Is foreign adoption easy?

Question

My huband and I are interested in adopting a child from my country Indonesia. We are both American citizens and I have a lot of relatives living in Indonesia which would make the process easier, as far as finding an orphanage. Is it necessary to go through an American adoption agency, or could we handle the paperwork ourselves? Any information would be helpful or links to good information, reputable agencies, etc.

Thank you very much :)

Answer 1

No, international adoption is not easy, especially for the child, who loses his/her entire family, heritage, homeland, culture, foods s/he is used to, language, history...and to be raised by strangers, in a strange land, who look nothing like you, and who don't understand what you're feeling.  Makes me sad just to think about it.  Please do LOTS of reading about trans-racial adoptees, and their experiences, before going any further.  It's a tough road for anyone to walk - and these kids don't get a say in the matter.  It might not be the best option.

ETA:  Kimmino, I stand corrected.  Whoops!  Need more coffee.

Answer 2

Foreign adoption is not easy.  I can see that you're at the beginning of your research and looking for links so you can really understand what's involved.  I've put a few below.

It looks like there's one agency that you would have to go through, on the Indonesian side. They're the last link listed. You might want to contact them right off and get more details to find out if it's even possible from their side. Do also continue to research about this kind of adoption. While it may seem like a good fit to adopt a child from your homeland, keep an open mind as you do your research. I had wanted to adopt from the country I was born to, but became convinced that their adoption practices were corrupt. I went instead to a country where I felt I could be much more certain that my adoption was ethical.

To Gaia - while I agree that international adoption should not be entered into lightly, did you read the whole question?

A lot of your answer doesn't really apply. This is an Indonesian person looking to adopt from Indonesia.  The food, language, culture, would still be in the home. This particular stranger in a strange land would not "look nothing like you". It's not completely a transracial adoption. Since the asker is an immigrant also, she can identify, I think, with being an immigrant to this country from that one, although of course she couldn't identify with being an adoptee.

Answer 3

Here is a link to info on adopting from Indonesia. You must be residing in Indonesia for 2 years in order to adopt, so this may not be feasible for you:

http://www.travel.state.gov/family/adopt...

There is really no such thing as an easy adoption no matter which country you are adopting from. Each country has its own rules, there is always lots of paperwork, and usually a lot of money involved. Also there is a background check and investigaton to make sure you'll be good parents (to the extend they can tell).

I wish you the best in building your family.

Answer 4

I do extensive research on international adoption as I wish to adopt internationally myself one day. While not easy in its own ways, adopting from another country, including Indonesia, is much cheaper (lawyer fees and other added costs) and easier than trying to adopt from the United States. I would also like to say that I admire you for your wishes to adopt.

Answer 5

Someone already gave you a link to the Indonesian side of things.  On the US side, you have to proceed according to the laws of your state for the adoption to be valid. In my state, that means I have to have a homestudy done by an agency licensed for international adoption.  You also have to file paperwork with the USCIS so that your child could come to the US as a legal permanent resident.  Then after you come home, you would have to finish up that paperwork with the state to authenticate or readopt & then contact USCIS again so that your child would have US citizenship.

I can see why you're thinking of Indonesia -  that since you are from there, you would be able to keep a child in touch with his/her culture & language. Since you have relatives there, I imagine visits home might be possible too? From the other answer above, it looks like Indonesia might give you more trouble than the US.  When a government believes it can take care of its own children, they are reluctant to send them overseas.