[mamie902]

Hi Christina,
I don't think the fingerprints and I-171 expire at the same time. I believe fingerprints expire at 15 months and INS at 18 months, but apparantly, families starting the program now are being told to expect the wait for referral to be 18-24 months. So, they would need to plan to be refingerprinted at 15 months and to redo the INS paperwork at 18 months. It's really not that much more money in the realm of things. Maybe the USCIS would consider lengthening the expiration period.

[specialk4b]

My agency is encourage people to write their congressional reps to be our voice to USCIS, asking them to lengthen the time to expiration due to the lengthening timeframes.

Maybe if we speak with a loud enough voice, changes will be made!

[ksquilter72]

Originally Posted by mamie902

I'm not at all familiar with the Korea program. However, several people mentioned the cost being higher then China.

We were planning on adopting from China before we found out that we wouldn't qualify through our agency of choice because of dh's medical school loans. We started researching Korea and have been accepted into that program (with the agency that is not accepting new applications at this time). Their financial requirements are not as strict as China's (more income based, rather than asset/debt based) and the costs for adoption are almost exactly the same.

Timeframes for adopting through our agency have slowed down and we're expecting a 2 year wait before our little girl is home (2 more months waiting for the second part of the application, a couple of months to complete the homestudy, 15-18 months waiting for a referral, and then 3-6 months before the baby travels). The timelines were consistent with both agencies licensed in our state. However, there are some agencies in other states who are referring much, much faster. It depends on which Korean agency the U.S. agency works through.

[Ernabel]

I just read on 3 different agency websites that the age limit is 44.

[sethsmommy]

Well, it all fit perfectly except the wait time with the agency that I THINK is the only one who can do Nevada was like 20 months average for a girl--phew! I do not mind waiting but 20 months???

[twoinblue]

Where did I just hear a month ago that Korea wanted to discontinue international adoption? I hate to be a rumor spreader but I'm sure I read something on that.

[jchrapcyn]

Just wanted to add my little plug for Korea! One thing that is different about Korea is that you can only work with an agency that is licensed for your state. see http://www.adoptkorea.com/us-agency.htm
That means your options for agencies to choose from may be limited. Each US agency works with one of 4 Korean agencies- KSS, SWS, Eastern and Holt. Only SWS and Eastern have a weight requirement. I have heard that Eastern is making their weight requirement less stringent. You must under age 45 to adopt from Korea (either parent). Some agencies will not let you apply over age 43 but you must accept a referral by age 44.

We did not have to submit a dossier. We completed our state homestudy with our agency SW and that was all that was required. There is a medical form but no bloodwork. Also nothing needs state sealed or anything like that. All in all the application was pretty painless.

We completed our HS in February and got a referral of a baby girl in 3 weeks! (we could not request gender because we have no other children- so we were surprised to get a girl) She was 6 months old at time of referral. Our agency said the babies are a little older now than in the past because they have more referrals than families- (I think this is only the case with KSS)

Now the downside- the Korean gov't started reducing the number of emigration permits/passports the last few years and they continue to do so. This means our Korea program has gone from a 4 month wait for travel to a 6-9 month wait. But we will still probably have her home in under a year. We don't travel to Korea- she will be escorted. Her adoption will be finalized in the US.

The Korean program works out well for us. It was going to be difficult for us to travel. We were open to a girl or a boy. She has been in foster care since March. We didn't have a weight requirement and actually I found the requirements less restrictive than China except for the upper age limit. I'm just hoping we can apply for baby #2 before I reach age 43!

With our agency the cost for China is less than Korea but we don't have to travel so take that into account.

[sak9645]

Twoinblue,

Virtually all countries wish that they could take care of their own citizens and not have to rely on help from other nations.

As you know, even China is trying to reduce its need for international adoption by encouraging its own citizens to adopt, by discouraging the preference for sons, and by discouraging the over-zealous enforcement of the one child policy.

