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I was wondering what people's adoption experiences were like from India. My husband is obtaining OCI and we are planning on adopting from India.
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If you live in the U.S., please remember that at least one spouse must be a U.S. citizen in order to obtain an adoption visa for a child from overseas.Also, please remember that you cannot use the Indian domestic process to adopt a child from India, even if one spouse is an Indian citizen. India is a Hague-compliant country, as is the U.S., and the domestic process in India does not meet Hague requirements. CARA, the Indian Central Authority for adoption, will not issue a No Objection Certificate, Indian passport, etc. to a child whose parents live abroad but are trying to use the domestic process, and the U.S. State Department, which is the U.S. Central Authority under the Hague, will not issue an adoption visa to the child.Most importantly, please be aware that India has announced various restrictions on foreign adoptions, even by people of Indian heritage or citizenship living abroad. Right now, ONLY NRIs can adopt a child with no known special needs; PIOs and OCIs cannot. And the number of NRI families, worldwide, who can apply to adopt a child without special needs is limited to 50 per month. For further information, go to the U.S. State Department website at adoption.state.gov, or the website of CARA. If you are interested in adopting a child with known special needs, there are no restrictions on the number of families who will be able to apply.
You will need to use a U.S. based agency that is licensed in a U.S. state, has Hague accreditation, and that has an Indian adoption program approved by CARA, the Indian Central Authority for adoptions.For a list of agencies that have Hague accreditation, go to the website of the U.S. State Department at adoption.state.gov. Then look at the list of agencies acceptable to CARA on the CARA website, at cara.nic.in. You will see quite a few agencies that meet the requirements.Then begin reading the websites of the agencies, to see which ones appeal to you, taking into account your preferences for a large or small agency, a faith-based or a secular agency, an agency in your area vs. one elsewhere, etc. Contact them for answers to any questions you may have, and for a list of references. Once you speak to those references, go to your local support group or to online groups for Indian adoptive families, and get additional references, recognizing that the references an agency gives you are likely to be those of their most satisfied clients, and that you will want to know both the positive and the negative.Go to adoption.state.gov and click on India, in the dropdown box of countries. You will be taken to a page that explains the Indian adoption process, indicates the types of children (health status, age) available for adoption, lists the qualifications for prospective adoptive parents, and so on. Make sure to click on the "Expand All" button at the top of the page to see all of these topics at once.Basically, if you work with a good agency, it will guide you through all aspects of the process, from having a homestudy in your state of residence, getting USCIS approval to bring a child to the U.S., sending a dossier to CARA, evaluating and accepting a referral, completing Hague and other paperwork, and traveling. Some Indians are permitted to finalize their adoptions in India, while others are given a decree of guardianship acceptable to the U.S., allowing an adoptive family to bring the child to the U.S. and adopt him/her in their state of residence.Best wishes with your adoption.Sharon
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