the country and agency you 

select, all prospective adoptive parents 

must complete a home study, submit 

paperwork to start the USCIS process, and 

put together a dossier with your family’s 

personal records.

Complete the home study process. The 

home study process involves a series of 

interviews with a social worker to help 

assess your family’s capacity to provide 

a safe, loving environment for a child. 

(Typically, at least one of these interviews 

will take place in your home.) The home 

study process is also designed to help your 

family think through how the characteristics 

of the child you are seeking to adopt will be 

a fit for your family, your support network, 

and your community. A home study report 

(reviewed and approved by a licensed 

agency) must be submitted to USCIS. The 

Information Gateway factsheet The Adoption 

Home Study Process offers more information: 

www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_homstu.cfm

Start the USCIS process. All prospective 

adoptive parents must meet USCIS eligibility 

requirements in order to adopt a child from 

another country. The USCIS application 

process involves two steps. The first step 

is designed to document your family’s 

capacity to provide a safe, loving home for 

a child. The second step, which usually 
Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?

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www.childwelfare.gov

comes later in the adoption process, makes 

sure your child can be defined as an orphan 

as described in the U.S. Immigration and 

Nationality Act (www.uscis.gov/lpBin/lpext.

dll/inserts/slb/slb-1/slb-20?f=templates&fn=

document-frame.htm#slb-act). (See Step 5.)

The USCIS process usually starts when 

you submit Form I-600A: Application for 

Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition 

(www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-600a.pdf), with 

supporting documents and filing fees. This 

form helps USCIS determine that your 

family is eligible to adopt. Filing Form I600A is not required but is recommended by 

USCIS to speed up the adoption process later 

on. You can submit Form I-600A even before 

you have selected a country or agency. 

However, it is valid for only 18 months after 

it is approved by USCIS, so you may not 

want to submit it too early. After receiving 

your application, USCIS staff will schedule 

an appointment for all adults aged 18 and 

over in your household to be fingerprinted. 

Fingerprint reports are valid for 15 months 

and must be current when your child is 

placed in your home.

Gather documents for your dossier. A 

dossier is the packet of documents your 

family will have translated for those 

involved in the adoption in your child’s 

country of origin. The sending country 

will use the documents in your dossier to 

identify a specific child whose needs your 

family can best meet. Required documents 

vary depending on the country but 

generally consist of official records that 

prove your identity, finances, health, and 

good character. Typically, these documents 

include birth certificates, marriage licenses 

(if applicable), financial statements, proof 

of employment, criminal and child abuse 

clearances, health statements, and personal 

references. Some of this information also 

will be included in your home study. 

Most agencies require you to provide 

multiple copies of the signed and notarized 

documents. In addition, some countries 

will require authenticated translations of 

the documents. The U.S. Department of 

State website provides information on how 

to have a document authenticated: http://

travel.state.gov/family/abduction/hague_

issues/hague_issues_562.html

Some Places to Go 

A detailed list of USCIS requirements for 

home studies is available in The Immigration 

of Adoptive and Prospective Adoptive Children 

(see Basic Orphan Petition Requirements, 

Section D. Home Study on page 22): 

www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/

adopt_book.pdf

The USCIS publication The Immigration 

of Adopted and Prospective Adoptive 

Children explains USCIS regulations, 

requirements for prospective adoptive 

parents, and the orphan definition, 

and provides links to forms for 

intercountry adoption: 

www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/

adopt_book.pdf

USCIS answers common questions on 

its website. To access these frequently 

asked questions, open the USCIS home 

page (www.uscis.gov), click on “Services 

& Benefits,” and then select “Adoption” 

in the left menu. Scroll down the page 

until you see the link titled “How Do I 

Apply to Bring a Foreign-Born Orphan 

to the United States?”
Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start? www.childwelfare.gov

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Child Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_inter/index.cfm.

