Child Citizenship
It’s important that you ensure that your adopted child becomes a U.S. Citizen.  Please view our information about the Child Citizenship Act. 

Post-Adoption Reporting
Some countries have laws that require foreign adoptive parents to report on the health and welfare of children they have adopted, sometimes years after the adoption take place. These reports are generally referred to as post-adoption reports.

In general, post-adoption reports are normally designed to track the child's development and progress in adjusting to his or her new family and life in a new country. They also provide assurance to political leaders and adoption officials in the country that children they place in permanent families through intercountry adoption are receiving appropriate care and protection.  The requirements and duration of these reports vary from country to country, and some countries expect the reports to be prepared by a social worker.  

Instead of post-adoption reports, a few countries grant provisional approval of an adoption pending residence for several months with the adoptive family in their country.  Based on periodic post-placement reports, the country of origin evaluates whether the child and parents are bonding and how well the child is settling into the new culture and family environment. Submitting these reports on time in conjunction with your adoption service provider, will ensure that finalizing the adoption takes place without delays or snags. 

Understand a country's reporting requirements before adopting. If you are not comfortable having this long term obligation, we recommend you pursue adoption in a country that does not have post-adoption reporting requirements. Failure to provide post-adoption reports may put at risk intercountry adoption programs for U.S. parents who wish to adopt in the future.

Should you decide to pursue an adoption with this understanding, your adoption agency and the U.S. embassy will normally have helpful information with respect to the reporting requirements.

Post-Adoption Services
There are many public and private nonprofit post adoption services available for children and their families. There are also numerous adoptive family support groups and adoptee organizations active in the United States that provide a network of options for adoptees who seek out other adoptees from the same country of origin.