International Adoption by The Hague Convention Process
First, you will need to submit USCIS Form I-800A (Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country) to the USCIS to establish your eligibility and suitability to adopt.After the USCIS approves your Form I-800A, you will need to apply to the officially designated Central Authority of the foreign country from which you want to adopt (for Hague Convention adoptions) for a specific adoption placement.
Once the Central Authority has proposed placing a child with you for adoption, but before you adopt the child, you must file USCIS Form I-800 (Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative) with the USCIS on behalf of the child to be adopted, to determine the child’s eligibility as a Convention adoptee, before adopting or obtaining legal custody of the child. For a child to be classified as a Hague Convention Adoptee, the child must meet the following criteria:
- Under the age of 16 at the time of filing Form I-800;
- Habitually reside in a Convention country;
- Determined to be eligible for inter-country adoption by the officially designated Central Authority of that country for Hague Convention adoptions; and,
- Have obtained all necessary consents for adoption.
