REQUIREMENTS:

 - Married couples only can adopt a child from Ukraine;
 - Previous marriages are permissible. 
 - Other children in the home are acceptable.

HIGHLIGHTS:

 
- Most children are Caucasian with blue/green/gray eyes.
- Healthy older children are available for adoption with no "waiting list".

- Young special needs children are available.
- One trip is required and both parents must travel.

THE CHILDREN

According to Ukraine law a child must be at least fourteen months of age before they are eligible for adoption by foreigners. Ukrainian children who have been registered with the Kiev based State Department of Adoption (SDA) for one year are available for international adoption. The one-year waiting requirement may be waived only if children suffer from a disease listed with the Ministry of Public Health Protection (contact us for more information).
Adoptive parents who have registered with the Adoption Center may receive information about adoptable children only during their appointment in Ukraine, Ukrainian officials may not disclose information on adoptable children to agencies or other private citizens.

ELIGIBILITY TO ADOPT

All prospective families must complete an application and Adoption agreement, submit any required fees, have their home study approved by a licensed Social Worker, and receive approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before becoming fully eligible to adopt.
In accordance with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidelines, and Ukraine adoption laws, married couples will be considered.
Furthermore, there are no specific age criteria in Ukraine's adoption law. Both parents need to travel to Ukraine for the adoption.

ADOPTION PROCESS

Adoption from Ukraine is unique in that parents have the ability to select their child once they arrive in the country. The process takes about 6-8 months to complete.

1. Dossier

Our representative will help you to complete the Dossier for Ukraine. We will provide you with the forms and check list for the Dossier. These documents must go through a careful process of verification and certification within your state so that they can be used as the legal framework for your adoption. When you have assembled and Apostille certified your dossier, it is sent to our office where we review it for accuracy and send to our Attorney in Kiev (Ukraine).
Once your documents have been translated, they are delivered to the SDA in Kiev.
When your Dossier arrives at the SDA, it is submitted to one of the SDA lawyers for review and processing. Normally, the translation and processing can be completed in approximately 5-8 weeks.

2. Dossier Approval and Invitation Letter from SDA

After the SDA processes and approves your Dossier, they contact our Attorney and the family directly to extend an invitation for you to travel to Ukraine on a specific date. We assist with the details of your travel planning, and families customarily have between 2-4 weeks to prepare for their visit.

3. Travel and visit SDA

When you arrive in Kiev at the SDA, you will have the opportunity to sit with one of their staff psychologists and review profiles of Ukrainian children available for adoption. After you have selected a child that you feel might be a good match for your family, arrangements are made for you to travel to that province to meet the child. When you arrive at the orphanage, you are allowed a brief interaction with the child. You are given access to the child's medical record and developmental history as well. Based on your interaction with the child, you will accept or decline the referral. If you accept, you immediately begin processing the paperwork for the adoption. If for any reason, you feel the child is not a good match, you may decline the referral and return to the SDA to begin reviewing the profiles of other children.

4. Court hearing

After prospective adoptive parents identify a child for adoption, the file for the case is presented to a judge in the region where the child is from.
As a general rule, the judge\'s decision is announced and issued the day of the hearing. Once the decision takes effect, the new adoptive parents are granted parental rights and legal responsibility for the child.
Adoptive parents must attend the hearing. In cases where one of the parents cannot be present at the hearing (e.g. major surgery, disability etc.), a judge may permit one parent to provide a power of attorney for the other parent.

Your in-country stay will be approximately 2-3 weeks, and the duration of your visit will be focused on finalizing your adoption paperwork.

Since April 19, 2004 the American Consulate in Kiev Ukraine is able to complete all parts of the visa process.

Our Ukraine Coordinators have successfully placed many children in their forever families. Our Attorney have successfully placed Ukrainian orphans in Italian, France, Spain, Canadian, German, American families. You can be assured that you will be in good hands throughout your entire adoption process, and our knowledgeable staff will be a constant source of support for you every step of the way.