USC - Is R2I for adoption good idea ?

when2india · Post by **when2india** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 5:39 am

We are childless and have USC. We just started adoption home study in USA\.
We are wondering if we should R2I india.
I could not find much information on line.

I am assuming that we will be considered as foreigners for adoption purpose.

Does anybody have any experience or information on foreigner adoption procedures if they move to India. ?

US immigration states that we can adoption per local india laws and then stay with the child for 2 years. Then we can bring the child to USA.

what if we adopt privately ? that is not going thru orphanages and adopt from a distant relative ?

Please post any experiences or information you have.

gbgb · Post by **gbgb** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 10:12 am

when2india;283084We are childless and have USC. We just started adoption home study in USA\.
We are wondering if we should R2I india.
I could not find much information on line.

I am assuming that we will be considered as foreigners for adoption purpose.

Does anybody have any experience or information on foreigner adoption procedures if they move to India. ?

US immigration states that we can adoption per local india laws and then stay with the child for 2 years. Then we can bring the child to USA.

what if we adopt privately ? that is not going thru orphanages and adopt from a distant relative ?

Please post any experiences or information you have.

I suggest joining the yahoo groups adoptindia or adoption_experiences. You can also call up any of the adoption agency. Usually they help you.

As far as I know if you have Indian passport and you are in India for more than 6 months, you will not be considered foreigner or NRI. But please re-check with some good agency.

Advantages of applying as Indian for adoption:
1. You save lot of money as you adopt as Indian.
2. You get priority over the NRIs and foreigners when it comes to adoption. The wait period is lesser.
3. You can ask for less than a year old baby. Usually foreigners get child who is 3+ years or has any disability.

For private adoption it is better to consult a lawyer. Usually people discourage private adoptions.
They say that there would be complications as you know the birth parents. In private adoption we have take care of all the documents/papers. In non-private adoption the agency takes care of everything.

(Please do not solely rely on this info)

maya1 · Post by **maya1** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 11:36 am

Yes adoption is a big process. Its as long as having an actual baby, equal number of pains! ...that's what the parents say.

You need all your certificates, Income proofs, your reasons for adopition essay, form to fill in details of how you intend to take care of the baby and so on.

This is a link of reputed institue in Pune who are into adoption, however, they take atleast two years now for a single baby.
http://www.sofosh.org/shreevatsa.html

But the site will give you very good information of the steps involved. Once you go to India, There are many hospitals in india who do private adoptions ...One can get baby with in four months if you are lucky...but yes you do need to be in india for that.

In addition, I would like to tell you that generally the adoption scene is dismal, children are not as healthy as are told, many do have a medical history, however I have been told by my friend who has adopted that all mental and physical problems that the child has when she is adopted disappear in about two to three months..

dbs · Post by **dbs** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 11:59 am

maya1;283711In addition, I would like to tell you that generally the adoption scene is dismal, children are not as healthy as are told, many do have a medical history, however I have been told by my friend who has adopted that all mental and physical problems that the child has when she is adopted disappear in about two to three months..

You are very correct, however, you appear to have been incorrectly informed.

A childless cousin adopted a child in early 80s. They unquestionably love the child.
The child was very weak at the time of adoption. He has grown up now but is still a child mentally. He has been described as mongloid ( a very harsh and unfair depiction of people from Mongolia.) He needs 24x7 attention and care. During 80s, realising the mental situation of the child, they had kept away from other family members to hide the fact and somewhat alienated themselves from the rest of the family. Now they are worried sick about who will look after him once they are gone.
I also know of very successful adoptions. It is all probably the luck of the toss.

maya1 · Post by **maya1** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 2:22 pm

dbs;283716You are very correct, however, you appear to have been incorrectly informed.

A childless cousin adopted a child in early 80s. They unquestionably love the child.
The child was very weak at the time of adoption. He has grown up now but is still a child mentally. He has been described as mongloid ( a very harsh and unfair depiction of people from Mongolia.) He needs 24x7 attention and care. During 80s, realising the mental situation of the child, they had kept away from other family members to hide the fact and somewhat alienated themselves from the rest of the family. Now they are worried sick about who will look after him once they are gone.
I also know of very successful adoptions. It is all probably the luck of the toss.

am really sorry about your cousin..and i understand what you are trying to say.

Though i have not personally come across such cases i am aware of such incidents

But as i see it adoption is like having a baby..you take all the care and then its upto your destiny that child is healthy.

I am myself is very much interested in adopting and have talked to few lucky parents who have the "choose one babies"..all have different experiences and take on the whole process.

Health of the baby is most worrisome thing while adopting in India as mothers are not cared properly and have babies at young age. and mal-nutrition of the baby does leave its mark but many times if not all ..the proper care and love do make babies stronger and healthier after sometime...Ofcourse there are exceptions like what happened to your cousin.

