[sak9645]

From the U.S. point of view, as long as one spouse is a U.S. citizen and any non-citizen spouse has entered the U.S. legally, you can obtain an adoption visa for a child if your family otherwise qualifies for USCIS approval of your I-600A. And your state will have no problem with approving a homestudy where only one spouse is a U.S. citizen, as long as the family meets all homestudy requirements.

Most foreign countries will not have a problem placing a child with a family where one spouse is a U.S. citizen and one spouse is not. The only country of which I am aware, which will not usually place a child with families where the two spouses do not have the same citizenship, is Kazakhstan. Some families have been turned down because the Kazakhstani officials have concerns about what would happen to the child in the event of a divorce.

I am not sure whether being on disability can disqualify you from adopting. Contact a homestudy agency in your state and pose the question. You cannot be on public assistance if you wish to adopt, but I'm not sure that disability payments are treated the same as welfare payments. Plenty of people with disabilities adopt, but whether or not they receive Social Security disability payments is unclear.

You will have to prove that you earn more than 125% of poverty level income for a family of your size, in order to be allowed to bring a foreign child to the U.S. I presume that, if your husband is able to work full-time, you should be able to meet this income requirement easily. Some countries, and some agencies, may also have income requirements, so you will need to check as you begin to consider countries and agencies.

As to whether your TBI will disqualify you from adopting, a lot will depend on what your doctors say on the medical reports required for your homestudy and your dossier. In general, your doctors will need to be confident that your life span is likely to be normal, that you will be able to cope with the challenges of parenting an adopted child, and that the child will not be unsafe if placed in your care.

Some homestudy and placement agencies may want a good bit of medical documentation, because TBI can have some subtle or not so subtle effects on personality and behavior. As an example, some, but not all, people with TBI have problems with emotional stability, impulse control, normal inhibitions, and so on. Some people with TBI may also have difficulty with memory and other intellectual functions. Emotional and intellectual problems could have an impact on a person's ability to parent.

Even if an agency is willing to accept you, there may be some countries that will consider TBI a disqualification. Some countries are fairly strict in terms of medical requirements, while others are less so, or make decisions on a case by case basis. You will need to discuss your situation with agencies, as you begin to choose a country.

As to the fact that you take medications that are also used for depression and mental illness, a lot will depend on what your doctors say and on how a homestudy is worded. Some countries are very strict about the use of medications, and they may or may not want to distinguish between the use of a medication for symptoms of TBI and the use of that medication for other problems. Again, this is something you need to talk about with agencies.

I'm sorry that I cannot be more helpful. I am a bit familiar with TBI because of some work I did for a rehabilitation hospital with a TBI program; however, I have no personal acquaintance with anyone with TBI who has attempted to adopt.

Sharon