U.S. Citizenship for your internationally adopted child

After internationally adopting, it is important to ensure that your adopted child becomes a U.S. citizen.  Postponing this process may affect your child as he or she becomes older in terms of voting, college scholarships, working, and other rights and privileges.  The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 was designed to make acquisition of U.S. citizenship easier and to eliminate extra steps and costs.  Under the Child Citizenship Act, children adopted internationally automatically acquire U.S. citizenship if:

Service providers for Hague convention international adoption

There are three different types of service providers for Hague convention international adoptions.  These three types are:

Hague Convention Country Adoption: Services provided by agencies...

The Hague Convention on International Adoption has had great impact in terms of International adoption rules and regulations.  One area that the convention has greatly impacted is the services that are provided by international adoption agencies.

Agencies accredited to place children from Convention countries provide six specific services necessary for successful adoption.  These are:

International Adoption: Ethiopia

Ethiopia, formally known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is located in Eastern Africa and is the second most populous nation in Africa with a population of over 82 million.  The Ethiopian government has authorized very few adoption agencies to operate within that country (only seven are qualified); ensure that your adoption agency is qualified to perform this international adoption. 

Below are some of the general rules and conditions to keep in mind when considering adoption from Ethiopia: 

International Adoption: Latvia

Latvia is a small independent democratic country in Eastern Europe that has a fairly stable adoption policy. Your experience when doing international adoption depends heavily on the country from which you adopt. Different countries have different rules and regulations regarding travel, marital status of adoptive parents, and children that may be adopted.

Below are some of the general rules and conditions to keep in mind when considering adoption from Latvia:

International Adoption: Lithuania

Your experience when adopting internationally depends heavily on the country from which you adopt.  Different countries have different rules and regulations regarding travel, marital status of adoptive parents, and children that may be adopted. 

Lithuania is a small independent democratic country in Eastern Europe that has a fairly stable adoption policy.  Below are some of the general rules and conditions to keep in mind when considering adoption from Lithuania:

Adoption Support Groups

Adoption support groups are a great idea for adoptive parents or prospective adoptive parents.  It allows adoptive parents to share with others, common problems and concerns- be it physical, emotional, etc.  It enables parents to bounce ideas and feelings off of other parents who are in similar situations.

Adoption support groups are also great for