International adoption is a kind of adoption, through which a couple or an individual becomes the permanent and legal parent of a child, who is born in some other country. Generally, prospective parents must fulfill the legal adoption requirements of the child’s nation as well as country of their own.

The necessary requirements for beginning the international adoption process vary, depending up on the country of parent. For instance, in most of the countries, adoptive parents are required to get approval first, while in few, either state agency or private adoption agency approves the adoption. In case of the United States, the first stage of the process begins with selection of an international adoption agency. Each agency works with a particular group of countries, though few focus on only one country. Some countries permit independent adoption, which is least costly and the parent does not need to contact an agency to complete the whole process. However, adoption is a tough process for the first time adopting parents.

Country wise, the laws differs, and is dependent up on nation’s willingness and openness to international adoption. Few countries, like Korea and China have established procedures and rules for international adoption, while many African nations forbid it. Some of the African nations have extended residency requirements for the parents, which in fact rule out international adoptions. One of the examples is Malawi, where residency is required for adopting a child.

Some of the African nations like Ethiopia are very much open to international adoption. That is why Ethiopian Adoption has become a popular option for the American families. As per the U.S. Department of State, in the year 2005, 441 orphans’ visas were issued to Ethiopian children, while in 2006 the number of visas increased to 732.

Apart from China and korea, Philippines is an another Asian nation, which has flexible international adoption policy. According to U.S. State Department, Philippines adoption reached to the number 265 during 2007.

Hence, by looking at the statistics given below we can conclude that international adoption is on its increasing trend-

According to U.S. State Department, countries for international adoption by American parents for year 2007 include –

Guatemala – 4728, China – 5453,  Russia -2310, South Korea -939, Vietnam – 828, Kazakhstan – 540, Ukraine – 606, India – 416, Colombia – 310 and Liberia – 353. Recently, Vietnam signed treaty for openings the doors for adoption.

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