Any countries left doing private independent adoptions?

Korea does NOT allow any independent adoptions, unless you live in the country. In fact, it is the only country that doesn't even let you use an agency anywhere in the U.S. For non-special needs adoptions, you must use an agency that has a contract with the Korean government to place children with families in your state of residence. Most states have only one or two agencies with Korea contracts; some states have none. The rules for special needs adoptions are more liberal, but you still must use an agency, and there will be a limited number of agencies that you can work with. The number of available Korean children has also dropped sharply in recent years, for two reasons. One is simply prosperity and Westernization. More families can parent their biological children or take in the children of relatives; as you may or may not know, poverty is one of the leading causes of relinquishment, in many countries, and South Korea is one of the most prosperous Asian countries. And young people know a lot more about sex, contraception, and abortion than was common just a few years ago. There is also less stigma than there once was about being a single Mom, so some pregnant women who once would have made an adoption plan are now choosing to parent. Furthermore, the South Korean government is attempting to encourage domestic adoption. There are even tax breaks and other financial incentives being offered to families within the country who choose to adopt. And while South Korea isn't allowing non-Korean singles to adopt, it IS beginning to allow single women within Korea to do so. There are some who believe that South Korea's international adoption program will either end completely, or be restricted to special needs adoptions, within the next few years. Japan is a tough country from which to adopt, mainly because very few children in orphanages are actually available for adoption, and even fewer are available for international adoption. Many Japanese people have such a strong belief in the "blood tie", that if they cannot parent their children, they will let the children stay in orphanages, without being adopted, because they can't imagine that anyone except some kind of pervert would want to adopt a child that isn't biologically related. Fortunately, this attitude is changing, but it is still prevalent enough that any given orphanage may have only a few children available. You also have to understand that Japan is a very prosperous country, by international adoption standards. In general, with prosperous countries, there will be fewer children placed for adoption because more people have the resources to parent their own children, or to take in a relative's child. As a result of these issues, it tends to be easier to adopt from Japan if you live there, than if you live abroad, simply because you will be able to meet with people who run several different orphanages, and try to make your case for adopting a child. Actually, there are non-Evangelical adoption programs in Taiwan. One of the most well-known Taiwanese social welfare organizations, for example, is Roman Catholic. And it has been possible to adopt from Taiwan, even for non-Christians. The problem with Taiwan is that it is a very small country, so the number of children available for adoption is small. And when China's program became more restrictive and the wait times started to get longer, a few years ago, a lot of people in line to adopt from the mainland switched to Taiwan, which also had children of Chinese heritage, but which had shorter waits and fewer restrictions. Right now, there are far more people wanting to adopt from Taiwan than there are children available, so many American agencies aren't even taking new applicants; they don't want to see wait times for referral lengthen to the point where they resemble China's. As far as other Asian countries, options are, indeed, limited. Vietnam is closed to all Americans at present, and required use of an agency, in any case, since it was trying to become Hague-compliant. Cambodia is also closed to Americans. Thailand is Hague-compliant, so independent adoption will not be possible. Kazakhstan has both Asian and Caucasian children, as well as biracia Caucasian/Asian children, available for adoption. It is a non-Hague country and no longer recognizes the role of agencies, so independent adoption is, at least in theory, feasible. I'm not an expert on the subject, but it appears that the program has been in flux for the last year or so, and you would be well advised to talk with both people who've completed an adoption in the past year, and agencies that are still assisting families with Kaz adoptions, to get current information. Do be aware, of course, that many people decided against Kaz, even when the program was more stable, because of required long stays in country -- sometimes two months or more. It is not always easy for a family to make such a time commitment. Although they may not "look like" East Asians, people from Nepal and India are technically considered Asian. India is Hague compliant, and requires all foreigners, even non-resident Indians, to work through an agency in their country of residence that has accreditation by the Indian government. Independent adoption is not permitted. Nepal reopened after a period of closure, but although it is a non-Hague country, it does not permit independent adoptions. Sharon

Thank you for the information. I will look into Kazakhstan, as I didn't know you could do independent adoptions there. I met some Kazaks when I was in Mongolia and they were a beautiful people, so I feel comfortable with them. I also thought that the mix of Asian and European features was so handsome/beautiful. I saw these three blond haired boys with caucasian skin tone, but Asian faces. I have never seen naturally blond Asians before, but they looked great. As for Korea, I don't know what to think anymore, someone sent me this link from a Korean lawyer about independent adoption from US citizens still in the US from just last year. I e-mailed the lawyer and asked him about it, and he said the law still hasn't changed. I also got information about a Japanese adoption agency that would help me, but I will research it more. But it looks like they work with stateless children in Japan. I saw that Vietnam was closed off to Americans right now, but is that Vietnams doing or Americas? What about Russia? I know they used to do it, but stopped. Half of Russia has