What are the rules for international adoption?

International adoption in Delaware is regulated by both state and federal laws. In order to complete an international adoption in Delaware, families must meet the requirements of both the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions as well as the specific laws of Delaware. First, prospective adoptive parents must obtain a home study from a licensed adoption agency in Delaware. The home study is an assessment of the family’s ability to provide a safe and supportive environment for a child, and includes both criminal background checks and financial disclosure. Second, any foreign country the family wishes to adopt from must be a signatory of the Hague Convention, which requires countries to have specific procedures in place to ensure the protection of adopted children. Once the prospective family has selected a country, they must meet all country requirements, such as obtaining a visa for the child, before the adoption can take place. Third, the prospective family must ensure that the adoption will be recognized by the state of Delaware. The family must obtain specific documents from the foreign country, which they must send to the Delaware Division of Public Health’s Office of Vital Statistics or the Delaware Family Court. Finally, the family must ensure that the adoption is recognized under federal law. They must submit an I-600A form to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and then the I-600 form when the adoption is complete. Once all of these steps have been completed, the family may finalize their international adoption in Delaware.

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What are the rules for international adoption?

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