Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Step1
Select an agency that facilitates adoptions from Liberia. Take the time to compare different agencies and choose the one that is best for you.
Step2
Complete your adoption homestudy and apply for US immigration approval by submitting the I-600a form and required documentation. Receive your fingerprinting appointment in the mail and go to your immigration office to have this done. Because I-600a approval times vary, check with your state office for an estimate.
Step3
Put together your adoption dossier. The dossier for Liberia is one of the easiest in international adoption. Many potential adoptive parents can compile it in just a few weeks.
Step4
Submit your homestudy, dossier and immigration approval and wait for a referral of a child. You may also request to be matched with a waiting child from the agency's list. Older children and those with special needs are always waiting for families. There may be a longer wait for a healthy infant.
Step5
Wait for the adoption process to be completed in Liberia. First, relinquishments must be obtained from any of your child's surviving relatives before your case goes to court. After a positive court ruling, your agency will apply for your child's Liberian passport.
Step6
Submit all these documents to the US embassy and wait for them to do an investigation to ensure that everything is in order and that the adoption was completed correctly. Once this investigation is done to their satisfaction, your child's US visa will be issued.
Step7
Talk to your agency about the benefits and drawbacks of travel versus escort. Make travel arrangements and bring your child home.
