 Taiwan
Adoption FAQ
Q.
What are the children like who are available for adoption?
A.
Our program in Taiwan places special needs children only. These children
have a variety of physical problems, some that may be repairable and some
that may not be repairable. Any child 5 years old or older is considered
special needs because of their age, and often times that age is the only
special needs these children have.
Q.
Are medical reports and pictures available on the children available for
adoption?
A. Yes, detailed
medical reports and pictures of the children are provided for each child
available for adoption. These reports are translated into English and
prospective adoptive parents can give these reports to doctors who specialize
in international adoption medicine for an evaluation and opinion about
the child’s medical condition.
Q.
Must I be home study ready before I can apply for a specific child?
A.
Yes, in order to apply for a specific child, a copy of the prospective
adoptive family’s home study will be sent to the director of the
orphanage in Taiwan. The director will read the home study and if she
feels the family is qualified to adopt she will assign the child to them.
The adoption process can begin only after the orphanage director approves
the prospective family’s home study.
Q.
What if I see a child I would like to adopt but I don’t have a completed
home study?
A.
In order to have a child assigned you must have a completed home study.
Often time’s families will immediately begin the home study process
so they can apply for a specific child. However, there is always the chance
that another family will step forward for that child before the home study
can be finished. However, children become available often and if that
child is no longer available when your home study is completed, there
will be other children to choose among.
Q.
What is the adoption process like for Taiwan?
A.
Once a prospective adoptive family has been approved and assigned a child,
the adoption process can begin. Following is the overview of the Taiwan
adoption process:
- An Adoptive
family commits to the child and the home study is sent to Taiwan for
approval.
- The orphanage
director approves the family and if birth parents are known the home
study then is presented to the biological family for approval. Once
the approval is given by all parties, the child is assigned to the prospective
adoptive family. This approval process can take up to 6 weeks to complete.
- The prospective
adoptive family will sign the adoption agreement and the Power of Attorney
in order to appoint the orphanage director as the person who will represent
the adoptive family in the adoption proceedings.
- The family
will then file the I-600A with USCIS and begin to gather the dossier
documents.
- The completed
dossier will be sent to Taiwan for translation.
The translated dossier will be submitted to the Taiwan court. The first
court hearing is in about 4 to 6 weeks after the dossier is submitted.
After the first court date hearing, the dossier will be scheduled for
a final ruling. This second hearing will take place about 2 to 3 months
after the first hearing.
- When
the final ruling is received, the orphanage will notify Wasatch Adoptions
and a travel date is set for the adoptive parents to travel to Taiwan
and pick up their child. The stay in Taiwan is approximately 1 week.
- The family
returns to the U.S. with their child.
Post Placement visits – there are 7 post placement reports due.
These post adoption reports are due 3, 6 and 12 months after the child
comes to the U.S. , and then annually for the next 4 years.
The timeline
to complete an adoption from Taiwan once the agreement is signed is approximately
6 to 8 months.
Q.
What if I find a child I like, submit my homestudy for this child and
am turned down.
A.
There is no reason a family would be turned down unless there are multiple
families applying to adopt this child. If you choose a child and find
that there were multiple families who had applied for this child and you
were not chosen, you can apply for another child that fits with your family
circumstances. Your home study is valid for 18 months which gives prospective
adoptive parents time to find another suitable child.
Q.
What if I am turned down for the child I wanted to adopt and another child
does not come available that will fit with our family?
A.
If this happens, there is a chance that you will lose the $300 application
fee and the $600 translation fee. However, Wasatch Adoptions will do our
best to help you find a suitable referral. Also, it is possible to transfer
to another foreign adoption program if the Taiwan program is not working
for your family with no additional agency fees.
Q. Do both parents
have to trafel to Taiwan to pick up the child?
A. At least
one parent must travel to Taiwan to pick up the adopted child. However,
because the trip to Taiwan is short and adoptive parents only are in the
country for one week, usually both parents choose to travel. If only one
parent can travel, the child will be issued an IR-4 visa which means the
adoptive parents must readopt the child and then apply with USCIS in order
to obtain U.S. citizenship for their child upon return to the U.S
If
you are interested in more information about adopting from Taiwan, please
email kathy@wiaa.org. |
