International Adoption (via Hague Convention) Flow Chart

Click here to see the published flow chart. 
InternationalAdoption

The task my partner and I selected was to complete an international adoption using the Hague Convention, which is the more strictly regulated process for adoption. To complete an adoption, we needed to first select the country we wanted our child from, and the adoption service that would direct us to the specific programs in the country. After this, a lot of paperwork ensued: forms 1-800 and 1-800-a and applications for Visas and passports. To complete the adoption, we needed to be "interviewed" by the consul of the country and only if they approve and issue our child's visa, could the adoption be complete. 

Fortunately, the paperwork was straightforward, requiring similar information on every form such as our names, date of birth, current address and phone numbers. However, if we were to actually submit these papers, the difficulties would become evident through the restrictions for adoptive parents like the number of years they have been married or their ages. Each service requires something different and without approval for each step, a couple could potentially go through multiple adoptive services and countries before finally completing adoption.

The only thing I would change about this process is the redundant paperwork. As I said earlier, most of the forms required very similar information and to save time and space, the forms could be combined. This would allow the process to run faster and smoother. If this process were real, there would also be a lot of back and forth between the country and the couple that could be less chaotic if this turned into one big meeting where all of the child's information and the couple's information forms are exchanged at once. However, as far as bureaucratic processes go, this one is more straightforward than most. The only reason the process is slow and careful is because of what's on the line is this process goes wrong. If couples could easily walk into an adoption agency and pick a child, there would be a lot of unhappy children with poorly educated parents. 


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