The U.S. Department of State provides 

detailed information about the USCIS 

adoption process in the International 

Adoption Booklet: http://travel.state.gov/

family/adoption/notices/notices_473.html

STEP 5

Make Sure Your Child 

Meets Eligibility 

Requirements

What You Should Know

A few months to a year or more after 

completing the required paperwork, your 

family will be matched with a specific 

child for possible placement. This process 

varies greatly depending on the country 

and agency (or lawyer) involved. In a few 

countries, families will be directly involved 

in this step by visiting orphanages and 

viewing photolistings of waiting children 

when traveling to the country from which 

they seek to adopt a child. Waiting to 

be matched with a child is one of the 

hardest and most unpredictable parts of 

the adoption process. Tips for helping 

families deal with the wait are in the Joint 

Council on International Children’s Services 

publication, Coping and Difficulties and 

Delays As You Wait For Your Child: www.jcics.

org/Waiting.pdf

When a specific child is identified, you will 

receive a referral (a packet of information 

about the child). This packet usually includes 

the child’s picture and information on the 

child’s health and history. In the case of an 

abandoned child, medical information and 

history may be limited to the period of time 

since the child’s placement in the orphanage 

or institution. You will have a period of 

time to review the information and decide 

whether you can meet this child’s needs. 

Ask your agency or doctor any questions 

you have before you accept the placement. 

Take as much time as you need to feel 

comfortable with your decision, paying 

particular attention to the information 

related to the child’s orphan status and 

health. It is better to stop the process prior 

to meeting the child if you are unsure that 

you can make him or her a part of your 

family. Be sure to focus on the following 

information during your review of the 

referral packet: 

Orphan status. Because foreign adoption 

laws vary, it is possible in some countries 

to adopt a child who does not qualify 

as an orphan under U.S. immigration 

law. However, a U.S. visa will not be 

issued to children who do not meet 

the requirements. All children adopted 

abroad require an immigrant orphan 

visa to legally immigrate to the United 

States. Discuss any questions about the 

child’s status with your adoption agency 

or lawyer.

Health information. Many factors 

influence the health of children waiting 

for adoption in other countries. Children 

often have health conditions that are 

common in developing countries but 

can be prevented or easily treated in the 

United States. Children’s health also can 

be affected by living in institutions. The 

University of Minnesota’s International 

Adoption Clinic website provides 

information about the health of children 

adopted from other countries: www.med.

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Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?

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Child Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_inter/index.cfm.

www.childwelfare.gov

umn.edu/peds/iac/preadoption/

challanges.html

The type and quality of available medical 

information will vary depending on the 

country. Reputable agencies will give 

you as much information as possible 

about a child’s background and medical 

history, but they cannot guarantee the 

information is accurate or complete. 

A doctor familiar with intercountry 

adoption can help you understand the 

information you receive about the child’s 

health and development. The American 

Academy of Pediatrics provides a Stateby-State directory of pediatricians with 

a special interest in adoption and foster 

care medicine: www.aap.org/sections/

adoption/adopt-states/adoption-map.

html

Prospective adoptive parents who plan 

to make two trips to the child’s country 

might make a video of the child on the 

first trip and ask a doctor to evaluate it. If 

you have any questions about the child’s 

medical condition, ask your agency or 

lawyer for more information.

The Information Gateway factsheet 

Obtaining Background Information on Your 

Prospective Adopted Child: A Factsheet for 

Families explains how to obtain a child’s 

medical, family, and placement history 

when available, and includes questions 

to ask about the child’s health: www.

childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_background.

cfm

After you decide your family can meet the 

needs of a specific child, you must submit 

Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan 

as an Immediate Relative (www.uscis.gov/

files/form/i-600.pdf), to ensure the child 

is eligible for intercountry adoption. After 

receiving your Form I-600, the consular 

officer in the U.S. Embassy or Consulate 

or the USCIS officer in the child’s country 

will conduct an investigation to make sure 

your child meets the USCIS definition of 

an orphan. This can take some time. Some 

families may wait longer than others. 

Waiting for final approval for a specific 

child can be one of the hardest parts of the 

adoption process for families.

During the investigation, your child also will 

visit a doctor approved by the U.S. Embassy 

in the child’s country to detect any medical 

condition that would affect eligibility for 

a visa. Once the orphan investigation and 

medical exam are successfully completed, 

the consular officer will issue an orphan visa. 

The type of orphan visa your child receives 

will depend on whether both parents (if 

applicable) saw the child before or during the 

adoption process and whether the adoption 

was finalized in the child’s country, according 

to U.S. immigration requirements. The U.S. 

