The children in India are entirely of Indian descent. Most of these children are of fairer complexion, some are dark skinned, and all have black hair, dark eyes and beautiful features. Boys and girls range in age from 9 months-12 years, however, by the time a child arrives in the U.S., the children will usually be a minimum of 15 months old. Changes in the Program fee may apply for older (over 8 yrs) or special needs children. Please contact IFS for up-to-date time lines. Recent government guideline changes require all adoptive parents to travel to India to pick up their children. Our families travel to New Delhi to be met by our India coordinator.

In orphanages where we have worked IFS adoptions have funded major orphanage improvements as well as food, medicine, and other daily necessities.

India is a Hague Convention country. This means that after April 1, 2008, agencies which conduct adoptions from India must be accredited by the U.S. Department of State (via the Council on Accreditation).
IFS is a COA Hague Accredited Agency.

Under our accredited status, IFS can accept new applications as a primary, accredited provider from families who want to adopt from India. An adoption from India will be considered a Convention case if the family has not submitted an I-600a application to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (CIS) prior to April 1, 2008. An I-171h approval of such an application must be kept current (by applying for renewal) in order to maintain transitional status.

IFS’s prospective adoptive parent(s) who lose their transitional status under the Hague Convention must convert their adoption to a Convention case with IFS. Additionally, the home study provider (either IFS or another agency) will charge extra for the rewriting of the home study report to qualify under the Convention regulations.

IFS is officially licensed and approved as an agency by CARA of the Indian government.

Requirements for Adopting Parent(s):

• It is preferred (not always required) that couples be married for a minimum of 5 years.
• Single women noolder than 45 years of age may adopt infants. Single women over 45 years of age can adopt older children.
• There cannot be more than 45 years difference between the parent and the child. (For instance, a 50 year old must adopt a 5 year old or older, etc.)
• Must be between 30 – 45 years of age if adopting a child under 4 years of age.
• One applicant must be a U.S. citizen.
• Up to 3 children in the home are allowed (preferred), however, exceptions can be made.

Upcoming Exploring the Adoption Adventure Dates:

• Tuesday Morning, February 28, 10:00 AM Central Time
• Saturday Morning, March 10, 10:00 AM Central Time
• Monday Evening, March 12, 8:00 PM Central Time
• Wednesday Morning, March 21, 10:00 AM Central Time
• Friday Morning, March 30, 10:00 AM Central Time
• Wednesday Morning, April 4, 10:00 AM Central Time
• Saturday Morning, April 21, 10:00 AM Central Time
• Monday Evening, April 23, 8:00 PM Central Time
• Friday Morning, April 27, 10:00 AM Central Time

Register me!

When we receive your registration we will send you (by email) the conference call information. For more info call 512-310-9138.

Come back again for more updates. Plan to bring a friend.

8 – 8:30 am – Susan Weidner of IFS will describe IFS programs and introduce IFS adoptive parents of 5 Ukrainian school-aged children.

There will be sessions on Domestic Adoption and Table Topics on:  The Federal Tax Credit, How Do I Get Picked?, Open Adoption, Foster Adoption, and Red Flags/Medical Concerns.

Greater Pittsburgh

Saturday, November 12, 2011
8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

North Way Christian Community
12121 Perry Hwy
Wexford, PA 15090

Single women may now adopt special focus children from China’s Special Needs System. She may only adopt one special focus child at a time.

The applicant must

• be at least 30 years old; for those over 50, the age difference between the parent and child shall not be more than 45 years (same as couples),
• provide a certified statement that she is single and not homosexual (new)
• be physically and mentally healthy and be of good moral quality (same as couples)
• have an income of at least $10,000/year for each household member and net worth of at least $100,000 (couples only need net worth of $80,000),
• have experience in child care or be employed in child-related fields (such as doctor, nurse, teacher, child psychologist or counselor, etc.; best to have experience in caring for children with special needs) (new),
• have no more than 2 other children under age 18 years of age, the youngest being at least 6 years old (new), and
• be prepared to parent a special focus child.

Additionally, the applicant must

• provide her well-considered rationale for parenting a special focus child (same as couples),
• provide her rationale for choosing to be single, her attitude toward marriage, a clear indication of her willingness to designate male role models for the child and welcome male friends at family gatherings (new),
• receive additional training for special needs children (new),
• provide a detailed care and rehabilitation plan (same as couples),
• provide a written statement of consent from appointed guardian.

Finally, if a woman has a stable relationship with a live-in male partner, she will have to meet the same requirements as a couple (new).

For more information, see the CCAA Notice.

This page is intended for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Adoptive parents and other interested parties are advised to consult an attorney. Attorneys listed in this document are offered as suggested referrals for interested parties. International Family Services neither endorses or recommends them other than to suggest that they have some experience in family law as it applies to children adopted from abroad by Texas families. Families should confirm the services and fees offered with the attorneys themselves.

