Adoption

Since November 1995, National Adoption Month has provided a forum to celebrate families and increase awareness of the hundreds of thousands of children awaiting adoption – both in the United States and abroad. USCIS is proud to help unite adoptive children from around the world with American families who desire to provide a permanent and loving home for them. In fiscal year 2013, USCIS approved nearly 5,600 intercountry adoption-related petitions and played a crucial role in thousands more.

View adoption photos on Facebook, follow us on twitter @uscis and read stories of families who worked with USCIS to adopt internationally on our blog, the Beacon. 

Each year, thousands of U.S. citizens adopt children from overseas. This is known as an intercountry adoption.

Adopting a child from another country is often a complicated journey, and the information on this site is designed to help you as you move forward.

USCIS is Responsible For:

• Determining the eligibility and suitability of the Prospective Adoptive Parents (individuals) looking to adopt.
• Determining the eligibility of the child to immigrate to the United States.

Which Process is For You?

There are three processes for adopting a child internationally.

Two separate processes apply only to children adopted by U.S. citizens. Depending on what country you choose to adopt from will determine which process you will adopt by.

• Hague
• Orphan (Non-Hague)

Another process applies to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who may petition for his/her adoptive child through an Immediate Relative Petition.

For more information on immigration through adoption see the links to the left.

This page can be found at: http://www.uscis.gov/adoption