US private adoption and bringing children to the UK

[hopingfor1more]

Has anyone done this? Don't know where to start.

I've not done it personally, as I adopted Dd here. However, I am pretty sure you would need to be approved here to then be able to adopt in the US. One adoption agency I know called PACT, approves adopters for both domestic and international adoptions.

there is a regular on here... not going to name them, but if you sit tight, you may well get a private response.... (its not me!!)

You need to be approved in the country where you normally live. It's not about citizenship

If you normally live in the Uk, you need to be approved here. If you normally reside in the US, you can adopt there ( either privately or through social services ) and apply for a visa when you move back to the uk . You will need to meet the Uk Conditions for a visa , as your child will be a US citizen .

travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/hague-convention/adoptions-from-the-us.html

Do you mean you live in the UK and want to adopt an American child? I thought you had to either be a citizen or have a GC to adopt in the U.S.?

www.gov.uk/child-adoption/adopting-a-child-from-overseas

Thank you so much for your help! I am actually a dual USA/ EU citizen. Kristina those links are very helpful but I am still very confused if I need to start from the UK or a US adoption agency. I will contact my LA and see if they can help point me in the right direction. I know there are lots of restrictions, but going to the US seems like my only chance at a younger child seeing I already have bio children. It would be very helpful if there is someone on here that has actually gone through the process already. Also does anyone know of any other forums which might have some info? Sometimes reading the bureaucratic requirements doesn't always clarify things!

You need to do your homestudy in the country you have habitual residence in. BUT establishing habitual residence is tricky, and it can be in more than one country (depending on having property, where you vote etc.) you could ask a solicitor if you could count as having habitual residence in the USA.

Hi hopingfor1more You said " I know there are lots of restrictions, but going to the US seems like my only chance at a younger child seeing I already have bio children. It would be very helpful if there is someone on here that has actually gone through the process already."

Can I ask, are you hoping to adopt a child with no issues or one who has been relinquished or a very young baby? Have you been told (by social services) that you would not be eligible for young children due to your bio children? I adopted a pretty straight forward three year old and have a bio child. I have heard of others who adopted younger children who have bio children too.

I'm not at all trying to put you off adopting from USA, just wanting to check you are making plans based on facts you have heard direct from social services rather than opinions from any one else.

PS I adopted domestically n the UK.

I adopted in the US while living in the UK. My husband is a dual citizen. We actually adopted two children and changes happened while adopting the second child, it was much easier with the first.

The second time we had just been passed to adopt in the UK with Westminster and then were living in Surrey when we heard that our daughters birth mother was pregnant. We then had to go ahed with another assessment for international adoption which was pretty much a copy of the first one. Then we had to be approved by the Home Office so that we were able to apply for a visa in the US for her to come into the UK.

It was passed within about six months but that was because the baby was the sister of our other daughter. I don't think it would have been as fast under other circumstances. You do have to adopt via the UK if you are planning to live here before the full adoption order is passed or you live here already.

I'm more than happy to answer any queries by PM as I don't often come on this forum.

Hi, we live in Westminster borough in London and we are also looking into options to adopt from the US. My husband is american and I am british, so keen to hear about your experiences.

Thanks!

"I know there are lots of restrictions, but going to the US seems like my only chance at a younger child seeing I already have bio children"

Like Italian, I wonder whether you are making incorrect assumptions here? What you've said isn't correct in and of itself, there are many other factors at play.

Donquixote and Italiangreyhound, we enquired at the Westminster/Ken&Chelsea borough and they advised that they do not see many children younger than 2 for adoption. We would really like a younger one so we are assessing options.

Also, what agencies...

Have you tried looking into Foster to adopt?

Rainatnight thanks for the info did you go through an agency?

Holy shit, my post was stupidly identifying. I've asked for it to be removed.

Tonee, no, when I say I went through a particular area, I mean the local authority. My suggestion was that you look at other local authorities and don't restrict yourself to central London. But there are no guarantees and you'll need to be open-minded if you do go ahead in the UK. We were prepared to take an older child and this is just how it happened for us.

We adopted in Central london and got a child that was 16 months on placement, with no known medical issues.
So it can happen.

I also know of someone else who adopted in central London and the children placed were 2 years old and 9 months.

@Tonee77. Some random thoughts to try to answer what I think your questions are around, and hopefully relevant to the OP (I think for more specifics you might want to start a seperate thread)

All (well almost) UK adoptions are through an agency. Voluntary Agencies are charities that only recruit and match adopters. Local Authority Agencies do the same, but mostly (by no means always) with babies taken into care by their Children's Social Care section of the same LA Social Services department.

Children are matched through what is effectively a moneyless market. Young, non-poor, educated, healthy adopters with a good support network and experience of children have the most value. Healthy 'easy to place' babies are the most in demand adoptees.

(Usual caveat: by describing the process in these cold terms I in no way suggest the system is bad; but it can be unforgiving)

If you want a young, healthy baby, it is likely that an LA will give you a better chance of being matched quickly. Fewer 'easy to match' babies are matched though VAs recently. There is HUGE variation between agencies; both in the quality of training and support and in the process of matching. The wrong agency can slow the process and make it harder, but you get there in the end. The 'supply' of children, particularly babies, varies hugely across the country. I have no idea about London, but I would contact several agencies to get an idea.

Broadly speaking, if you mostly match the description I gave above, you should be able to match with a baby within 12 months of approval at the outside. If (for example) you were in an area with few babies, you might be better with a VA that would search nationally. Most babies these days are placed through Foster To Adopt- worth researching this if you go further.

Broadly speaking, if you are nothing like the description above (i.e. older, less educated, poor, single parent, health issues, or other barriers) you are not going to end up with a perfectly healthy baby. Obviously there are many, many exceptions to these general rules. Furthermore, getting an 'easy to place' child gives no guarantees- all children's development is unpredictable and many adopted babies turn out to have additional needs (as do many unadopted children, but the rates are higher amongst adoptees).

Please don't choose your child by just considering the mechanics I've described. I would adopt in the UK unless you are going to be really hard to match and you are dead set on a baby. The process has flaws, but it gets you ready to be an adoptive parent and it usually matches you with the child you were meant to have. Go into it with an open mind and use the training and assessment to firm up how you feel about age and additional need.

Adopting a kid is an amazing and worthwhile thing to do- I cannot recommend it enough.

P.S. Much of the above is a little different in Scotland and NI to the rest of the UK.

P.P.S. Apologies for the essay.

Really interesting responses, all. I am a UK-based person who is eligible to adopt in the US as well. My understanding so far is that it would be very difficult to do the international adoption in the sense that you have to basically go through the entire system in both places, but that the advantage would be a greater likelihood of a younger child with a lower likelihood of issues. (I always think of it as the David Milliband option, although I know the rules have changed since then.) It's useful to have that perception challenged.

From my understanding in the USA foster carers are mostly approved as foster to adopt and (from reading foster carer forums) it seems that if a newborn comes into the care of a foster carer and it turns to adoption, that foster carer usually keeps the child.
Whereas here in the UK if you're approved to be a Foster carer, that doesn't enable you to automatically being the person adopting the child (and most foster carers here foster purely to foster - not adopt)

Have you thought about asking to be approved to do foster to adopt in the uk?

good luck Tonee.

I wonder where the original poster is, it was back in 20!4.