Hi Jersey

This is from direct experience when we adopted our daughter from Colombia.

We started the U.S. part of the paperwork in late August and had our permit to adopt one child under age 16 and bring her into the US as a citizen in early December. In all, that was about 3 1/2 months. State and local government people were uniformly fast, efficient, and helpful. The Immigration people were difficult and early on we got our US Representative to assist.

Our adoption agency [World Child International Adoptions] sent the package of information to Colombia for official translation and the adoption package was delivered to the Colombian government on January 16. Colombian government shuts down from about Dec 15 to January 16 each year.

We were "matched" within two weeks with our soon-to-be child. It took about a week to get the Colombian visas. We flew to Bogota, went through a 10 day integration period, then it went to court – about 2 1/2 more weeks for the court procedures.

Our total time in Colombia was about 6 weeks, including all the running around after the Colombian part of the adoption
getting a new birth certificate, new Colombian passport, US-approved physical for our child, US visa then on home.

We have friends who started their Adoption paperwork in late July and had their daughter home with them from Colombia in early December. Total time for them was under 5 months.
They also had to get their US Representative involved to track down their application to bring the girl into the US.

I’ve heard many horror stories about adoptions from other countries but can assure you that our experience with Colombia was excellent – the worst part was battling the US Citizenship and Immigration Services people.

Our daughter has been with us almost two years now and the transition has been mostly smooth.

Feel free to email me if I can answer any questions.

as in white people adopting black babies, asian babies, etc. Black people adopting white babies, Asian babies, etc. A person of one nationality adopting someone of another nationality, etc.
Well do you worry at all about the complications of taking someone out of their their racial/national heritage or culture or community?
And it’s not even completely a color issue, though that would be where more significant and visual issues would arise. What about an American person/couple adopting a Swedish child. There is potentially a different heritage/background and how would that affect?

Race matters, language matters and culture matters. So I would hope homes would be found that make it easiest on the child. However a home with loving parents is much better than a life growing up without any.

All International adoptive parents should be provided with or required to hire bi-lingual nannies or speak the native language fluently.

I’m interested in the possibility of one day adopting a child (under 5 yrs old) from another country. How does one get started? Are there any good organizations?

***Please no negativity or unhelpful comments.***

Check out the forum: Informed Adoption advocates. There is a lot of good information there and your questions will get some real answers.

And start saying they should adopt from their own country instead. It’s nobody elses business, so why can’t people just answer the questions and keep thier ignorant opinions to themselves?
Linda D, i’ve read your profile,and honey, it’s you who needs to get a life! You are obviously bored with no real opinion, go and troll somewhere else.

I think it’s partly because some people have a very strong belief that you should "take care of your own first", and partly because some people are uneducated on adoption and don’t realise that different types of adoption require different criteria, therefore domestic Adoption isn’t suitable for all people. I agree though, people should answer the questions! Oh well, l guess it’s always interesting to hear other’s opinions!

Could you provide links for some resouces demonstrating that the demand for adoptive children (of the infant variety) is much less than the supply? And the ethical issues this situation creates? Thank you!
Sorry, the question should say "resources."

The flip side of your question would focus on how to help the local reality in a given country since it is impossible to adopt ourselves out of the current situation. It requires a substantial change of worldview, and a realization that were those in the first world to willingly cut their standard of living by a certain percentage, or if we were to willingly enter into a period of economic decrease, then the unequal global situation would finally change, alleviating the amount of orphans, who are more likely to be not abandoned but unable to be cared for. There is an activist stance to take other than individually adopting a child; it almost requires a much bigger heart, because it asks us to be completely selfless.

ORPHAN CARE: AN INTRODUCTION
A special issue from Social Worker and Society Journal, focusing on localized emphasis on empowerment in terms of orphan care.
http://www.socwork.net/2009/1/special_issue

THE LIE WE LOVE: CORRUPTION IN INTERNATIONAL ADOPTIONS
The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism
http://www.brandeis.edu/investigate/gender/Adoption/index.html

RE-EVALUATING ADOPTION: VALIDATING THE LOCAL
This article I wrote for the local Lebanese newspaper, al-Akhbar; it attempts to refocus the discussion of adoption to within a political-economic framework.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2008/02/re-evaluating-adoption-validating-the-local/

THE SHOCK DOCTRINE
If you look up any country "popular" in terms of international adoption in this book’s index, you will see the direct effect of WTO, IMF, World Bank, and other destructive forces that decimate the developing world.
http://www.naomiklein.org/

PAMBAZUKA NEWS
Africa’s leading online journal of social activism and economic empowerment.
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/

THE PRICE WE ALL PAY: HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN International Adoption
How the cultural definitions of "adoption" are one-sided; how to address the problem.
http://conducivemag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94:the-price-we-all-pay-human-trafficking-in-international-adoption902&catid=38:innovative-thinking&Itemid=61

HUMANITARIAN IMPERIALISM
This book takes a sobering look at how war has become pre-emptive, and how relief NGOs are part of the economic war waged against the developing world.
http://www.monthlyreview.org/books/humanitarianimperialism.php

Hope this helps address your question….

