International adoption is a three part process. The elements of the process are The Home Study, Immigration and Naturalization Services and The Placement.

Your adoption journey begins with the Home Study, which is a legal requirement for all international and domestic adoptions. American-International Children's Alliance, Inc. is a full service agency licensed to provide Home Study services in MA and RI. Your Home Study is needed for the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, the foreign adoption court and your state family court.

During the Home Study process, the prospective adoptive parents explore their feelings about parenthood, their motivation for adoption, their marital and personal backgrounds, the type of child they are able to accept, the transcultural issues of an international adoption, bonding and attachment issues, and their ability to support an adoptive child. The experienced agency social worker guides the prospective adoptive parents through this reflective and educational process, helping to discover the program that is most suitable for the adoptive family.

A Home Study is usually completed in two to three months and involves five to seven meetings with an AICA social worker. One of these meetings is in the prospective adoptive family's home. You will be required to submit many documents to complete the home study process, including an autobiography, a health letter, employment verification, financial information, criminal clearances by the state, and letters of reference.

The Home Study is an educational experience for the prospective adoptive parent. The social worker and you explore many aspects of international adoption and your motivation for adoption. The process should prepare you to parent an internationally adopted child.

Documents which are generally needed in the Home Study process are:

Autobiographical Statement:
You and your spouse will be required to write an autobiography. Your social worker, who interviews you and writes the Home Study, will give you an outline to follow in order to complete yours. The information included will be about your family of origin, your education, your marriage, other children in your home, your home, your financial/employment status, you or religion if applicable, and your motivation for adoption.

Reference:
You will ask three friends (not relatives) for letters of reference. If you are married, the reference must know both the husband and wife. Your social worker will contact the references.

Health Statement:
Each member of your household will need to provide a letter from your physician describing your health, based on a recent examination. If you have an illness, disease, or chronic medical condition, you must provide us with a letter that states your condition is either controlled by medication or is in remission and this condition would not impact upon your ability to parent a child.

Criminal Clearance/Record Check:
Each state requires a criminal record check be completed on each person over the age of 18, living in your home. The criminal record check is an investigation to determine whether or not you have a criminal history or have had any charges involving children. If you were involved in any activity considered a crime in your past, we strongly urge you to discuss it with your social worker, as the investigation will notify the Home Study agency about it. We will need a copy of the disposition of the case.

Financial Statement:
You will be asked to provide a copy of your W-2 form and your income tax return for the past year. The purpose of this review is to determine that you are able to manage your family on your yearly resources. You will also be asked about your savings, rent or mortgage, charge accounts and monthly expenses.

The United States agency, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), is responsible for approving all prospective adoptive families to bring a foreign born adopted child into the United States. Each state has a local INS office which processes applications for residents of that state.

An I-600a form, "Application for Advanced Processing of an Orphan Petition" must be filed with INS to receive approval. Prospective adoptive parents must submit proof of citizenship (only one parent must be a US citizen), proof of marriage (if applicable) a copy of a completed Home Study, and a $460 fee must also be submitted with the I-600a form. Each member of your household over the age of 18 will also have to be fingerprinted at a designated time and place by the INS. AICA staff will assist you in completing the I-600 a form.

A copy of the I-600a form can be downloaded from the INS website, www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/index.htm or by calling 1-800-870-FORM. The processing time of the I-600a form varies from state to state, however, most states require 60-120 days to issue your approval.

During your home study, your social worker will help you to decide upon which international adoption program is most suitable to your family. International adoption programs require that the prospective adoptive family create and present specific documents to support their international adoption. This is called a dossier. The AICA program coordinator will help you to prepare your dossier and properly certify or "authenticate" it according to the country's requirements. You are permitted to change programs within AICA, however, it may be necessary to provide additional paperwork for the new program.

AICA provides information on each of its programs on the PROGRAMS PAGE (link) where you can learn more about each country.

Once your dossier is completed, it is translated and forwarded to AICA resources in your country of choice.. There the dossier is reviewed and approved. You are then ready for your referral of a child. A referral of a child is either made prior to your travel to the foreign country or once you travel to the country. After obtaining the referral, the prospective adoptive family travels to the child's country of birth to complete the adoption. Each country has different requirements for the number of trips (1 or 2) and the length of stay. Some countries do not require the adoptive family to travel and permit the child to be escorted to the US.

Prior to returning to the US, the child must obtain a US visa issued by a designated Consulate to enter the US.

After your child is in the US, your social worker will begin the post-placement services, which evaluates the child's adjustment into your family and answers any questions that you might have.

Your qualified adopted child becomes a US citizen upon entry into the US. You must apply to the US INS to obtain proof of US citizenship.

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