Department of State explains the types of 

orphan visas in Adoption Guidelines—Bringing 

Your Child Home to the United States: www.

state.gov/m/dghr/flo/rsrcs/pubs/7321.htm
Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start? www.childwelfare.gov

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First, look on the USCIS website (www.

uscis.gov) for information you need 

to solve the problem. If you cannot 

resolve the situation with information 

from the website, USCIS staff prefer 

that social workers at adoption agencies 

or lawyers contact USCIS on behalf 

of their clients. Experienced agencies 

and lawyers probably have dealt with 

similar problems before and know 

how to help you resolve them. If you 

have questions or need help filling 

out USCIS forms, contact the USCIS 

district office in your area for a list of 

adoption professionals or agencies that 

can help. Use the USCIS Service and 

Office Locator to find the office serving 

your area: https://egov.immigration.

gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices

What if I have problems

with the USCIS process?

Some Places to Go

The USCIS website provides information on 

the orphan definition in The Immigration of 

Adopted and Prospective Adoptive Children (see 

Eligibility for Immigration Benefits, Section A. 

What is an Orphan? on page 6): www.uscis.

gov/files/nativedocuments/adopt_book.pdf

The second INS (now USCIS) International 

Adoptions Conference website explains 

requirements of the orphan definition, 

home study requirements, citizenship 

for adopted children, and medical issues 

and waivers for orphans with specific 

health conditions: http://149.101.23.2/

graphics/services/conference.htm

The Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC) provide information 

on the overseas medical exam required 

for prospective adoptive children: www2.

ncid.cdc.gov/travel/yb/utils/ybGet.

asp?section=children&obj=adoption.

htm&cssNav=browseoyb

STEP 6

Bring Your Child Home

What You Should Know

The legal adoption or guardianship process 

begins after you accept a referral for a 

specific child. In some countries, families 

are required to travel to the child’s country 

of origin to finalize the adoption in the 

foreign court. In others, guardianship of the 

child will be transferred to the prospective 

adoptive parents or to their agency, but they 

must finalize the adoption in U.S. courts 

to fulfill USCIS requirements. Talk to your 

agency or lawyer about what you must do.

Even if the trip is not required, experiencing 

your child’s country of origin firsthand can 

give you a deeper understanding of what his 

or her life was like before joining your family. 

Traveling with a group of other prospective 

adoptive parents can help you form supportive 

relationships with other adoptive families that 

can last for years. Families who have traveled to 

another country to complete an adoption have 

identified both advantages and disadvantages 

(see table on next page).
Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?

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www.childwelfare.gov

Some Places to Go

Prepare for traveling to your child’s country 

of origin by reading the Adoptive Families

magazine article “The Top 10 Secrets 

of Successful Adoption Travel”: www.

adoptivefamilies.com/pdf/10_tips.pdf

View current travel warnings from the U.S. 

Department of State: http://travel.state.

gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html

View CDC recommendations for vaccines 

and preparation for travel early in your 

adoption process to ensure you have 

time to complete any necessary series 

of immunizations: www.cdc.gov/travel/

vaccinat.htm

STEP 7 

Fulfill Remaining 

Immigration 

or Citizenship 

Requirements

What You Should Know

After you bring your child home, there 

may be additional actions required by U.S. 

immigration law, State law, your child’s 

country of origin, or your adoption agency. 

Adoptive parents may need to: 

Fulfill remaining visa requirements. The 

Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (www.uscis.

gov/files/article/CCAFacts_Jan_04[1].pdf)

mandates that foreign-born children 

adopted by at least one U.S. citizen parent 

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Advantages of Travel Disadvantages of Travel

Opportunity to experience the culture of your child’s 

birth country.

Inconvenience of spending days or weeks away from 

home and work.

Opportunity to meet and begin developing an 

attachment with your child earlier.

Additional costs, depending on the number of trips 

and length of stay.

Possibility to see and document with photos, videos, 

and mementos the place your child spent the first 

months or years of life and share this experience 

with your child later. If you take two trips, it 

may be possible to gather additional health and 

background information.

Potential language barrier (although this presents the 

opportunity to learn some words in your child’s first 

language).

Possible feeling of greater involvement in the 

adoption process.

Depending on the country, dangerous travel. 

Feeling “different” in your child’s country. This could 

help you better understand your child’s experience 

of being different in the United States and in 

your family.

