Anyone have any experience at adopting from abroad? Me and Mrs Biscuitman have finally decided that this could well be the best way for us to start a family and we are thinking that we would prefer to adopt from abroad, possibly China. We really are at the very start of this process and would love to hear any first hand views on the pro's & cons of adopting from abroad and details of what the process is etc cheers, The Biscuitman
Make sure you get a good agency that has lots of experience in the country you're adopting from. You will need it. There is a lot of paperwork and bureocracy involved. It takes time, and there will be times when you just want to give up. There are regulations from your country, from the child's country, as well as international regulations. It's a mess. But, when you finally are able to meet the child, it all becomes worthwhile. Make sure that you want to adopt for the right reasons, to give love to a child. (As opposed to adopting in order to 'get' a child.) We adopted a girl from Thailand. The process took over two years. The Thai government lost our file, (the woman in charge got pregnant and was on leave and nobody followed up.) Then we had a problem when it was discovered that the mother of the girl (who had claimed the father was unknown), was married, and she was unable to produce divorce papers. They couldn't locate the husband, and we couldn't adopt without his authorization. As it turned out, she was finally able to prove that she'd been divorced. But, be ready because there can be all kind of delays and complications. It was an emotional rollercoaster. Anything can happen. But, we've had our daughter for four years, she is now six years old, and it's the best thing that ever happened to me. It's all been worth it.
We adopted my twin girls now 8 when they were babies from Vietnam. We previously tried a domestic adoption but it fell through at the last minute. It was heart wrenching at the time so domestic just wasnt for us. Our process with Vietnam was relatively quick, about 6 months but I guess we were ahead of the curve because we had a lot of local paperwork done already. We had to make two trips there which was an eye opening experience in itself and the process there was long but relatively smooth. Mind you I suppose we were lucky that every little piece of paperwork was in order. The family just ahead of us at the US Consulate had a mistake with theirs and the consulate said they were going to investigate their case which was going to take a month. But that was 8 years ago and I know the process in Vietnam has changed. As ASF says, it is an emotional rollercoaster. Everyone has their tales of their journey.