One has to be very careful while adopting and make informed decision.Luckily we have many resources of information now adays than say in mid 80s.

i have been advised by few to adopt a child who is about 1to 3 years of age..i am not sure about it ..no matter what one has to go in this with positive mind and hope for the best.....

sumachechi · Post by **sumachechi** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 4:05 pm

I have 3 very good friends who have adopted babies
2 live in the US, 1 in the UAE. 1 of them adopted 2(siblings) from nepal.
None were living in india at the time and it takewell over a year for the whole process. The hardest time was time from accepting the child and waiting for paperwork to go through to take them home. The one who adopted the siblings had to do 2 separate applications for both and got both at different times. She told me that for US citizens beauraucracy in Nepal was less than India.
dbs- I presume your cousin's child has Down's syndrome- its a shame they didnt tell them at the time of adoption -should have been obvious even in an infant. We are as paediatricians called to perform medical examination of kids prior to adoption and comment on child's health. So there should be some medical counselling available. Now regarding delayed development in abandoned children in orphanages who dont have obvious features of medical conditions, its more likely that TLC will significantly improve the child, which obviously explains the situation your friends faced, maya1.

KirKS · Post by **KirKS** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 4:13 pm

when2india;283084 We are wondering if we should R2I india. I could not find much information on line.
I am assuming that we will be considered as foreigners for adoption purpose.
Does anybody have any experience or information on foreigner adoption procedures if they move to India. ?

When2India:
Since you have started a home study in USA as USC, you will know most of the info, but more of a refresher here:-

http://adoption.state.gov/country/india.html

Register yourself and participate in here. You can talk to dozens of folks who have successfully adopted from India.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nri-child/

Follow sites like http://www.sudatta.org/ for qualified information, if your city of choice is Bengaluru.

NRIAdopt caters mostly for NRIs, but has good info you might be looking for:
http://www.ichild.org/nriadopt.htm

CARA in India sets these guidelines for Family Adoption of Indians Staying Abroad

Eligibility for PAP

Criteria for eligible Children:

Requirements

Procedure

Safeguards

A Checklist of Required Documents/Information

Annexure - I : Particulars of the Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAP's)

Annexure - II : Particulars of the Child Proposed to be Adopted

Annexure - III : Particulars of Biological Parents

Annexure - IV : Facts about the child to be verified by the Competent Authority

Since the total number of adoptions to US in 2009 was less than 300 and entire India, including Indians adopting is less than 3000, there is something seriously wrong with the adoption process & bureaucracy I suspect.
http://www.adoptionindia.nic.in/database.htm

My personal suggestion would be to R2I and then work on adoption, if you are in a position to R2I & most importantly inclined to it. For a process that costs 10s of lakhs Rupees & takes nearly 2-3 years, long distance correspondence, trips, calls & paperwork can be a killer. In India, being on the ground for such super-documentation-heavy process can be a game changer when it comes to your mental & physical stress. But I am sure, every single step of yours in this difficult path would be rewarded immensely at the end with a successful parentage!

when2india;283084 what if we adopt privately ? that is not going thru orphanages and adopt from a distant relative ?

My gut feeling is that this is a very real possibility to circumvent the immensely bureaucratic process. However, my other half of the brain says it's risky & you may have to jump too many hoops later if the child has to get a US passport in future.

Again, it depends upon your level of desperation. 2 to 3 years is a long time to live with that burning desire to hold a child in hands. It's best to consult a lawyer who hams experience in dealing with Haque convention laws. Many things changed at the end of 2008.
http://adoption.state.gov/hague/laws.html

Wishing you all the best in your search & action! Let me know if you want some info collection or meeting anyone on the ground in Bengaluru or Hyderabad. I will be more than happy to do some legwork for this noble cause.

- Kiran

when2india · Post by **when2india** » Thu Apr 29, 2010 11:15 pm

.4 Foreign nationals living in India
In case of foreigners who have been living in India for one year or more, the HSR and other connected documents may be prepared by the RIPA which is processing the application of such foreigners for the guardianship of the child. An undertaking should be given by the concerned Embassy/High Commission that the child will be legally adopted in that country and also mention an agency/orgn. who would send the progress reports and take care of the child in case of any disruption as and when the child is taken abroad. However a certificate is required from the competent authority in the country of permanent residence of the FPAP indicating that the child shall be allowed to enter the country and get adopted in due course.

when2india · Post by **when2india** » Fri Apr 30, 2010 3:24 am

I would like to thank you all for posting all this information / experiences.
Looks like I need to consult an legal expert in India who specializes in adoption procedures.
Looking back, it was a mistake to get USC for both of us. One of us should have retained the indian citizenship......
If private adoption in India by foreigner is not possible, then i might not be moving to india for this purpose.

Hague convention plus bureaucracy in india has made whole adoption procedure complex. Add to this the possible health issues are scary..

We want to adopt but..... now pata nahin....

KirKS · Post by **KirKS** » Fri May 07, 2010 4:58 pm

when2india;284002 We want to adopt but..... now pata nahin....

Please don't give up.. Yes, it's a tough process, but well worth it.

Not fully related to the topic, but check this out for some motivation.

If there was no adoption, we wouldn't have seen Steve Jobs' career, Faith Hill's awesome music, Jesse Jackson's civil rights struggle, Babe Ruth's magical scores or Nelson Mandela's epic struggle against Apartheid. It didn't matter who adopted them, but the amazing feats these folks could achieve was enabled by a loving home!

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Entertainment/Celebrities/15-Celebs-Who-Were-Adopted.html