Adopting a new born from Finland, with birth mothers Permission?

You will need to comply with the international adoption laws of both Finland and the USA. Filing the necessary documents and procuring visas will take some time. Since Finland and the USA are Hague convention countries, you will need to comply with the respective countries' policies, specified in an excerpt taken from the US State Department website concerning adoptions from Finland to the USA:[url=http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_info.php?country-select=finland]Country Specific Information[/url]"Finland is party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption ( Hague Adoption Convention ). Therefore, adoptions between Finland and the United States are governed by the requirements of the Convention and the laws and regulations implementing the Convention in both the United States and Finland.The Department of State does not maintain files on the adoption process in Finland because adoptions from Finland are rare. Fewer than five adoptions by American citizen parents have taken place since 2000. Please visit the Department's Country Specific Information sheets for more information on travelling to Finland and the website of U.S. Embassy Helsinki for information on consular services.The Finnish Board of Intercountry Adoption Affairs, of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is the Central Authority for the purposes of the Hague Adoption Convention in Finland. American Citizens living in Finland who wish to adopt from the U.S. or a third country should contact the the Finish Central Authority to learn about Finish requirements that may apply to their adoption. Contact information for the Finish Central Authority is available on their websiteThe process can take months if it is deemed possible - as you may know, the US will not issue an orphan visa to a child not meeting the official definition of orphan, e.g. living with the biological parents. Finland may also have its own laws which mandate placement domestically. At a minimum you need to carry out a home study through a Hague accredited social worker and you also are likely going to need the assistance of a Hague accredited adoption agency, as the process is difficult to navigate by yourself.

The process is a lot more complex than you think. Remember that international adoption involves two separate processes, the adoption itself and immigration to the U.S. It also involves the laws of two countries. And as the previous poster pointed out, Finland and the U.S. have both ratified the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption, so the provisions of this international treaty must also be satisfied. Count on six months to a year, even if the baby is clearly considered adoptable and eligible for immigration. Before you start the process or pay any fees, you need to determine whether the child is considered adoptable under Finnish law, and whether the child is eligible for immigration to the U.S. on a Hague adoption visa. Remember that adoption must be done under the laws of the child's country of citizenship, but that immigration must conform to the laws of the U.S. As a previous poster indicated, the U.S. will not issue an adoption visa to a child if he/she does not meet the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act definition of an "eligible orphan", and no other permanent resident visa would allow immediate immigration. Also, many countries will not free up a child for international adoption, especially if they are Hague countries, unless the child has been offered to domestic families for a period of time and no suitable family steps forward. Most countries today believe that international adoption is an appropriate option only when a child cannot find a permanent loving family in his/her own country, although some will permit international adoption by close relatives without such a search. If the child is deemed eligible for adoption in Finland and eligible for immigration to the U.S. on an adoption visa -- and those are very big "ifs" -- the process will include: 1. Having a homestudy by a provider in your home state that is licensed to do them, and that meets Hague requirements as either an accredited agency, approved provider, or supervised provider. The homestudy process can take at least a month, and often takes longer, especially given that there are requirements for parent preparation classes for homestudies meeting Hague specifications. The homestudy process involves the provider reviewing information about your fitness to adopt -- for example, your marriage stability (if married), employment, financial status, criminal history, physical and mental health status, substance abuse history, etc. It also involves an evaluation of the home to which you will bring a child, to be sure that it is safe and welcoming. Most importantly, it involves preparation of the prospective parent for the challenges of raising an adopted child, which will include individual counseling by the homestudy worker, as well as in-person or on-line classes. 2. Getting USCIS approval of your fitness to bring an orphan to the U.S., using the I-800A form that you can see on the USCIS website. You will have to submit a copy of your homestudy report with this form, and undergo fingerprinting at a USCIS-approved site, for an FBI criminal records check. Approval time can be a couple of weeks to several months. 3. Sending a dossier of documents to the foreign country to be approved by that country's Central Authority for Hague adoptions. Most of the time, you will have to provide your homestudy report, USCIS clearance, and some original documents like birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, employer letter verifying employment, financial statement, medical report, and so on. 4. Complying with all Finnish requests for information about the child to be adopted. The Central Authority for Hague adoptions in Finland is the Finnish Board of Intercountry Adoption Affairs, in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, and it would have to approve the child's eligibility for international adoption. As I've said previously, many countries don't let children be adopted internationally until efforts have been made to find a suitable home domestically, or limit international adoptions to children who have been abandoned or who are currently living in orphanages or foster homes. The U.S. will also need the information to make a preliminary determination that the child is eligible for immigration on a Hague adoption visa. 5. Traveling to the country to complete your adoption, which could involve court proceedings. Some countries require a lengthy stay or multiple trips. In some cases, you actually reside with the child for a period of time in-country; in others, you simply have supervised meetings. You will generally not be allowed to take the child out of the country until the adoption is finalized. A few Hague countries, like India, allow the child to travel to the U.S. on a decree of guardianship, for finalization in U.S. courts, but most do not. 6. Obtaining the child's visa. You will be applying for the child's visa before you actually finalize his/her adoption. This approach allows you to make a final determination that you will be able to bring your child home, before you complete the adoption overseas and take on permanent legal and moral responsibility for him/her. In non-Hague adoptions, it has sometimes occurred that a parent adopts a child and then finds out that the child is not eligible for a visa. This is a tragic situation because it means that the family will have to live overseas with the child for two years before bringing him/her home on a regular visa, or else overturn the adoption. 7. Assuming that a Hague visa is issued, you will bring the child to the U.S. He/she will not have to be readopted, unless your state of residence requires it, though many people choose to do so in their state for a variety of reasons. He/she will receive citizenship automatically, and will usually receive a Certificate of Citizenship automatically. You will need to apply for a SSN for the child. Even though you identified a child on your own, you will generally be required to have all of your paperwork reviewed by a U.S. adoption agency that is Hague accredited. This is actually a good thing, even though it involves costs, since the agency will understand the Hague process and help you to be sure that you do not delay things unduly by failing to comply with various rules. I know that this probably seems both daunting and irritatingly complex to you, especially if you thought that you could just do a few simple tasks and then get on a plane to pick up your child. But please understand that both the U.S. and Finland want to be absolutely sure that the child will be raised in a safe and welcoming environment, in a country where he/she can have the benefits of citizenship, and so on. They also want to be sure that the adoption process satisfies legal requirements and is free from unethical practices. Sharon