how to go about adopting your baby internationally?

It will not be as easy as you think. International adoption is a complex legal process, involving the laws of the child's country of citizenship, the adoptive parents' country of citizenship and, in many cases, the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption, an international treaty ratified or acceded to by about 98 countries.First off, adoption requires that both biological parents legally relinquish their child, unless the child has been abandoned, orphaned, or permanently removed from them by a court of law. In some countries, a child must have been living in an orphanage or foster home before being considered adoptable.Second, the child must be adopted under the laws of his/her country of citizenship. Not all countries allow international adoption. Some may allow only children over a certain age, or with special needs, or in sibling groups to be placed with overseas families. The Hague Convention requires that countries seek to place the child domestically before allowing international adoption.Third, the child's country of citizenship will have laws concerning the qualifications of prospective foreign adoptive parents. The prospective parents will almost always need to have a homestudy in their state or province of residence, within their country. A homestudy determines whether a family is healthy enough, stable enough, financially secure enough, and legally and morally fit to adopt a child under the laws of their state and country. It also determines whether the family appears qualified to adopt a child under the laws of the foreign country, and helps to prepare a family for the challenges of parenting an adopted child. To place a child with an American family, that family will also need to secure USCIS permission to bring an adopted child into the U.S., as long as the child meets certain requirements. As an example, the child cannot have been living with two parents, must be under age 16, and so on. In most cases, the child's country of citizenship will require the prospective parent to submit a dossier of documents, properly authenticated under international rules; these documents will include things like birth and marriage certificates, divorce decrees if any, letters from employers verifying employment and salary, results of medical examinations, proof of ownership or rental of a home, a summary of assets and liabilities, and so on. Under U.S. law, American prospective parents must use a Hague-accredited adoption agency to review the homestudy, help with preparation of the dossier, and so on.Fourth, many countries do not allow the prospective parents to choose a child on their own; the countries will select what they believe to be the most appropriate parents for a particular child from among those submitting dossiers. The prospective parents may accept or reject the referral of that child. However, there are still countries that do allow selection by the prospective parents, prior to relinquishment.Fifth, the actual adoption usually takes place in a court of law, or sometimes in a government office, after the prospective parents have traveled and met the child and officially agreed to adopt him/her. If all goes well, the child's country of citizenship will provide the family with a final decree of adoption, or with a decree of guardianship that allows the family to bring the child to the U.S. for legal adoption. The child's country will also provide items such as his/her birth certificate and a passport from that country.Sixth, once the child has been adopted, he/she must obtain a visa in his/her passport, to allow him/her to enter the parents' country. This is generally obtained at the Embassy of the parents' country of citizenship. As an example, if the child is placed with Americans, the new family must complete various forms at the U.S. Embassy, which will determine whether the child is eligible for a visa to come to the U.S. permanently.Once the child comes to the U.S., most parents readopt or do a recognition of their adoption in their state of residence. The U.S. grants automatic U.S. citizenship to children coming to the U.S. on either an IR-3 visa (non-Hague), or an IH visa (Hague), as soon as they pass through Immigration at the airport where they land in the U.S. Children who come to the U.S. under a decree of guardianship receive an IR-4 visa, as do children seen by only one spouse in a couple; children coming in under guardianship must be adopted in their state before they become automatic citizens, and chidren seen by only one spouse prior to adoption must be readopted or must have their foreign adoption "recognized" in their home state.Because of these complexities, my suggestion is that you go to a social services agency in your country and talk about your intent to make an adoption plan. They can help you with relinquishment and adoption arrangements. Sharon