Feeling “different” in your child’s country. Feeling out 

of place and uncertain of what is happening and how 

to behave could be seen as a disadvantage of travel 

for some.
Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start? www.childwelfare.gov

12 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit 

Child Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_inter/index.cfm.

living in the United States automatically 

become U.S. citizens as soon as the 

requirements of the Act are met. If your 

child entered the United States on an 

IR-4 visa, you must finalize your child’s 

adoption in a U.S. court to satisfy Child 

Citizenship Act requirements and secure 

U.S. citizenship for your child. Your child 

automatically will become a U.S. citizen 

on the day the adoption is finalized 

in the United States. Children who 

enter the United States on an IR-3 visa 

automatically become U.S. citizens when 

they arrive in the United States for the 

first time. Ask your agency which type of 

visa your child was issued, or check the 

stamp in his or her passport. 

Fulfill postplacement requirements. In 

most cases, your agency or your child’s 

birth country will require you to provide 

photographs, written reports, and 

medical reports for 6 months to several 

years after your child’s placement. These 

will show that your child is adjusting to 

your family and is loved. These reports 

also help foster positive relationships 

between the United States and your 

child’s country of origin, paving the way 

for future intercountry adoptions. 

Consider readoption. Some children enter 

the United States with an IR-3 visa. That 

means that all three of the following have 

occurred: (1) the parents saw the child in 

his or her country before or during the 

adoption process, (2) the child’s adoption 

was finalized before the child left his 

or her country of origin, and (3) the 

adoption was recognized by the sending 

country. Federal law does not require 

children who were issued an IR-3 visa to 

be readopted in the United States. (See 

•

•

the U.S. Department of State factsheet 

Adoption Guidelines—Bringing Your Child 

Home at www.state.gov/m/dghr/flo/rsrcs/

pubs/7321.htm for more information on 

orphan visa categories and readoption.) 

Some States do not recognize foreign 

adoption decrees, even when the 

adoption has been finalized before the 

child has left his or her country of origin. 

These States require adoptive parents to 

readopt the child in a State court once 

the child arrives in the United States 

(regardless of the type of visa issued). 

Even if their State laws do not require 

it, many families choose to readopt 

their children in State courts for the 

following reasons:

To obtain a U.S. birth certificate for 

the child

To ensure that the validity of the 

adoption cannot be challenged in 

the event of a change in the political 

situation in the child’s country 

of origin

To protect the child’s right to an 

inheritance. Once the adoption is 

finalized in a State court, the adopted 

child is treated by law as the birth 

child of the adopting parents. The 

adopted child gains the right to 

inherit from the adoptive parents 

and adoptive parents’ relatives and 

is protected from a challenge to 

inheritance rights in a State court in 

the future.

The timeframe to complete the 

readoption process varies, but generally it 

is much shorter than the full intercountry 

or domestic adoption process. Ask your 

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Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?

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Child Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_inter/index.cfm.

www.childwelfare.gov

agency or lawyer how to begin the 

readoption process in your State. 

Obtain proof of your child’s U.S. 

citizenship. A Certificate of Citizenship 

issued by USCIS, or a U.S. passport, 

provides proof of U.S. citizenship for 

children who become citizens through 

adoption. (See http://uscis.gov/graphics/

services/natz/orphans_residing_us.htm.) 

Only a child with a full and final 

adoption in his or her country of origin, 

entering the United States on an IR-3 visa, 

will automatically receive a Certificate of 

Citizenship from USCIS (within 45 days 

of entering the United States).

If your child entered the United States 

on an IR-4 visa, you can apply for a 

Certificate of Citizenship after the 

adoption is finalized in the United States 

by submitting Form N-600, Application 

for Certificate of Citizenship (www.

uscis.gov/files/form/N-600.pdf), and 

the filing fee, to the local USCIS district 

office or sub office. It is possible to 

obtain a passport from the Department 

of State (http://travel.state.gov/passport/

passport_1738.html) for a child before 

receiving the Certificate of Citizenship, 

but the adoption must be full and final 

according to Federal law. The “full effect” 

of a foreign adoption decree means that 

adoptive parents and adopted children 

have the same rights and obligations 

as they would have if a State court had 

issued the adoption decree.

