|
I have never heard of your agency. As an Estonian American, I looked into adopting from Estonia, as people of Estonian ancestry are given priority in international adoptions. I discovered that it was not right for me. Very few Americans have adopted from Estonia because there are few children available, young children under age 5 are adopted domestically, and waits are very long. Acccording to the State Department adoption guide, a mere handful of Estonian orphans have been adopted by US citizens in recent years:
FY-1997: IR-3 immigrant visas issued to Estonian orphans adopted abroad - 0
IR-4 immigrant visas issued to Estonian orphans adopted in the U.S. - 0
FY-1998: IR-3 Visas - 4, IR-4 Visas - 2
FY-1999: IR-3 Visas - 2, IR-4 Visas - 1
FY-2000: IR-3 Visas - 5, IR-4 Visas - 2
FY-2001: IR-3 Visas - 9, IR-4 Visas - 1
This is because in Estonia "the number of children that can be adopted by foreigners is quite limited (only about 20 children a year)." The age of children eligible for int'l adoption is 5 and over. My understanding is that most of the children available for international adoption have very serious special needs due to a history of severe parental neglect or abuse. The Estonian state feels that orphaned children who are healthy or who have minor special needs are better served by remaining in their country of origin.
As a result of these limitations, the wait for young, reasonably healthy sibling groups eligible for international adoption could be years long, as all foreign applicants are placed on a waiting list until the state agency that handles international adoptions is able to match them with available children.
I have heard of a few people who have braved these odds, and perhaps you could become one of them. Good luck!
MM
|