[sak9645]

Adoptions from many Latin American countries "dried up" in recent years, because they had ratified the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption and the U.S. had not.

Now that the U.S. has ratified, the countries are becoming more open to adoptions by Americans again. I was just on the website of an excellent agency that has reopened its Ecuador program. The program sounds quite good.

Of course, the process will have to conform to Hague Convention requirements. As an example, you will have to work with an American agency that has special accreditation by the U.S. State Department to do Hague adoptions; you will not be able to adopt independently, or through a facilitator or non-accredited agency.

There will also be a bit more paperwork, which can make waits longer. As an example, you will use the I-800A/I-800 process, instead of the I-600A/I-600 process.

Sharon