When you take the plunge and decide that you want to adopt, it can be pretty overwhelming to know where to go first. You probably have already talked to a few people who have adopted in the past and you may have made calls to a few agencies, and that is a good start. However, I found that those conversations actually made things a lot more confusing for me. People were throwing around words like “dossier”, “I-600A” and “I-71H”. They talked about homestudies and post placement visits and referrals and handling the wait.
Basically, I just wanted some unbiased, easy-to-understand information on how this was all going to work. The people who had adopted were wonderful, but a lot of them didn’t remember how difficult everything was at the beginning. The agencies were great, but I also felt a little pressured to sign with each agency who answered any questions for me.
Hopefully, this post can give you the basics on getting started in international adoption. You will need to know a lot more than this, but my goal is to give you a cut-and-dried idea of what is ahead of you. In order, here is what you expect for most adoption programs:
Homestudy
The first thing you need when you start your adoption is going to be a homestudy. You really can’t do anything without a homestudy, so this is a good place to start. Also, most people in the adoption community will not really take you seriously until you have a homestudy. Watch for my future posts on how to choose an agency or individual to do your homestudy.
I-600A
After your homestudy is completed, or at least in progress, the next thing you need to do is to file with immigration. This department changes their name all of the time. You may have heard them called INS (which stands for “Immigration and Naturalization Services). However, now they are calling themselves USCIS, which stands for (United States Citizenship and Naturalization Services). The form that you have to fill out is called the I-600A. Talk to the social worker who is doing your homestudy and get their help with this form.
USCIS Fingerprinting
A few weeks or months (depending on the state) after you have submitted your I-600A, you will receive an appointment in the mail to go have your fingerprints taken. This has to be done for everyone over the age of 18 who lives in your home. You will go to the USCIS office nearest you and they will take your fingerprints. Be sure to bring ID when you go and also bring the letter with your appointment. Our office here would not let us in until we had shown them the letter.
Note: Please see Steps in International Adoption Part 2 for the next steps in the process.