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Originally Posted by USArmyWife1982
thanks very much for the advice. I apologize for leaving out our ages. We are 25 (me) and 26 (dh). We are interested in infant to toddler age from any country. Another problem is that because he is military and has limited time off, we would need a place that doesnt offer both parents for both visits. So me and my MIL would go the second trip instead of me and him.
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If you're both in your 20's you should be able to adopt pretty much anywhere in the world. Trust me, in the world of adoptions, 20's & 30's is considered quite young for prospective parents!
My gut feeling about Vietnam (where we just got a referral) is that the agencies are going to wait and see whether the adoption agreement between the US & Vietnam is renewed this spring before re-opening. I know that Ethiopia has a very reliable program which should be remaining open for the foreseeable future. Peru has apparently just opened up also, although I don't really know anything about it. We're also logged into China which is now taking forever but I know that the wait time is much, much shorter if you take a child with special needs -- including correctable stuff like cleft lip/cleft palate. Before we started with Vietnam, my husband & I discussed switching to special needs in China but he wasn't really comfortable with the idea. As for both parents having to travel, my impression is that even the countries that want both parents there, they don't both have to be there for the entire stay although obviously that's something you need to check with an agency.
I'd suggest going to
RainbowKids.com Adoption Information, Support, Child Photolistings, Articles and Resources and looking at the country guidelines they have there. It's a really good site & the information seems to be well-researched. I'd also suggest, when you choose an agency, to pick one that has programs in several different countries -- that way if there's a problem with the country that you initially choose, you'll be able to switch without too much of a problem (when we switched we just needed to compile a new dossier, we were able to use the same homestudy, etc.).
Good Luck! Just be flexible & try to stay optimistic. Things don't always work out as we plan, but eventually I believe they do work out.
Audrey