Readoption
There is no TX law on ‘readoption.’ It has been done, however, in one of two ways,
a) reterminate birth parents’ rights (via publication) in Texas, then complete a Texas adoption; or
b) prove the acceptability of birth parents’ termination of parental rights in foreign country, then complete a Texas adoption.

There are a couple of attorneys in Houston area who have been used by families of international adoption. Contact them find out which method they use along with their fees.
Royal Law Firm, Houston
Ellen Yarrell, Houston
Greg Hughes, Friendswood

North Texas
Susan Paquet
215 North Main, Weatherford, TX 76086 (Dallas-Ft Worth)
817-596-3337

Texas Certificate of Foreign Birth
Texas families may seek to file papers to get a Texas birth certificate under SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 162, Family Code, Sec.162.023, ADOPTION ORDER FROM FOREIGN COUNTRY, to register the foreign adoption order and file a certificate of birth for the child (see the attached TX Foreign Adoption Law Pass.pdf for details).

Texas Administrative Code allows for a Texas court to authenticate the adoption papers of a child adopted from abroad. The adoptive parents can then submit a court order for the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics to issue a “Certificate of Foreign Birth” for their child.

The resulting document looks similar to a Texas birth certificate but will not indicate Texas as the place of birth.

It appears that the key to this process is locating a judge who is willing to find “that all of the prerequisites of the law have been fully complied with by petitioners and that said order of adoption was and is legally valid and of full force and effect under the laws of the United States of America and of the State of Texas.”

Many families feel that obtaining a Texas certificate of foreign birth will be helpful for local purposes (school and sports enrollments, etc.). However, this probably will not be sufficient for purposes of obtaining a U.S. passport (for information on obtaining a U.S. passport for an internationally adopted child, see http://travel.state.gov/childcitfaq.html). Nor does this qualify as a ‘readoption.’

See the file, TXCert ForeignBirth TAC app.pdf, which explains this process.
It contains a copy of the relevant page from the Texas Administrative Code, 25 TAC 181.29 (source: http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.viewtac, accessed 10/8/07).
It also contains copies of two pages
Application for order (sample)
Court order (sample)
(source: Bureau of Vital Statistics, Austin, TX)

If you need a Certificate of Citizenship for your child, the fees will also be increasing (for more information on your child’s citizenship, see http://jcics.org/Certificate.htm).

FOR IFS STAFF & ADOPTION CONSULTANTS ONLY. Below you will find the contents of the IFS Information Packet to be used for program orientation for both you and for IFS clients. These downloads are also posted on First Class in Conferences/IFS Programs/Current IFS Packet – all in one place.

A NOTE ABOUT FIRST CLASS: Accessing the IFS Information Packet files and emailing files will be easier for some by using First Class. 1) Create your email, 2) Drag the appropriate files from the “Current IFS Packet” (First Class Conferences/IFS Programs/Current IFS Packet) directly into your email, 3) send email.

If you download the IFS Information Packet files from this site (below) and attach and send to a client on First Class email, please delete the email from your account after you have sent your email. This will insure that you will either go to First Class or come to here for the most current information. It will help to keep emails with large file attachments from taking up storage room on our IFS company server. Check back here regularly to see if you have the current IFS information.

All downloads below posted 9/10/10 by Bob Mardock

• IFS Adoption Information Overview
• IFS Application (updated 9/29/10)
• IFS Services Agreement and Contract
• IFS Donation Policy IFS

IFS Program Descriptions

About the Children

Children available for adoption include healthy and special needs boys and girls, generally between the ages of 12 months and 13 years, with older children being more numerous. These children reside in orphanages.

While children of Bulgarian decent are available, so are children of ethnic Roma (Gypsy), Turkish heritage and Khurds. Siblings are often available.

Requirements for Parent(s)

Single women, as well as married couples may adopt. There is no marriage or age requirement; typically, no more than 45 years between the age of the child and the parents is encouraged. Bulgaria will consider the younger age of two parents in a placement with a couple. Bulgaria often shows flexibility in age of parents and family size for children with special needs, sibling groups and those children at risk of “aging out.”

Travel

Two trips are required, one to visit and one to bring your child home. Each trip takes approximately five to seven days. An escort may be allowed to bring the child home with verifiable cause.

Timeline

After your dossier arrives in Bulgaria, the referral process begins. IFS works with a foundation based in Bulgaria that is accredited by the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice, the Central Authority under the Hague Convention treaty for international adoptions. Depending on the age of the child requested, we have been told to expect the matching process to take 6-9 months. Referrals of siblings or older children usually are made much faster than that of toddlers. Once the referral is accepted, we expect the adoption should take approximately four to six months to complete. After a family and child have been matched, at least one parent must travel within two months to see the child. When the adoption is complete, the parents will travel within 12-14 weeks following court to bring their child home or arrangements may be made for the child can be escorted (on a case-by-case request basis).

About Bulgaria and the Hague Convention

Bulgaria is a Hague Convention country. This means that after April 1, 2008, agencies which conduct adoptions from Bulgaria must be accredited by the U.S. Department of State (via the Council on Accreditation).

IFS is a COA Hague Accredited Agency.