Adopting Internationally As an American Living Abroad

Can expats adopt a child while living abroad?  Can military families adopt while stationed abroad?  Can they adopt a child from the US, the country where they’re living or a different foreign country? How does the adoption process change when you’re not living in the US?

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  • Intercountry adoption from the country where you are living
  • Intercountry adoption from a country other than where you are living
  • Must you use an adoption agency to complete an international adoption when you are living abroad?
  • Does it matter if the country you are adopting from is a member of the Hague Treaty on Intercountry Adoption or not?
  • Does it matter if the prospective adoptive parents are permanently or temporarily living abroad?
  • What are the issues to consider when having a home study completed while living abroad?
  • Does the home study agency have to be licensed by someone in the US?
  • Must your adoption agency approve of the home study agency in advance?
  • How do you get the required adoption education when you are an ex-pat
  • What are the important distinctions between finalizing the adoption and getting your child US citizenship? Are they the same thing?
  • Can you adopt a child that you met on a mission trip to another country? Adopting an identified child.
  • How can a member of the military adopt while deployed?
  • Must you return to the US for your adopted child to have US citizenship?
  • How do you adopt a family member who is living abroad?
  • Does the US government have a problem with adopted children maintaining dual nationality or dual citizenship?
  • Do the rules change at all if the husband and wife are of different nationalities (different citizenships) but want to adopt through the US and ultimately give the child US citizenship.
  • Is it wrong to take a child away from his/her cultural roots, from his ‘world’ as he knows it– his friends, his environment, etc.?