Intercountry Adoption From Hauge and Non-Hauge Convention Countries: Home Study

This information was taken directly from Child Welfare Information Gateway

Home Study

Both types of adoption

The home study must be approved by the USCIS and must include specific information about the parents and their suitability. Countries of origin may have their own home study requirements, too. Home studies often focus on a variety of issues, including financial considerations; parental physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral health; placement suitability; and the parents’ eligibility to adopt from the specific country.

Convention

A home study must be conducted by an individual or entity defined as a home study preparer for Convention cases. This includes a public domestic authority, an accredited agency, an approved person, a supervised provider, an exempted provider, or others who hold the proper licenses or authorizations.

For additional information about the Hague home study process, visit https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/suitability-and-home-study-information/hague-home-study-guidelines

Parents must choose the country of the child to be adopted before the home study is conducted.

Non-Convention

A home study must be conducted by an individual or entity defined as a home study preparer for Convention cases. This includes a public domestic authority, an accredited agency, an approved person, a supervised provider, an exempted provider, or others who hold the proper licenses or authorizations.

For additional information about the Hague home study process, visit https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/suitability-and-home-study-information/hague-home-study-guidelines

Parents must choose the country of the child to be adopted before the home study is conducted.

Continue to Applicable Forms

Return to International Adoption

Resource

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2014). Intercountry adoption from hague convention and non-hague convention countries. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

References

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2012). Finding and using postadoption services. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_postadoption.cfm

Pinderhuges, E., Matthews, J., Deoudes, G., & Pertman, A. (2013). A changing world: Shaping best practices through understanding of the new realities of intercountry adoption. Retrieved from http://adoptioninstitute.org/publications/a-changing-world-shaping-best-practices-through-understanding-of-the-new-realities-of-intercountry-adoption/

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. (2014). Re-homing of adopted children: responsibilities for states and opportunities in the provision of postadoption services. (ACYF-CB-IM-14-02). Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/im1402.pdf

U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. (2013). Convention countries. Retrieved from https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/Intercountry-Adoption/Adoption-Process/understanding-the-hague-convention.html

Citations

1 For information on adoption disruption, refer to Information Gateway’s Adoption Disruption and Dissolution at https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/s_disrup.cfm

2 A third way to legally bring an adopted child to reside permanently in the United States is the immediate relative process. For more information, visit http://www.uscis.gov/adoption/immigration-through-adoption/other-adoption-related-immigration.