Yes. The procedures are identical to those for adopting a child in Northern Ireland, except that the adoption agency may charge you for your home study assessment.

Contact DSS to schedule an office visit with the adoption worker who will explain the process and give the family the Adoption Handbook with information on the Adoption process.

Once your dossier is submitted for translation, a referral is given within 2-4 weeks. Parents specify the criteria the orphanage will use in selecting their child. The orphanage selects a child and then sends photos, medical information and the child's story to the agency. Families are asked to give the referral careful consideration. If they accept the referral, they are asked to sign an acceptance letter. If they decline, another referral will be made within 1 month.

When one parent of a child born abroad is a U.S. citizen, and the other is not, and the parents are married, the U.S. citizen parent may transmit citizenship if s/he has been physically present in the United States for a certain amount of time prior to the child's birth. For children born on or after November 14, 1986, the U.S. citizen parent must prove that s/he was physically present in the U.S. for 5 years, two of which were after age 14.

Adoptions are handled in the Probate Court, except in Belknap, Carroll, Coos, Grafton, Rockingham and Sullivan Counties where adoptions are handled by the Family Division. To begin the process, call the Probate Court register's office or the Family Division in the county where you live. To find the right court for you, go to Court Locations.

You are likely to be recommended for one child. Occasionally, some applicants are approved to adopt twins or two siblings. If you are adopting for a second or third time, you should have lived with your previously adopted child in Northern Ireland for at least 12 months before you can apply to adopt another.

If you are single, you must travel abroad to adopt from most countries. There are countries that will allow an escort to bring your child to the United States (e.g. Guatemala and India). Some foreign governments will allow only one parent of a married couple to travel abroad for the adoption if requested by the couple. We strongly recommend that both husband and wife travel abroad to adopt because we encourage couples to share the wonderful adoption experience together.

Your journey will be as short as 2 or 3 days or as long as 15 or 20 days depending on the country you select. For Brazil only, it can be up to 45 days. Most often the trips are 8-14 days.

YES! There are many wonderful sibling groups of all ages available. There are many sibling groups of 2 available and also some sibling groups of 3* available. It is also possible to adopt 2 unrelated children at the same time.

Not necessarily. The custodial agency may be evaluating a number of families for that child. The family chosen will be the one the agency feels can best meet the child's needs. That may mean a family skilled in dealing with post trauma stress, fetal alcohol syndrome, or ADHD. Or it may be a family who has access to special resources. When an agency and you decide that you are the most appropriate family, the child's worker will set up a series of visits between you and the child.

AdoptionWorks (AW) places school-aged children from throughout the United States with parents who reside in MD, DC & VA.

No, you do not need to be married to adopt with All for Love Adoptions. All for Love is willing to work with individuals as well as couples. However, you may not be co-habitating with someone of the same sex as you, this is Utah law.