However, it is not always an easy task to reduce the need for international adoption. First off, reducing the need for women to make adoption plans is difficult where there is poverty and where the stigma against unmarried mothers is great. And, second, it is not always easy to make the cultural changes necessary to make a country's own citizens willing to adopt children who are not of their "blood".

Korea has become, arguably, the most prosperous country from which Americans adopt. Since it first began working with the U.S. over 50 years ago, the need for American families to adopt has decreased dramatically, simply because most families can afford to raise their children.

In addition, Korea has been influenced by Western ideas to the point where unmarried, pregnant women are not always rushed into maternity homes and adoption planning, and where some Korean families are willing to adopt homeless children.

Currently, Korea is the strictest country from which Americans adopt, simply because it can be very selective and yet have enough American families to meet its needs. And, currently, wait times for healthy infants are longer than in the past, simply because there aren't that many children -- especially girls -- available at any given time.

Although I don't have any statistics to back up my claim, I also get the feeling that the percentage of special needs children has gone up. As an example, I'm seeing more referrals of Korean children who are alcohol exposed and could turn out to have FAS or FAE.

My sense is that Korea isn't planning to announce any stoppage of international adoption, as it still has some need for it. However, I think it's safe to say that the downward trend in the number of adoptable children may continue for awhile, meaning that the wait for a referral may get a bit longer.

I also think that the need for people willing to adopt children with special needs will grow, just as it seems to be growing in China. Already, Korea has relaxed its usual requirement that Americans use an agency IN THEIR STATE, for those willing to consider children with certain medical issues.

Sharon

[jchrapcyn]

I just wanted to say that I didn't think Korea is very strict at all. There was actually something in our background that China was probably not going to approve- no problem at all with Korea. Also there is not bloodwork, etc.

Some agencies have had a slow down of referrals but our agency actually can't find enough families- there are many babies waiting- that's why referrals are older now.

[sak9645]

Agencies and families have had this discussion repeatedly with the USCIS over the years.

It is the contention of the USCIS that many families are likely to have a material change in their circumstances -- such as a move, a job change, a pregnancy or domestic adoption, a DUI, a serious illness, etc. -- in a 15 to 18 month period. Such changes are supposed to result in a homestudy update and to be reported to the USCIS, even if the homestudy, fingerprints, and 171-H/797-C approval are not due to expire yet.

The USCIS believes that, even with the current expiration rules, many families are failing to update their homestudies and notify the USCIS of material changes in their circumstances in a timely manner. (I'm sure they have read occasional accounts on boards like this one of families who haven't told their agency that they are pregnant or who have moved prior to travel without updating their materials.)

The USCIS believes that, if it extends the validity of fingerprints and the 171-H/797-C, more people will have material changes in their circumstances, and that more people will fail to have a homestudy update and to notify the USCIS. The USCIS is concerned that a child could be affected negatively if it let an adoption proceed, when there was -- for example -- a job loss, a move to an unsafe home, a divorce that changed the family's financial picture, etc.

The USCIS has said that, unless it becomes clear that agencies are keeping tabs on their in-process families to ensure that all material changes in circumstances get reported properly, and that families are aware of and complying with requirements for homestudy updates and USCIS notification, it will be reluctant to extend paperwork expiration dates.

While I would like to see the validity period extended, I am not sure that this will be an easy "sell."

Sharon

[Couchkat]

from what I have ready, the timeline for Korea is actually lengthening. There is talk that they could cease International adoption altogether. I read the story of a lady who waited for a girl referral for 18 months and was told her agency did not receive girl referrals for a whole year. They ended up switching to China.

[looneytunes32]

Korea was the other one of our 'top choices'. The agency we wanted to go through had met their quota for 2005 so we wouldn't have been able to even start until September, to be included in 2006's quota. We decided to go ahead with China, which was my first choice anyway. Then we found out that with Korea we would not have been able to request a girl - they said because even though we have 2 boys, they aren't Korean boys, so we can't request (maybe an agency thing, I don't know). I know with our agency Korea's wait time for a girl is like 14 months, for a boy it's much less.