Obtain a Social Security Number for your 

child. The Social Security Administration 

will assign your child a social security 

number before you obtain proof of U.S. 

citizenship. However, records will not 

•

•

show your child is a U.S. citizen until you 

provide this proof. The Social Security 

Administration provides information on 

how to obtain a social security number 

for children adopted from abroad: www.

ssa.gov/immigration/children.htm

Some Places to Go

Find out which States recognize foreign 

adoption decrees in Intercountry Adoptions 

Finalized Abroad: www.childwelfare.

gov/­systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/international.cfm

Adoptive Families magazine describes the 

reasons families choose to readopt in “When 

You Adopt Under the Laws of Another 

Country: U.S. Readoption Explained”: 

www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.

php?aid=292

The Joint Council on International 

Children’s Services provides a factsheet 

explaining how to get a passport for 

children adopted internationally: www.jcics.

org/Passport.htm

STEP 8

Begin Your Life as 

a New Family

What You Should Know

Adjusting to a new family and culture may 

be challenging for your child. Children 

who have spent most of their early lives 

in an institution must adjust to living in 

a family. Receiving one-on-one attention, 

sleeping alone, and owning things may be 

completely new experiences. Children often 
Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start? www.childwelfare.gov

14 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit 

Child Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_inter/index.cfm.

have trouble with new eating and sleeping 

schedules. Older children also may struggle 

with language and school issues and may 

need more time to adjust. 

Soon after your child arrives in the United 

States, take him or her for a thorough 

checkup with a doctor who has experience 

in intercountry adoption. The University of 

Minnesota International Adoption Clinic 

provides a list of recommended screening 

tests: www.med.umn.edu/peds/iac/postadoption/screeningtests.html

Your family also must adjust to your new 

status as a transcultural and possibly 

transracial family. Parents who have 

not joined an adoptive parent support 

group may wish to do so to share the 

joys of parenting, learn from each other’s 

experiences, and help each other through 

challenges. Adoptive parents also need to be 

aware of the impact that the adoption of a 

child from a different country may have on 

other children in the family.

During this transition and throughout 

your lives as an adoptive family, adoption 

agency staff can be a valuable source of 

support. Some adoption agencies provide 

services for adoptive families, from about 

6 months to several years after placement, 

to make sure your child is adjusting well. 

During this time, adoptive parents can also 

locate resources and referrals for additional 

services they need. It is normal for adopted 

individuals and their families to need 

support beyond this initial transition period. 

See Information Gateway’s factsheet on 

postadoption services for more information 

about adoption services and their benefits: 

www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_after/index.

cfm

Some Places to Go

CDC provides information on followup medical exams for children adopted 

internationally: www2.ncid.cdc.gov/travel/

yb/utils/ybGet.asp?section=children&obj=

adoption.htm

Adoptive Families magazine provides 

additional information on postadoption 

checkups: www.adoptivefamilies.com/pdf/

AskMD_JA03.pdf

There are many resources to help parents 

strengthen a transracial or transcultural 

family. See the Information for Transracial/

Transcultural Families section of the 

Information Gateway website: www.

childwelfare.gov/adoption/types/families/

trans_info.cfm

Rainbowkids.com: The International Adoption 

Publication is an online resource designed to 

educate and support families built through 

intercountry adoption:

www.rainbowkids.com/index.chtml
Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?

15 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit 

Child Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_inter/index.cfm.

www.childwelfare.gov

Resources 

Office of Immigration Statistics. (2004). Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2003. Updated link 

retrieved May 9, 2007 from http://uscis.gov/graphics/shared/statistics/yearbook/YrBk03Im.

htm.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2003). How Do I Apply to Bring a Foreign-Born 

Orphan to the United States? Updated link retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://uscis.gov/

graphics/howdoi/fororphan.htm.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2003) The Immigration of Adopted and Prospective 

Adopted Children. Updated link retrieved May 9, 2007, from http://uscis.gov/graphics/

services/Adop_Prospective.htm.

U.S. Department of State. Immigrant Visas Issued to Orphans Coming to the U.S. Retrieved 

February 25, 2005, from http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/stats/stats_451.html.

U.S. Department of State. International Adoption. Retrieved February 17, 2005, from http://

travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_473.html.