Advertisements
Advertisements
My husband and I are Australian. We currently live in the UK and we are looking into domestic adoption in the UK as well as the US.
We are considering moving to he US if the adoption process is more successful.
We would like to begin the adoption process however, we're unsure if we'd meet the criteria for adoption in the US.
Has anyone experienced this before? Do you know how long we have to be living in the US before applying for adoption and what the wait times are like?
Your advise would be greatly appreciated.
Thx Cstar
Like
Share
I am in the UK, so I can answer any questions you have about that
With the US, I am not 100% sure, but I thought you legally had to be green card holders/permanent residents to do a domestic adoption either through foster care or an infant adoption, and a citizen for an international adoption. But check that, and i think domestic agencies have a right to refuse you if you aren't a citizen, but that's policy not the law.
Wait times are wholly dependent on your personal situation and can't really be predicted with any accuracy - what type of adoption you do, and which children you are open to, and sometimes 'being in the right place at the right time' will determine how long you wait
With the UK the requirement are less stringent. You need to be domiciled or habitually resident in the UK. All SS departments will though want you to remain in the UK after adopting for at least a few years - they may be hesitant or more likely completely refuse to approve you if you are planning to leave the country as soon as the adoption is finalized
Like
Share
Advertisements
We were told that one of us has to be a US citizen to adopt in the US (I'm not, dh is).
Like
Share
Some friends of mine were green card holders and were told that they could ONLY adopt domestically, not internationally. This was in CA and I think it differs between states.
Like
Share
Hi Cstar,
You do not need to be a US citizen to adopt in the USA - only if you want to adopt internationally.
You do not need a green card either. A working visa is good enough. Some agencies are not very knowledgable (admittedly we are a minority) and they might say you can't adopt on a working visa but you can. I know many non-US couples who did it and we are doing it.
As for how long you need to have been leaving in the US before finalizing the adoption (which in some states can take ca. 1 year anyway) it depends on the country. Italy for example requires 2 years but I know that other EU countries don't. I do not know about Australia. The national agency for adoption in Australia or social services at the embassy should be able to give you a specific answer.
Hope it helps.
Like
Share