[crasheed]

Hi...I am new here. My husband and I have been interested in adopting a child from Pakistan for many years. He is from there and we would love to be able to provide a home for a child that needs one. I notice that there are no current guidleines on adopting a child from that area, and I was wondering if anyone else has had any information on that. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[DPline]

Here is a link to the State Department site regarding adoptions from Pakistan. Country Specific Information for pakistan.htm

Good luck!

[cpolmom]

I know someone who adopted from Pakistan. They do have a yahoo group which could be alot of help.
I haven't talked to this lady in a few years so I don't know what is currently going on.

[sak9645]

While adopting from Pakistan isn't impossible, it's pretty darn difficult.

The main reason is that Pakistan is a Muslim country, albeit a fairly liberal one. Shaaria, or Islamic law, views adoption as a very praiseworthy act; however, it does not view adoption the way it is viewed in the West, and also would not allow the adoption of a Muslim child by a non-Muslim.

Under Shaaria, the biological parents who cannot raise their child do not completely terminate their parental rights and obligations when they make an adoption plan. They still have a legal requirement to preserve the child's inheritance rights, and the child is expected to keep the parents' surname. The biological parents also can and are expected to have a voice in planning for the child's religious education, if at all possible. If it is deemed to be in the best interests of the child, and if both the biological parents and the child agree, the child can return to his/her biological parents at any time.

In short, what Muslims consider adoption would be called foster care in the Western world. It is not intended to be permanent in most cases, and the birthparents never have their parental rights terminated. The adoptive parents are actually temporary guardians whose job is to raise the child during a time when the parents cannot. Muslims like it that way because they believe that it is more humane for the child and the biological parents -- for example, in that it reduces grief and loss associated with the Western concept of adoption and, at least in most cases, eliminates the need for search and reunion activities. The adoptive parents are viewed positively for taking in a child who is in need, an act that is in accord with the Koran's principles, but do not become the child's "real" parents, as Western adoptive parents do.

The problem is that the USCIS -- not to mention other U.S. and state adopton authorities -- view adoption in the Western manner. Adoption, in the West, permanently removes the parental rights of the birth family, and requires the adoptive parents to regard the child as if he/she had been born to them. If the USCIS believes that a child will come to the U.S. without either having a completed Western-style adoption overseas or having been given to the adoptive family under a decree of guardianship so that a full and final adoption in the U.S. can be carried out, it will NOT give an adoption visa to the child. Without an adoption visa, the child cannot come to the U.S. unless the child lives overseas with the adoptive parents for at least two years.

With countries like Saudi Arabia, which follows Shaaria strictly, there is absolutely no way that the USCIS will get acceptable paperwork for an adoption visa to be granted. However, occasionally, Pakistan WILL release a child to a family under a decree of guardianship that is worded carefully so it appears to satisfy the requirements of the U.S. AND the Pakistani governments. That is what must happen for a visa to be issued.

You should also recognize that no Muslim country will place a Muslim child with a non-Muslim family. While the Pakistanis will place a Muslim child with a Muslim family, or a Christian child with a Christian family, many countries that follow Shaaria more strictly will NOT place a child even with an American Muslim family, believing that the child cannot possibly be raised as a proper Muslim in the Western environment, and that American Muslim clergy are not sufficiently strict in adherence to their faith. If you are not Muslim, you will find that the pool of non-Muslim children needing families is quite small; that is why most of the adoptions by Americans involve Muslim families taking on the care of relatives.

All in all, if you are non-Muslim, you will find it difficult to adopt in Pakistan, as the likelihood of finding a non-Muslim child to adopt is low. And if you are Muslim, you will need a decree of guardianship or adoption that will satisfy both the Pakistani and the American governments, which may not be easy. While I'm unaware of any agencies that have an actual Pakistan adoption program, because of all the difficulties, networking around the Pakistani community in the U.S. should help you find an agency that has some experience helping families bring home children from that country or, alternatively, an experienced adoption/immigration attorney.

Sharon

Sharon

[maggie_va]

Well, it looks like 33 visas were issued to adopted children in 2009 and in every year before that there has been similar numbers so there are some successful adoptions each year.

I thought that Canada had more active programs in Pakistan so it might be worth looking for Canadian agency to just get the basics of how the adoption process works in Pakistan and maybe you in country contacts or an agency in the US who processes adoptions.

[Max'smom]

Be very careful - last year, on another board, a prospective adoptive parent failed in her attempt to adopt from Pakistan and the details were hair raising. She was already in custody of the child but when she attempted to get a visa was detained by the local police for child trafficking. The child she was being offered was trafficked not orphaned and someone tipped the police off.

[sak9645]

Most of the 33 visas were almost certainly for relatives' children.

Sharon