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Thank you for your continued interest in our Haiti adoption program and
the children of Haiti. Slowly we are beginning to see some
normalcy and routine return to life in Haiti following the earthquake
in January 2010. The needs are still great in Haiti, basic shelters are
scarce and approximately half a million people in Port au Prince have
been left homeless. In the weeks following the earthquake we
were able to assist with the evacuation of the 55 children being
adopted through A Love Beyond Borders at the time of the earthquake.
Thankfully all are home safe with their new adoptive families and we
share in their joy that they now are together as a family!
There is more positive news to share: Effective April 2010, per the
announcement from the Government of Haiti that adoptions have resumed,
we are pleased to reopen our Haiti program! Now, more than ever there
is an immense need for permanent families for these children.
Adopting from Haiti is a wonderful option for so many
families-for several reasons. A Love Beyond Borders
works with established, well-run orphanages throughout
Haiti. Although there was significant damage to them during
the earthquake, the rebuilding has begun. It is estimated
that there were nearly 1 million orphans in Haiti prior to
the earthquake, a staggering number in a country with just
over 8 million in total population. Extreme poverty
is the number one reason that so many little ones find themselves
without the permanency of a family and the earthquake has contributed
to the problem. Despite these hardships, the children of
Haiti show great resiliency and determination.
When you choose A Love Beyond Borders to complete your Haitian adoption
you will receive exceptional service from our experienced
staff. From our US coordinator with over 10 years of Haiti
experience to our staff and facilitators working in Haiti, all are
committed to excellent service and to the best care of the children we
are providing for. Prior to the earthquake adopting a child
in Haiti took, on average, 12-15 months from submission of dossier to
welcoming your child home. We are uncertain of how long the process
will take now that adoptions are resuming but we are optimistic that
they will follow the same approximate timeline.
For clients of A Love Beyond Borders, on average you will have the
option of visiting Haiti approximately twice. The first trip will be to
sign the I600 (immigration petition for your child) to speed up your
final immigration process from Haiti to US. The second trip will be to
bring your child home! Due to several factors including the
administrative burden and cost burden to our orphanages and
facilitators, our attorneys and orphanage directors have requested that
clients of A Love Beyond Borders not visit Haiti during the adoption
process unless it is as part of our organized group trips or previously
pre-approved.
Why Choose to adopt from Haiti through A Love Beyond Borders? The
children are typically healthy with minor to correctable health
conditions, there are flexible adoptive parent requirements,
and young babies and sibling groups are available at time of
referral. You may adopt unrelated children, although we
always encourage the adoption of siblings if a particular group is
available. Unlike many adoption agencies, A Love Beyond Borders does
not charge an additional agency service fee when you adopt a second or
third biological sibling at the same time. Our experienced
program staff provides step by step guidance on preparing your dossier,
and we will complete the dossier translation and authentication process
for you.
Haiti is a country that allows an escort option so that the adoptive
parents do not need to travel to Haiti. We strongly prefer and
recommend that you plan at least one trip of
approximately 5-7 days at the end to bring home your
child, although escort service is an option under specific
circumstances.
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Available Children:
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Infants to 12 years old at time of referral.
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Sibling groups and twins available.
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Unrelated children can be adopted at the same
time.
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“Home” style orphanages for better care.
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Typically healthy although some minor to correctable health conditions
may exist.
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Adoptive
Parents Requirements |
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Married
couples and single heterosexual men and women
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Couples should be married for at least 10 years.
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At least one parent should be
35 years or older.
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Haitian law
requires that adoptive parents are a minimum of 18 years older than the
adoptive child.
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No biological
children in the current marriage. Children from past marriages are
acceptable.
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Adopted
children in current or former marriage are acceptable.
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Previously
divorced individuals may adopt.
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On a case by
case basis, A Love Beyond Borders, may be able to assist families with
their Haitian adoption who are not US citizens and live in other
countries.
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Timelines
& Process: |
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Parents are usually able to complete their
adoption within 12-15 months after accepting a referral and submitting
a dossier to Haiti.
However, the timeframe for any adoption depends
on several factors, including how fast adoption Home study, USCIS and
dossier is completed, children available, and the practices in the
country and region of the adoption. Given the collapsed infrastructure
and instability created after the earthquake of 2010, we are unable to
accurately predict how long new adoptions will take at this time.
Please be flexible and patient and understand this timeframe is
entirely out of our control.
Once your dossier is completed it will be
translated into French and then sent to Haiti. You can then
expect to receive your referral within 1-2 months, unless you
specifically request an infant less than 12 months old. Due to
the extremely high cost in Haiti of providing care for an infant there
is a supplemental infant care fee of $2,000 applies for applicants
requesting referral of a child less than one year of age.
Due to the nature of international
adoptions, the requirements, timelines and fees are subject to change
without notice.
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