When adopting a child, parents have the choice of pursuing a domestic adoption or an international adoption. There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of adoption. A reputable adoption agency will be able to answer your questions and concerns about international adoption, and will help you with each step that you take in your adoption journey.
Price
An international adoption costs more than a domestic adoption. Besides the higher agency fees, you may need to travel to the foreign country to pick up your child, adding to the costs. Adoption.com states that the price of adopting a child overseas depends on the country that you are adopting from, as some are more expensive than others.
Age and Physical Condition of the Child
An international adoption rarely involves a very young infant, according to Adoption.com. By the time the child is legally free for adoption and all the paperwork is filed, the baby may be several months old or may have grown into a toddler. During this time, she may live in an orphanage in her native country. She may be malnourished or sick. The care at the orphanage may have been excellent, or it may have been very poor. Your baby's mother may also have been ill or may not have had any prenatal care, cautions Adoption.com.
Lack of Records
Your child will most likely not be able to track down his birth parents if he is adopted from overseas. Parents.com states that the records kept may be lacking essential information, or he may have been simply left at the orphanage with little to no documentation from his birth mother. Because of this, you may have an incomplete or inaccurate family medical history on your child.
Paperwork
Aside from the home study and agency work-ups that are required for all adoptions, international adoptions come with large amounts of required paperwork, states International Adoption Facts and Information. Because all the paperwork must go through the United States government and then the foreign government, delays and lost forms are common.
Unanticipated Problems
While things can go wrong during domestic adoptions, there are certain risks that apply only to international adoptions. According to Parents.com, sometimes countries temporarily stop all pending adoption proceedings for various reasons. In some cases, travel into the country by adoptive parents might be suspended due to political or social events that might pose a danger to visitors and tourists.
