[olive123]

Been coming back to Korean adoption over and over again (currently in process with another country, but have been told 18-24 months wait, minimum).

We have found the agency that is licensed to work in our state for Korean adoptions and have requested some information from them.

General question, we realize Korea has some weigh restictions, and we would each need to lose some weight - does this have to happen before we apply for Korean adoption with an agency, before we accept a referral?

Anybody estimate actual referral times for a boy under 24 months from Korea if starting now?

Trying to work out all timelines in our head, figure out if we should switch countries, have a back-up if first country extends beyond current timelines, etc....

[bixb]

The answers to your question may differ by agency, but I'll share some thoughts.

In our experience, the weight/height calculations were done during the physician checkup, which was during the home study phase. So before you send documents to Korea. The BMI is based on what you weigh that day. If weight loss needs to be done, that's something to do soon.

The timeframes are hard to estimate, but most agencies we looked at for Korea had a shorter timeframe than you described (shorter than 24 months).

Most referrals are for boys. Some agencies let you pick the gender if you already have a child, but not if it's the first child.

Our agency does allow concurrent applications with Korea and other countries, or at least China (maybe others, too).

I am not sure how much these issues may differ by agency.

Good luck!

[rtpmom2be]

My answers are nearly identical to bixb's.

The weight requirements must be met during the home study at the time of the physician examination.

Wait times are somewhat dependent upon which agency you are using. With our agency, it's about a year from initial application (pre-home study) to referral.

Our agency does not allow families to concurrently apply to other countries or programs.

I hope this was helpful and good luck.

[CarmJoeMom]

It truly depends on the agency. My agency was less than 2 week wait after submission of referral (and I was referred a baby girl). Also, the weight thing depends on which korean agency they work with, because I know several people that did not have an issue with weight. I would ask your agency these questions.