Asians in it (some of them are ethnic Koreans.) I heard tha Laos has recently changed it's laws and will be opening up to international adoption more. I e-mailed the American embassy there and they just said that most of the problems would be with proving that the child is available for adoption by US law. Anyone have any information abou that? Has there been any information about Cambodia, lately? I had a single guy friend from New Zealand adopt twin boys there a couple years ago, private independent adoption, and then moved to China as a teacher to wait while he got his sons visas. Things have gone great so far. I thought of India, and looked into it, but at the time I was under 30 and so they wouldn't let me. Also, I did talk to some people and they told me that because I was single, I might have a hard time. What about Hong Kong? I heard that they allow special needs children to be adopted internationally, but what do THEY consider as special needs. I can handle minor special needs, but as a single parent, I just am not equipped for anything greater. Is being an older child considered special needs, as that is not problem at all. While I love babies, there is no way I could handle that, nor can my family be babysitters that much. I was talked into trying to adopt from Mongolia over a year ago and was going to do the 6 months of living there to get the adoption, I made it 4 months, but I kept getting mixed up info and other problems and gave up. Besides, I just couldn't stand living there, not the cold, but seeing all those kids living on the streets and the apathy of the people about those kids. It was heartwrenching. I moved to Taiwan after that to get my Korean sons American visa (as we had finished the 2 year wait already before we left for Mongolia) and looked around there, but the only people that I could find that helped with adoptions were the Evangelists and I was rebuffed by them. I think I talked to the Catholic one, but I am a single man and I think they only help married couples. It sucks being a single man and trying to adopt. So many doors are closed and so many people are very judgemental of you. I got slammed by a lot of people for adopting my son and for trying to adopt again, mostly by Americans. Many Koreans were actually very supportive of me while I lived over there. There were some bad people, too, but mostly it was good. I am looking into domestic adoption, and have had a positive experience so far with the people I have talked with, and I have decided to go through with it here as a result. But, I have fond memories of Asia and my son is Asian, and I don't want him to be the only one in the family, so I would like to try from there again. That is why I am looking to Asia.

I did not realize, when I wrote before, that you were a single male. Very frankly, I don't know of any country outside the U.S., anywhere, at this time, that is open to single men, whether they use an agency or not. There are countries that used to place with single men, like China, but that no longer do so. Most have never welcomed single males. It was OCCASIONALLY possible, in the past, for a good agency to persuade a foreign country that was relatively liberal to allow an older or special needs child to be adopted by a particularly well-qualified single man. Usually, this happened when the agency had a longstanding relationship with the foreign adoption authorities, and had built up a great deal of trust. It was pretty much impossible any other way. Few countries are as liberal as they used to be. Most now clearly state that single men, gay or straight, cannot adopt. Agencies could persuade countries when single males were simply not mentioned in the foreign countries' laws, or when the country tended to make decisions on a case by case basis, but not when a policy on adoption by men was clearly stated. While you might check with some long established agencies to see if it has placed any children with single men in the past year or so, I think that your chances are minimal. And if you don't wish to use an agency, your chances are probably zero. While the U.S. may not be a model of liberalism when it comes to single male adoption, it is light years ahead of most foreign countries in this area. In general, American men are generally advised to do a private domestic adoption, or an adoption from the U.S. foster care system, if they hope to have success in a reasonable time frame. Unfortunately, the prevailing attitude overseas, and among many Americans, is that men are not "nurturers". There is also a tendency for people in foreign countries, and even in the U.S., to question the motives of a single man who wants to adopt -- i.e., to think that he may be a pedophile. Even though there are many single men, gay and straight, who make fine parents, it's really hard to change this sort of cultural bias. I would urge you to give up your idea of adopting internationally, if you want to parent, and to look to the U.S. Plenty of men, gay and straight, have adopted here. Many have found birthmothers willing to accept them, in their own communities, and have used a social worker and lawyer to handle the homestudy and finalization requirements. Others have worked through foster care agencies in the more liberal states. While there is limited availability of Asian children in the U.S., you might try talking to agencies that serve communities with a large Asian population; remember, that you can adopt across state lines in the U.S., although there will be some additional hurdles, particularly those related to the Interstate Compact, to ensure that there is compliance with laws of both the parent's state of residence and the child's state of residence. To answer a few of your other questions: 1. I think that whoever advertised independent adoption from Korea was a scammer. Korea has just about the tightest regulation of adoptions in the world, in part because it was the FIRST country to begin a formal international adoption system, over 50 years ago. It hasn't allowed any single women to adopt in many years, and it has never allowed single men to adopt. And although it is not a Hague country, it has long required foreigners, even persons of Korean origin, to use one of very few agencies permitted to place children. Basically, there are four social welfare organizations in Korea that are allowed to release children for international adoption, and any American wishing to adopt must work through a U.S. agency that is licensed by the Korean government