Just starting out -- Thailand adoption advice?

Thailand has ratified the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption. As a result, you MUST work with an American agency that has Hague accreditation. You can find a list of American agencies with Hague accreditation on the website of the U.S. State Department, at adoption.state.com, and then check to see which ones have programs in Thailand. The U.S. State Department is saying that it is currently taking an average of 24-30 months from the time your dossier goes to Thailand until you can bring home a child. Add to that the time required for your homestudy, USCIS approval, and dossier preparation, you are talking about a wait that could approach three years. However, there is no absolute certainty with regard to wait times, so there is a chance that your adoption could go a little faster or more slowly. Just don't go into Thai adoption with the expectation that you'll have a child home in a year. Sharon

I think the link is adoption.state.gov not .com

Thank you for taking the time to reply! :) We're actually in our homestudy process now with a local agency (in Florida) and I THINK we've settled on an international agency. Since, as you mentioned, there are only a select few that can work w/ the 3 organizations in Thailand, we're limited. We're planning on using Children's Home Services, but I'm still weighing options until the homestudy is complete. We've done LOTS of homework on the process and the countries, but not as much on the agencies.Again, thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I see from your signature that you have a little girl! Congrats!

Would love to hear how your adoption from Thailand is going! We are just starting our adoption right now!:clap:

But first being born and raised in Thailand, I am grateful to hear so many couple wanting to adopt out of my country. Thank you. I am trying to adopt my niece (8 yrs old) and my nepthew (14 yrs old), by 2 of my older sisters,but I haven't a clue on what is to do. Both sisters have consent and willing to sign over any parental right as well as the fathers of the 2 children (who can careless about the children). I am divorce but living with my fiance in a home that we bought 3 yrs ago. He is old enough to adopt my niece but don't have that 15 yrs gap between my nepthew. I understand that the process of adoption has to encounter before the child turns 16,my nepthew will be 15 this year. My questions are, what process do I need to take to get this started? Even if both parents are willing to give up their rights, do I still have to go thru Adoption Agency, Homestudy, and the expenses of the lawyer? I have a cousin who is a lawyer in Thailand that can draw up and legalized any paper works. What should I do???

I'm trying to do the same thing for my wife nieces. From what I found out is that the process have to start in thailand. You have to find a lawer in Thailand to do the process. You can call Thai Embassy to recoment who you should use. If you found out anything different please let me know.

Would you all happen to know the age requirement to adopt? Do they allow gender selection?

Brooke- I think you have to be at least 25 and the father can be no older than 42 and the mother no older than 39. Those ages are for young, healthy children. Parents ages can vary for older or special needs children. You can choose gender but the wait is longer for girls. We are in the beginning stages of adopting from Thailand and that is the information I read.

Thank you so much!

We brought our daughter home in July from Thailand. The total time for our process was about 2.5 years. She was 17 months when she was placed with us. We received her referral in Sept. 2009, when she was 7 months. We have an older son and so were able to request a girl. I think you are not allowed to request a specific gender if you don't have any kids. If you have one kid, you can request the opposite gener. If you have any questions, I would be happy to help! Good luck, Meredith

lacosteph, how did you start your process? Who did you have to go to to get the process started?

I did learn that you can request gender, depending on your agency. We are considering New Beginings...anyone have anything to say about them? If so PM me... Those of you who are just starting, would you be interested in getting an e-mail "chat" going back and fourth? My husband and I are between Thailand and Taiwan and I think the more we can all share the information we're getting the better! If your interested, just send me an e-mail and I'll add to the "reply all" list as we go! bannessa52508@gmail.com

We had a heartbreaking time trying to adopt from Thailand. Started in May '08 with both orphanage and Bay Area agency knowing our current family structure. Rejected in Jan '10 because of that family structure and left with no path forward. Lost more than 18 months of time and many fewer options. Would recommend being very careful.

I am so sorry to hear this! We have decided to move forward with Taiwan, through an orphanage called His Hands. Best of luck to you!