[ACMSD]

Hello. After many failed adoptions in the past year, (Seven t be exact) we have looked into an adoption regarding India. We have most of the paperwork needed for the dossier and ins and there are several older children that are available for referal, which is what we are looking for. Agency told us that with what we have and want, that the adoption should be finalized in less than four to five months. Is anybody able to share ANY informaiton about india? Should there be a reduction in fees for an older child? We want to be informed before we just jump in.

Thanks in advance,

ACMSD

[spaypets]

We adopted an 18 month old girl from India in 2003.

I have found that agencies are very optimistic in the timelines they give people and it generally takes much longer for children to come home. However, India is a wonderful country and there is usually a good caretaker to child ratio, so the children are well cared for. My daughter received excellent care and has been absolutely healthy both physically and emotionally from the day she came home.

We received our referral, after nearly 6 months of waiting in September 2002. Our daughter was placed in our arms May 2003.

The chances are very good once you receive a referral that the child will actually be placed with you. India is bureaucratic and moves at a pace slower than what we are used to in the US. It is true that there is a movement in parts of the country to curb or eliminate international adoption, but I think the new government will need to pander less to Hindu nationalists. I haven't heard any rumors of adoptions stopping. So while there is always a risk associated with any adoption, I do not think it's a big one.

I urge you to travel to pick up your child. India is a wonderful, complex country and we loved our time there and cannot wait to return when our daughter is older (my husband keeps threatening to go before then without us!).

You may want to pose your questions on the yahoo group Ichild, where there are lots of people with much more experience in India.

Good luck!

[gkasche]

I have adopted three times from India over the past seven years. I try to be an advocate for any waiting children I know of from this wonderful country. Please e-mail me privately. gkasche@usachoice.net Karen

[denise marie]

We adopted an older child from India.She came home at age 7 yrs and is 9 yrs now.It took about 9 months from start to finish.We are now adopting a 4 yrs old which we hope to have home very very soon.

[Terry in OR]

Hi CHMSD,

I adopted a 2 year old and it took 14 months start to finish. My referral came much quicker than usual and everything from that point went like clockwork.

I tried to respond to your pm but your box is full.

Terry in OR

[ModernMother]

I just wanted to echo what the others have said. As far as time frames, in any international adoption you will have risk. Most angencies do quote a timeframe that is shorter than likely. If everything went perfectly smoothly with no glitches, it is possible that from the time the dossier reaches India to the time you bring your child home could be 4-6 months. I do mean "could be", but as with any adoption there is risk.

We found our daughter on a waiting child listing at ichild.org. At the time we found her she was 22 months old. We had done nothing at that point to begin the process. It took us one month to do our homestudy and place her hold. From that point it took us three months to get our dossier together.

Our dossier went to India in October of 2003. Most people were recieving NOC within 8 weeks at the time our dossier went to CARA. We ended up waiting seven months. The first couple of times CARA viewed our file they asked for extra testing of our daughter's eyes. This was done and we still didn't recieve our NOC. We found out after a few months that CARA had lost our file. Our orphanage was wonderful and brought the necessary replacement documents to CARA very quickly. At that point we had our NOC within weeks.

It took us nine weeks to get guardianship becuase the local courts shut down for four weeks during the time we were waiting. So if you remove that down time it was really more like five weeks.

BUT after all that, she is HOME! Yes it took 10 months from the time our dossier went to India, but all the waiting is behind us now. She has been home two months and is the light of our lives. We are definately planning to adopt again next year. We just need to find the funds.

Our daughter's fees were not reduced because her special needs are mild. Some agencies do lower fees for older children. I know that my agency has quite a few older girls waiting for families. I do not know their policy on reducing fees for older children. They do reduce fees for moderate/severe special needs so it is possible.

Good luck and best wishes on your journey!

[mfrench]

The region from which you are adopting probably has the largest role in the timeframes involved. We received referral of our beautiful 4 year old daughter in late March. Dossier to India in mid-April. On May 24th, the day after my birthday, we received word that we were to be in Delhi on June 12. Our case probably set a record, at least for our agency, however I think the biggest factors were that the orphanage was in Delhi, that we were adopting an older child, and that the orphanage director has a good reputation with the right people. What region are you adopting your child from? And what orphanage?

And congratulations on your decision to adopt an older child. We were extremely concerned initially about the language difference, but in less than four months she is almost fluent in English. She understands everything anyone says to her, and we understand ALMOST everything she says to us. Her sentence structure is the hardest part, but she is making unbelievable progress.

She'll soon be the light of your lives.

[ll_bay]

Our case was really fast too, the first time, in Delhi, every bit as fast as mfrench's if not faster (the director still refers to it as a land speed record!) BUT, that is not the norm, not even in Delhi, where I know lots of families who have waited far longer. We're adopting again, from Bangalore, and know already that it'll be a minimum of 6 months until we bring our boy home, and may be more like 10. And we also had to wait 3 months or so for a referral, as fewer children are available for international adoption now. The good thing about India is, as long as you do your homework and choose a reputable agency (there are some great ones but also some awful ones) and learn the virture of patience, you will get a child, and you will bring home the child referred to you.
HTH