Non-US (Bio-Dad) relative stepping forward from Latin America

People overseas are permitted to adopt relatives or non-relatives from the U.S. It's not often discussed a lot, but adoptions of American children by foreigners are not exactly rare. In some cases, the adoptions involve family members; in other cases, the adoptions involve children in the foster care system, and especially children who are considered "hard to place" in American homes, such as boys aged ten or older, children with significant special needs, and sibling groups including at least one school age child.Each country has its own laws regarding who can be adopted and who can adopt, as well as who can be immigrated. And many countries, like the U.S., have ratified the Hague Convention on international adoption, which has some other rules that must be followed by the sending and receiving countries.Most foreign countries require homestudies for prospective parents, and their content will be very similar to those done in the U.S. And the U.S. state where the child has been residing will want proof that the prospective parents are well qualified to parent. In most cases, the adoption finalizations will take place in the U.S., since children are supposed to be adopted in their country of citizenship, which gives an additional chance for the foreign prospective parent's qualifications to be reviewed.Now, it is not exactly easy for most foreigners to adopt from the U.S. For one thing, good adoption practice requires that efforts need to be made to find a child a domestic home, before he/she is placed overseas. Most healthy newborns, infants, and toddlers/preschoolers can easily find homes with American families, so the only cases in which they are placed overseas relate to placements with close relatives -- or placements with Canadian families living near the U.S. border, who can maintain an open adoption with American birth families living near the border.Increasingly, it's also becoming difficult for foreigners to adopt healthy school age children, especially girls, as more American families become open to such adoptions. U.S. agencies will always give priority to American families, although a close relative overseas may be chosen if the only other option is an American stranger and the overseas person is well-qualified. Foster care agencies tend to offer adoption to foreigners only as a last resort, except in the case of relative adoptions, so a foreign family will usually need to be able to provide appropriate care for a child with significant physical, mental, or emotional special needs, in order to be able to adopt. This is not always easy, as some countries simply do not have good medical institutions or laws to provide accommodations for people with disabilities.I think it is wonderful that the children's birth father has family willing to step up to the plate and adopt the children. If they can demonstrate the ability to provide good care for the children, adoption by these family members might give the kids an excellent way to preserve their connection to their biological family and to the cultural heritage of the biological family. If you have ever traveled to Latin America, you probably noticed the love that is lavished upon children by parents and extended family. There is also a tendency for families to provide structure and discipline, religious values, and so on. No, the children may not have quite as many material things as American children, but if parents are self-supporting and can provide for children at a level considered normal in their country, that should not be an issue.Sharon