Indian Parents

1. Unfortunately, if you want to adopt internationally and bring the child to the U.S. on an adoption visa -- meaning no wait after adoption -- at least one parent must be a U.S. citizen. And no agency will allow you to begin the process earlier, because it would be a waste of its time and your money to begin the process, if you subsequently are not approved for citizenship. 2. In most cases, it does not take five years to complete an adoption. With India, it has traditionally taken about 18 mo. to 3 years. However, time frames can change at any point, and there may also be differences in timing, depending on factors such as whether you are open to children with known special needs or older children, if the child does not qualify as an eligible orphan, and so on.3. When you are eligible, please remember that India and the U.S. have both ratified the Hague Convention on international adoption, which is designed to protect children, their birthparents, and their adoptive families. As a result, you must use an agency that is licensed in a U.S. state, that has Hague accreditation, and that is approved by CARA, India's Central Authority for adoption. And you must use the Hague-compliant international adoption process. If you adopt through India's simpler domestic process, your child will NOT qualify for an adoption visa, and you would have to live with him/her overseas for two years, and then wait for a family preference visa, to bring him/her to the U.S. You may also be unable to get your child an Indian passport, which he/she will need in order to get a visa.3. India's rules for approving American prospective families of Indian heritage have been changing. At present, if you hold NRI status, you may be able to adopt a young child or one without known special needs. People with OCI status may have more limited options. But by the time you become citizens, things may have changed again. Check with the U.S. State Department, CARA, and/or your agency of choice for the current rules.4. Some Indians living in the U.S. have adopted Indian children living in the U.S. However, very few Indian babies in the U.S. are released for adoption by non-relatives; they are usually taken in by family members. You will have to do a lot of networking to find a pregnant Indian woman wishing to make an adoption plan, or an already-born child in need of a new family. You will probably have the best results if you are well connected in the Indian community, and can get the word out to obstetricians, religious leaders, social service workers, and others who work with Indian families, regarding your interest in adopting an Indian child living in the U.S.5. Remember that you are not required to adopt an Indian child. While I understand that you may want a child who "looks like" your family, many American families raise children of different races and ethnicities. As an example, I am a White Jewish woman whose heritage is Eastern European, and I am the mother of a wonderful daughter who is Chinese. I adopted her from China in 1997, when she was 18.5 months old and I was "only" 51. She is healthy, gorgeous, extremely intelligent, and sensible -- and she is actually dating an Indian young man. There are some challenges in adopting and parenting transracially and transculturally, but they are not insurmountable.