[downunder]

Me and my wife are in the last stages of finally completely our family, as we have adopted a 2 year old boy from a agency in New Delhi. My wife has been in India for the last 3 months and they should be returning home this coming week with our son (touch wood).

We have been told we were we very lucky, as a distant Uncle helped push our file otherwise most people are stuck in India for at least 4-6 months. The hardest part came from the immigration people in my country's own consulate (Canada), in getting our son's medical clearance. People like us (NRI's) are put in awkward position as any child going abroad must have 3 "rejections" on their file by prospective parents in India. In our son's case, he had kidney's problems and TB when he was younger but by the grace of God he recovered. That's where things get tricky. At this initial chest X-ray for his medical clearance, they discovered he had TB when he was younger. Instead of for example asking for other tests (blood, urine, etc) to determine that TB was not present any more, they wanted my wife to stay in India for ANOTHER 3 MONTHS TO DO ANOTHER CHEST X-RAY !

Such is India I guess, but I never expected this type of treatment from our own consulate, especially when I know for a fact adoption cases are suppose to be expedited due to the hardships and burdens already place on the parents.
If anybody is lucky enough to be offered a child from India, I would never discourage them but advise to be ready for Indian "red tape".

[sak9645]

Actually, by U.S. law, there are nine infectious medical conditions that preclude a person (adopted or non-adopted) from getting a visa to enter the U.S. unless a waiver is granted. One of these conditions is tuberculosis.

If you test positive for TB, you may be required to remain in your birth country until you have taken a course of treatment and are certified as free of disease, unless you can get a waiver.

Waivers are hard to get. However, waivers are sometimes granted in the case of an adopted child if the parents can prove that: a) the child will not become a public charge (go on welfare) because of his/her condition; and b) the parents are sufficiently familiar with the disease to take steps to prevent the child from infecting others.

To prove that the child will not become a public charge, it is usually necessary for parents to show that they have an above average, stable income and good insurance that will cover treatment for the condition throughout the child's life, if needed.

Parents who are medical professionals are likely to have an easy time documenting that they understand the public health implications of TB. Others may have to show that they have studied the topic in some way and have considered such issues as day care/school.

Yes, the U.S. government is committed to helping orphans find homes. However, its overriding concern is the health of people currently living in the U.S. As a result, it has the legal and moral responsibility to prevent the importation of infectious diseases.

A person who has had BCG vaccine -- commonly administered to infants in certain foreign countries, though not the U.S. -- will have a positive skin test throughout life, even though he/she has never had and does not have TB. However, a chest x-ray will be able to determine whether the child was actually infected. With a positive chest x-ray, it is usually necessary for the child to go on medications for a period of time.

Sharon

[downunder]

Sharon -
I'll assume that laws of Canada are similar to those south of the border and I understand the Government's role in protecting public safety, however in my experience, it appears that medical staff do not always strive to find the right balance of risk versus caution. In our case, only after the involvement of a high level contact at the Canadian consulate did they agree to review our case and compare the film from our son's X-ray from last Sept to his current X-ray. This is something they should have done from the very beginning, as I'm not asking for any special favour's, just for the staff member's who get paid by my tax dollars to do their job more thoroughly. By the way, I don't think chest X-rays are always the best form for TB detection- I still remember many years ago how a doctor mistakenly misdiagnosed my Mom as having TB.

[JJJRP]

I know what you mean...

We have been considering a `waiting child' since Feb. and our agency is NOT able to obtain current medical informationfrom the orphanage in India. The child has hearing issues and has been a waiting child since last year. It is so frustrating and difficult to understand the `red tape', I thought being a NRI was going to help us but it hardly is making a difference. Not only that, the child is getting close to being 3yrs old. The children are really the ones that I feel are being `robbed' by their own country. Thanks for sharing, wish us luck and prayers for the little boy that he gets to be adopted soon.

[downunder]

Update : April 19th, 2006

Having my wife and son back from almost 3 months in India has been wonderful and lots of work that I love. In terms of the TB situation as mentioned above, our son will be under "medical surveillance" here for a few years (this was something they should offered in the beginning !)

Anyways I have a question, which is just not limited to adoptions from India. Our son (he's 26 months old) sometimes has nightmares and wakes up crying and needs to be consoled backed to sleep. Last night for instance was the worst since he got back and it took him a half hour to go back to sleep. The doctors in India told us this probably has to do with the unknown hardships he and other children like him suffered in their early years. The doctors said hopefully these nightmares will go away in time. I would appreciate and feedback from people to dealt with similar situations.

[michellcrrn]

Hi, we are actually in the process of adopting a little deaf boy from Pune. He will be 2 June 10. Our court date is set for the first week in June. We have had a wonderful experience with our adoption agency HOLT. They have daily contact with the orphanage and we get frequent updates. Good luck to you, Michell