Getting a Homestudy For Your International Adoption

Congratulations on your decision to adopt a child internationally.

To avoid delaying your adoption, your next step is to start your family assessment, more commonly called a HOMESTUDY as soon as possible. A Homestudy is a California, INS (USCIS) and foreign government mandated assessment to qualify suitable families & homes for orphaned and abandoned international children.

Your Homestudy will be for your existing family ONLY and not for the child to be adopted.

God’s Families International is a federally HAGUE accredited, California licensed international adoption agency & is authorized to satisfy all state of California, USCIS and your foreign government including Hague country requirements to complete your Homestudy assessment.

God’s Families International understands what the needs and requirements are of international adopting families; international adoption is all we do.

God’s Families also has active placement programs in many different countries for families needing those services and has placed children with adopting families throughout the US, Europe and the Middle East.

Our adoption experience from around the world provides adopting families with the assurance that their  Homestudy will meet the most current adoption standards and requirements.

Different Nations. One family. Acts 17:26 God’s Families has successfully completed international Homestudies for California families many different countries and programs since 1996.

THE USCIS (UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP & IMMIGRATION SERVICES)

You are required to file an I600a (non-Hague country) or I800a (Hague country) application with the USCIS to adopt internationally.

You will work independently with the USCIS and can obtain these forms via their website at www.uscis.gov. Upon your completing the I600a or I800a form, you will mail this application in with payment, homestudy and photocopies of your birth, marriage and any divorce certificates

STEP 1 GETTING STARTED: Filing Your Application With GF

We are required by law to have all prospective adoptive parents submit an application as the first step. Currently the fee for processing the application is $250. You can obtain a copy of the application by going to our website at www.godsfamilies.org or by calling our office at 949-858-7621 and requesting one to be mailed to you. Once we have received and reviewed your application, our office will notify you by US mail, usually within approx. 2-3 business days with a determination and future instructions.

If your application has been approved, it will include two (2) copies of the Homestudy Agreement for you to read and sign. We are also required by law to have this agreement signed and in force before we can proceed. Please sign both copies, keep one for your records and return one copy along with the Homestudy fee of $2000.

A Homestudy packet will then be sent by mail including with all required forms and checklists to start completing and collecting your documents once our office has received the signed agreement.

STEP 2: COLLECTING YOUR DOCUMENTS AND PARENT TRAINING

You will need to collect  various documents and take 10 1/2 hrs. of online parent training classes to assist your God’s Families social worker in assessing your family, completing your Homestudy requirements and knowing you have a basic education about intl. adoption. and parenting.

Any documents and courses that we require are necessary to meet California, USCIS, US State, Hague Convention and God’s Families requirements.

We will provide you with all information on how to obtain all of your documents and how to take the e-courses and always suggest to contact our office if you have any questions.

Remember: the faster you provide us with your documents and complete the courses, the faster we can complete your Homestudy.

Upon submittal of your documents, and completion of the background checks, online courses, and  interviews your homestudy will be written and completed ready for submittal to the USCIS and foreign country authority.

STEP 3: THE INTERVIEWS

When our office has received all of your documents, you’ll be scheduled for the Homestudy interviews.

One interview will be as a couple (if married); one interview for each prospective parent (including any in-home members) and the final interview consists of a health and safety inspection of the home.

These interviews are required so that our social staff can personally meet and assess your family.

We suggest you use this time to ask your social worker any questions to prepare for the arrival of your new child. On average the timing for the entire interview process will depend upon family size, dynamics, & home inspection.

STEP 4: THE HOMESTUDY REPORT

After you have submitted all required documents to GF & your social worker has completed all interviews, we will write the Homestudy Report and make a recommendation of not only “approved or not approved”, but also approving you for specific information including gender, age, health (healthy or special needs) and number of children you are approved to adopt.

It is very important to let your social worker know what your desires are before they start constructing the report. Revisions after the report are written can be costly in both time and money for adopting families. God’s Families staff is experienced with providing Homestudies for numerous countries and family types, however, some countries may request additional documents & information which can add extra cost.

Please notify your social worker in advance of the interviews with any additional requirements you may have. If you are working with a placement agency, we will work with them to make sure we address all country program requirements as well as taylor your report to any specific needs their program might require.

Upon completion, you will receive by US mail two original notarized copies (along with a copy of our state license) for the foreign government and one additional original copy (sealed) to be forwarded to the USCIS office.

HOMESTUDY UPDATES & RE-ADOPTION

HOMESTUDY UPDATES: If your USCIS approval has expired, your foreign country did not complete your adoption within one year after you received Homestudy approval and wants the report updated, or if you have decided to adopt another child after your previous adoption was completed, you’ll need a Homestudy Update. The fee for a Homestudy Update is $1200.

RE-ADOPTION: If both parents did not meet the adopted child before completing your adoption or if you desire a California birth certificate once you‘re back home, you will want to “re-adopt” your child here in California.

God’s Families can construct the required Court Report and supporting documents and can refer you to an adoption attorney. The fee for the Court Report is $600 for the 1st child which includes the required interview & Court

POST-ADOPTION SUPERVISION & REPORTS

Many country programs, including Russia and China require by their laws post-adoption supervision from a licensed adoption agency. Please check with the appropriate authorities for further information.

It is critical that adoptive parents follow through on any commitments to the child’s native country as some countries will actually (and have) closed their doors to future families and international adoption because previous families have failed to keep foreign government authorities informed with these post-supervision reports.

God’s Families can provide you with the necessary agreements and format, interviews and reports to satisfy your source country requirements. The fee per post-adoption supervision including the interview & report is $300. Please contact our office for further details.