and that has a formal relationship with one of the four Korean social welfare organizations. Also, the number of children available for international adoption in Korea has dropped so dramatically in recent years, that the Korean government now thinks that the program could end as early as 2012. One reason is the increasing prosperity of the country; few people need to abandon or relinquish children because of poverty, and there are good medical care options available for those children with minor special needs, so that they do not generally need to be relinquished in order for them to get help. Another reason is changing social mores. Unmarried mothers are no longer as stigmatized as they once were, and some who might have made an adoption plan in the past are now keeping their babies. In addition, young Koreans now know more about sex, contraception, and abortion than they did in the past, and there are fewer "surprise" pregnancies. Further, the Korean government has been working actively to change cultural feelings about the "blood tie". It is actually giving tax breaks and other incentives to Korean families who adopt domestically. As a result, even when children ARE relinquished for adoption, most are not being released for international adoption because there are enough Korean families willing to adopt them. 2. Vietnam has had two shutdowns. The first, in around 2001, occurred when the U.S. government sent a "demarche" to the Vietnamese government, asking them to suspend adoptions by Americans. The reason was that the U.S. was seeing too many cases of fraud, by both American and foreign facilitators and agencies. Subsequently, Vietnam tightened its adoption law, and the country reopened. Unfortunately, some of the same bad actors as before found new ways to operate in the country, and the U.S. and Vietnam agreed to another shutdown, since both were aware that things were not going well. The good news is that the Vietnamese government and the American government have worked closely together in the past to try to clean up the adoption process and develop an ethical and organized system. One hopes that this cooperation will continue, and that the country will reopen to Americans again in a couple of years, since the need for adoptive families remains. 3. Cambodia closed to Americans back when Vietnam had its first closure, and for the same reason -- a substantial amount of adoption fraud. One American agency head and one American facilitator even got convicted of several federal crimes in the U.S., including fraud and money laundering, for things that occurred. Unfortunately, the relationship between Cambodia and the U.S. on adoption issues has not gone well, thus far, and the country has not reopened to Americans. The U.S. believes that Cambodia, which is trying to become Hague-compliant, has not made enough progress that the U.S. can issue Hague certificates when I-800s are filed. At this time, there is no estimated timetable for reopening Cambodian adoption. 4. While there is nothing in Kaz law, to my knowledge, that prohibits adoption by single men, you should be aware that even some single women have had difficulty adopting in that country. Given the level of discomfort with single women adopting (although adoption by single women has occurred) and the current uncertainties with Kazakhstan, I cannot be optimistic about your chances of adopting there. An experienced agency "might" have been able to help you in the past, but even that does not seem likely now, with the role of agencies becoming more limited. 5. Hong Kong is a very prosperous place. There are very few healthy children, or children with minor needs available for adoption, and those children are almost always placed domestically or with people of Chinese heritage. Most children under age 6 will have significant special needs, and there is a general reluctance to allow overseas placement of children age 6 and older, even if healthy, because of potential adjustment difficulties. Moreover, Hong Kong has ratified the Hague, and Hague rules will apply to all Americans adopting there. This means that independent adoption is not permitted. You will need to use an American agency that is Hague-accredited (list available on the State Department website) or one of very few Hague approved American lawyers (again, will be listed on the State Department website). 6. Laos, theoretically, can place children internationally and with singles of either gender. However, because there are no formal rules and procedures, adoption from there is extremely risky. Anyone can be denied for any reason, and the process can wind up being very long and complicated, with no certainty that it will end successfully. The U.S. State Department warns that Laotian documents, such as birth certificates, are often non-standard and contain errors and falsifications. In such cases, even if the Laotian government agrees to an adoption, there is a good chance that the USCIS will not be able to approve an adoption visa. At this time, no American agencies have programs there, and since agencies are always looking for new countries from which to place children, that usually means that they are not confident about the process and the chances of seeing an adoption through to completion. Independents tend to have a harder time than agencies, when they try to work in such a situation. 7. As I mentioned previously, India and Nepal do not permit independent adoption. Single men are unlikely to get permission. Taiwan has so many married couples waiting to adopt right now that it is unlikely to approve a single man to adopt. Mongolia has always been problematic, I wouldn't even consider it for an independent. 8. Russia has allowed single males to adopt in the past. It is tightening up in many areas, and this may be one of them. Because of some well-publicized cases of abuse of Russian orphans by Americans, males are very likely to be viewed as possible pedophiles. Technically, independent adoption is no longer permitted, though it has been known to occur. If a person tries an independent adoption, he/she should know that there's a good likelihood it will not be successful. Of all the countries from which Americans adopt, Russia tends to be the most expensive, even for people doing independent adoption; still, given the risks, I wouldn't even dream of doing a Russian adoption without using an agency that has accreditation from the Russian government (and that does not simply "umbrella" under another agency.) Sharon