It generally takes four to seven months to complete the pre-adoption process: adoption preparation, adoption study, CIS (Citizen & Immigration Services) clearance -- completed by Children's Home Society & Family Services if you live in Minnesota or Western Wisconsin or by a local adoption agency if you live elsewhere.  If you are not currently working with a local agency, we recommend using one of our partner agencies.  Before beginning your homestudy, please confirm your agency is willing to sign a supervisory agreement with CHSFS.  At the time of referral acceptance, you will receive the initial Indian documents (pre-referral dossier) required to adopt a child from India.

Once your adoption study is approved, you may wait at least 12-24 months for a referral if you are of Indian heritage.  If you specify a gender or orphanage it may lengthen the time you wait for a referral. At the time of a formal referral to your family, you will usually receive a report consisting of a small photograph, the child's social history and medical exam along with acceptance papers to sign.   We ask that you take no longer than two weeks to make this important decision.

After you have consulted with your pediatrician and accepted the referral, we then work with you to complete the second part of your dossier.  Once your dossier is sent to India, the documents are submitted to CARA for a No Objection Certificate (approximately 30 days) and then to the Family Court. The court process usually takes three to five months before legal guardianship of the child is awarded to the adoptive parents. Please be patient during this time - the nursery and CHSFS is doing all they can to process the case!  No one wants your child to remain in an orphanage longer than they must.

Once the court order is issued in India, the India Program Specialists will work with you to submit the appropriate documents to the CIS so your child may be issued a visa for travel to the U.S. India requires at least one parent to travel.  Our staff is here to work with you to plan your trip; with extensive travel notes, phone consultations and travel meetings, you will be ready to go. 

Upon arrival back in the U.S., please follow the instructions given for the post placement process, as well as adoption finalization in the U.S., as your child will come to you via a guardianship process.  Your state requirements must be met and adoption finalization must be completed within two years of your child arriving in the U.S..

Children's Home Society & Family Services has several different programs in India, and the time lines differ for each program. Please call for further information on these programs.