What must prospective adoptive parents do to adopt a child from another country?
The adoption must be approved at the state level (through a home study), at the federal level by the U.S. Immigration Office, and at the international level by the other country. Many of the same documents are needed for each level of approval, including: marriage certificate, divorce decree, current income tax return, employer letter, reference letter, local criminal record check, birth certificate, financial statements, fingerprints, medical reports, fire inspection report and child abuse clearance. The documents are compiled into a “dossier,” authenticated and translated, and then sent to the other country for approval.