Still me:

You said," If I were adopting internationally, I would only work with an agency that can provide a meeting with the birthmother." How would you be able to tell if that was the real natural parent?

"Some are simply given up for $50 to feed the other four at home. Now, that child still needs a family and home, to be sure. But I could not adopt under those circumstances." I think that’s where you’re a little confused. Because that particular instance would be child trafficking and it is illegal. Adoption is something different.

Well, you really have to trust the agency… because one big important fact to remember is that the child is not yours until the child is yours from a legal standpoint and there’s no way a pre-adoptive parent can get into the politics and bureaucracy of a foreign government.

i was reading an article on the increased difficulty of international adoption, and i believe that their are available domestic adoptions, so why go international?

~~I think everyone has their own reasons for choosing the method of adoption they choose.

I am Biased in my Answer only because we chose to adopt children from foster care.

I have been hanging around the Internet on forums and other places that talk about adoption for years now and I know that there are some very honest and positive reasons people choose international adoption and there are some I know are viewed less positive.

As one answer has already pointed out many people see the Children of the World as "domestic" in their personal views. International Adoption became "something" for Americans as the Vietnam War came to an end and the tragedy that took place with one of the Airplanes that crashed carrying orphans to the USA. As citizens of an unpopular war many Americans felt the other airlifted orphans should at least have a chance to be adopted and raised in a safe family.

Things really took off during the 1980s with Romaina and later when the USSR became Russia and all the other countries they have become. Back then I think the majority of people who Jumped in to adopt children from the former USSR regions were more like today’s foster child adoptive parents. We saw great need and children in horrific situations and–if we are talking about America–we saw a way we thought we could help and make a difference in the World. After the years of the cold war there were some who felt it was an honor and an obligation to care about the children of our former enemy.

I believe things started to change as it became popular to adopt internationally. The more America wanted to help the more organized and business like things became–the more streamlined–the more accessible…and the more possible for fraud and other issues everyone wanted to ignore.

Several years back (maybe 5-6) things were in high gear–and there was an unbelievable number of families adopting internationally. The Media was in full-hype mode about the issues in China and Guatemala and there was a whole new generation of Adoptive Parents who weren’t even born when Vietnam ended. While still motivated in many cases by the desire to help children all over the world–there were other things starting to be touted as Why.

Not many years ago it would be common to hear people interested in adopting internationally make statements about their motivations which didn’t really seem like a great reason. One that I recall most upsetting to me was the potential adoptive parents who stated they wanted to adopt from another country so–the baby’s biological family would be harder to find and far away.

It was actually considered to be an acceptable reason on some Adoption forums to choose International IF you just didn’t want any kind of Open Adoption or contact… Just makes that whole problem go away–ya know! [eweu]

Husband and I are based in So. California. We are researching International Adoptions (specifically Vietnam) and have met with the folks at Dillon. Has anyone had experience with them, good or bad, in an international Adoption? I’d appreciate any information you can share.
If you have experience with other agencies that handle Vietnam adoptions, I’d be grateful to hear your stories. Thanks!

We adopted our children internationally, but our agency does not place children from Vietnam, however, I know several people who’ve adopted through Dillon Internation and Holt International (both have vietnam programs), and all have great things to say about both agencies.

Holt also has adoption message boards for families adopting from each country they work with, and this may be a good place to ask some questions that you have to other adoptive parents.

Good luck!

Please tell me what you think about foriegn Adoption.

I think the parents should move to the child’s country of origin, relinquish their heritage, their name and their entire family, destroy all documentation and ID and assume a new identity.

Perhaps then they might know vaguely how it feels

or adopting from a foreign country like haiti, should more people be for or against it and why?

There is nothing wrong with adopting from foreign countries. Some people argue against it stating that you could end up adopting a child infected with AIDS or other diseases, and others will complain about removing children from their home country and denying them their cultural heritage; however, there are massive holes in both of these arguments.

Re: Children infected with AIDS – While there would be many struggles associated with a situation like this, wouldn’t it be better for these children to come to a country where they have a chance to receive treatment that would allow them to live longer, happier lives? Then…y’know…the whole having a loving family thing…some would consider that a bonus.

Re: Children being denied their cultural heritage – This is an argument dreamed up by opinionated pseudo-intellectuals, plain and simple. Do you really think children starving to death in Africa give a flying flip about their culture? I’m quite sure most of them would gleefully submit to being raised to act like rich little white children with very dark tans if it meant having a warm bed, full bellies and loving parents. Also, I know many parents who have managed to cut through all the red tape to adopt children from other countries who make every effort to teach their kids about their home countries.

The fact of the matter is this: Every day, countless orphaned children die of disease, starvation and neglect. They deserve a chance to thrive and be loved. It just so happens that this chance can most easily be offered by North American families.

The thought that people would actually be opposed to people from North America adopting these children sickens me.