State Dep't Intercountry Adoptions Website

The US State Department has launched a website with information for Americans seeking to adopt children from foreign countries. The Intercountry Adoption site provides a wealth of information for:

• adopting parents
• adoption agencies
• attorneys and judges
• social workers
• adoptees

The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption is the primary legal authority governing this issue. It went into force in the US on April 1, 2008. The website provides the text of the Convention, a list of countries that are parties to it, a guide for parents, and related material.

The website also provides country-specific information, forms, news, statistics, and visa information.