Intercountry Adoption Developments: Notes from an Immigration Attorney

One area that I focus on as an immigration attorney in Sacramento is the highly challenging area of family immigration. An article published online by the Christian Science Monitor on March 14, 2010, covers what many of us in the trenches have been dealing with for sometime.

The fact is that it has become much more difficult for U.S. families to adopt internationally. I have written about this subject in this blog fairly recently, but it is worth reexamining.

Countries such as China and Russia have seen the number of children available for international adoption drop. One reason for this has to do with greater stability in those countries and the ability of families within those nations to provide homes to orphans. In China, which had been one of the largest sources for those wanting to adopt, changes in social and economic policies have also dried up the pool of healthy children. Other countries, such as Guatemala, stopped allowing adoption due to various scandals.

What does this mean for those who want to adopt a child from another country? Along with making it harder to adopt and making the wait longer, the number of healthy children has diminished. That means that many U.S. families are adopting children with various types of health and developmental issues.

It also means that children who are most preferred by adoptive parents, those who range from the infant stage to pre-school age, are at a premium. It can take a very long time to adopt a child of this age. The result is that either families are unable to adopt or they must adopt older children.

Certainly, those wanting to adopt can be helped by an immigration attorney who deals with these issues, the paperwork and bureaucracy on a daily basis.

Whatever your case may be, if you are going to be attempting to adopt a child from another country, you should work with someone who knows how to navigate the ever-changing landscape of international adoption.

Contact the Ranchod Law Group in Sacramento or Stockton. If you have any questions regarding intercountry adoption or immigration law. To schedule a consultation contact us at (916) 613-3553 or at info@ranchodlaw.com.