[rambler]

Hey im from australia, and i was wondering if i am able to adopt a child out of the photolistings from florida? if u have any information on this subject, please reply.

thankyou,

[sak9645]

People living outside the U.S., who are not U.S. citizens, CAN adopt American children. However, they should not expect to be able to adopt healthy infants, unless they happen to have a relative in the U.S. who is making an adoption plan for a child he/she cannot parent, and who specifically wants you to adopt the child.

In the U.S., there are far fewer healthy infants than there are American families who wish to adopt them. Most agencies will have long waiting lists of American families, and an American family on the waiting list is likely to have priority over a family with foreign citizenship, living abroad.

Most of the children who are available for adoption by non-U.S. citizens living abroad are going to be available through state foster care systems. They are likely to be of school age, or else to be in sibling groups that must be adopted together or to have significant physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. These children, especially if male, tend to be hardest for agencies to place, and so the agencies are willing to consider a safe and caring family outside the U.S.

Sharon

[rambler]

ok cause i was looking at a 14 year old boy.

[sak9645]

By all means, contact the state government agency representing the child who is photolisted. That agency will tell you whether foreign families are being accepted, and what you will need to do to complete an adoption.

Needless to say, you will need an approved homestudy, which addresses not only your fitness to provide a safe and welcoming home for a child, but also your understanding of the issues of older child adoption. In general, when a 14 year old boy is in the state's foster care system, he will have a lot of issues related to his life with his birth family and his stay in foster care.

Remember that international adoption has two components -- adoption and immigration. You will need to comply with the laws of the child's home state, in terms of adoption. You will ALSO need to comply with the immigration laws of your own country, with regard to bringing the adopted child to live with you.

Sharon