[Tianks]

My DH and I are wondering about some countries that allow adults under the age of 25 to adopt from their country. We've been doing research for about a month now. One website tells us one thing, and another one other thing.

Also, we're hoping to do something where only one parent has to show for the interviews, court hearing, ect. (I have a very severe fear of heights and planes.)

Dh and I have both been interested in adoption since we were young. Though, we had in mind we would be doing adoption later in life, it didn't quite turn out like that. Infertility issues have gotten out of our control.

So, we're hoping to complete the home studies, paper work, and all the legal stuff within the next two years. Actually start the fall of 2009.


A little background on us.

Dh was adopted when he was 1 month old. That being his reason for wanting to adopt. He also knows both of his birthparents and each are very active in his life. Amazingly he has also retained his relationship with his adopted parents. (kinda) He knows first hand that the affects that adoption has on both the child and the parent.

As for myself, I'm from divorced home. Not much to really say. I have always wanted a large family both biological children and adopted.

Right now we are in the process of buying our first home. (Hence why we're waiting until so late in the new year to start everything)



So, that's a little about us. Hopefully I can get some answers from women and men who have been in my shoes. Better yet some reference websites.

[Bunnygirl]

Check out RainbowKids.com Adoption Information, Support, Child Photolistings, Articles and Resources it's a really good site for international adoption. There are lots of articles as well as country guidelines. Some agencies though impose additional requirements.

Since you and your husband are both young, you might actually have good luck with domestic adoption so it would be a good idea to read up on that as well. I'd suggest picking an agency that does both international and domestic and that has several strong international programs (since things are always changing). I don't know this for a fact but I'd imagine that having a doctor's diagnosis of infertility might mitigate your being young, if that does turn out to be a problem. I think the main reason some countries don't want young couples is that they assume they will go on to have biological children & then won't treat the adopted ones as well.

Most countries are more concerned that the adoptive parents not be too old though, rather than that they not be too young! A lot of them won't allow "older" couples to adopt infants or to adopt at all.

Good luck! We've been home with our son from Vietnam for almost 8 months now & he's brought an incredible amount of joy into our lives. We're still logged in and wating for a daughter from China. The adoption process is full of stress and unexpected obstacles at times but no more so than what a lot of us have experienced in attempting to build our families through birth. In the end it's worth every minute of frustration and anxiety!

[kretzklan]

Many countries have a length of marriage clause that could affect you perhaps more than your age...check into that also.

[Tianks]

I'm not really too worried about the length of marriage requirements. We've been married for 2+ years. Most places I have read up on require you to be married for atleast one year.

[journeytolily]

I believe that the USCIS requires that you be 25 in order to adopt internationally. Perhaps I am wrong - does anyone else know for sure? But you will want to look into this, since any country you would choose, you would have to have CIS approval in order to adopt.

With domestic, you wouldn't have to worry about this. Also, you wouldn't have to worry so much about travel issues.

I am not advocating for domestic over international, as my DH and I have adopted from Guatemala, Korea, and Michigan!

Oh, adopting from Korea could be a good choice for you, as you are allowed to have the baby escorted to the US. And it's a great program overall. Again, I am pretty sure you have to be 25, due to CIS, but you'll want to talk to agencies about this. Perhaps there is a way to start the process a little bit earlier, so that you can adopt your child soon after you turn 25. Worth asking about!

[Max'smom]

Regarding Korea: I think this country is out. All agencies require a minimum of 3 years of marriage and some agencies require you both to be at least 25.

[sak9645]

The USCIS requirement is that SINGLE people need to be 25 to bring an orphan into the U.S. There is no such law for married people.

Sharon

[devildogwife]

Originally Posted by journeytolily

I believe that the USCIS requires that you be 25 in order to adopt internationally. Perhaps I am wrong - does anyone else know for sure?

I'll second Sharon on this one. Married couples do not have to be 25 to get CIS approval. So many agencies are misinformed on this. I know this for sure and have the documentation for this if anyone needs it.

[Max'smom]

It isn't a US government requirement. But agencies can and do impose various criteria such as age and length of marriage to narrow down which categories of people they will work with. Many agencies like to standardize their work this way - imposing extra criteria so that the adoptions they process are similar to one another.

The thing you need to do is call around the agencies asking to find which ones will work with a couple fitting your age and other criteria.

[sak9645]

Kyrgyzstan requires only that you be at least 18. However, agencies may have their own rules. There are no length of marriage requirements.

Ethiopia has no minimum age requirements for married couples, though it does for singles. Agencies, however, may have their own rules. There is a preference for couples married at least five years, but preferences aren't the same as laws, and exceptions sometimes occur. Check with agencies.

Brazil says you must be at least 21 to adopt. Agencies, however, may have their own rules. Brazil has no length of marriage rules. In general, the children available will be 5 or over, except in cases where you are willing to accept special needs or sibling groups.

Russia officially has no age or length of marriage requirements, though some regions may, and some agencies may.

Armenia officially has not age or length of marriage requirements. Few agencies work in Armenia, however, and those that do may have their own requirements.

With Bulgaria, you have to be 15 years older than the child you adopt. There are no length of marriage requirements, though agencies may have some.

Kazakhstan officially has no age minimums or minimum length of marriage. However, some agencies may.

With Lithuania, you must be at least 18 years older than the child you propose to adopt, though some agencies may have additional restrictions. There are no length of marriage rules.

Poland has no official age or length of marriage requirements, though agencies may. Preference appears to be given to people of Polish origin and/or Catholic faith.

With Taiwan, parents must be at least 20 years older than the child they propose to adopt. There are no official length of marriage rules, though some orphanages and some agencies may have such rules.

Sharon

[Max'smom]

Among this list (see above), I believe all but Ethiopia require both parents to travel; the OP indicates that she is unable to fly. Plus, the US state department has an alert out on the situation in Kyrgyzstan, which is currently considered to be not processing adoptions and holding many families up. As one of the previous posters mentioned, domestic adoption may be your best bet given your age as well as inability to travel.

[sak9645]

Taiwan allows one parent to travel.

Very few countries allow escort nowadays, because they want families to develop an appreciation of their children's birth culture, and because they want to see the parents for themselves, before approving an adoption. And relatively few countries allow one parent in a married couple to travel.

I would strongly suggest that Tianks enroll in a program to overcome the fear of flying. Many people have done so, in order to adopt internationally, and you have plenty of time during the wait to adopt. Most of the programs do not require the use of medication, though some prescribe medication for relief of anxiety.

Sharon

[OlgaUa]

Dear Tianks,
First of all, my best wishes of good luck on your beautiful way of adoption. Independently of the country that you will choose, giving the family for the abandoned child is one of the best things that we can do in our life!
I can tell you a few advices as for the adoption in Ukraine. You can adopt a child (or children), taking in consideration the difference in age from 18-45 years. For ex., if you are 25, you adopted child may be from 0 till 7 years old. The length of your marriage has no importance, and only one of you can make all the trips to Ukraine (in this case another parent must prepare the written agreement for the adoption). Usually the adoption procedure takes about 30 days (you may stay in Ukraine, or travel back home, so that you will have 2 trips to Ukraine instead of one). Good luck to your family!!
Olga