Congratulations on your decision to adopt a child from India!

This is an outline of the typical process involved in adoption from India. I hope this will be of some help to you.

At about the same time that you apply to an international (source) agency that you have selected, you'll begin your homestudy with a local agency. 

In addition, your agency may suggest that you file your 1600-A petition with INS (advanced orphan petition) which can take months to process.Check with your state INS to see if they require homestudy at the time you submit your I600-A.
(See the 'just starting out' section for further info on choosing an agency, ins etc)

A 'typical' Indian adoption may take approximately 12 to 18 months or longer. Time from application to referral, and from referral to arrival can vary . A typical timeline might be from 4 to 12 month for referral. Then the processing time is usually 4 to 10 months until the child is ready to travel. 

• Assistance in putting together your Indian dossier (varies with each agency).
• Your US agency will send the dossier onto the Indian agency for review.
• Receive referral of a child from your US agency
• If you chose to accept the referral, you will sign child study/acceptance papers for your child and send them back to your US agency.
• Your US agency will send the acceptance papers onto the Indian agency for processing, clearance and filing in the courts.
• You may receive periodic updates, medical reports and photos of your child throughout your wait.
• Your agency may let you know when you have CARA clearance
• Your US agency will notify you of the guardianship order and you can file I-600 either in your home state INS office or travel and file at the US consulate in New Delhi (Delhi only takes 2 to 3 days for the process where here in the US it can take sometimes months)
• In certain states (as in WI), the original guardianship order must go to the state where they give their 'approval', then it will either go to the local INS office or back to you if you intend to file in Delhi.
• If you file here, your U.S. Agency will send a fax of I-600 approval to the consulate and will also notify your Indian adoption agency so they can begin the passport and visa process
• Your agency may assist you with travel plans, or an escort may be arranged

• VCA (Voluntary Coordinating Agency) declares the child available for adoption and the Indian agency must attempt to find a family for the child in India.
• If a family in India cannot be found, then the child will be cleared (VCA) for international adoption.
• Complete file with VCA clearance will go to CARA for their review and clearance
• Once CARA clearance is obtained, then the orphanage will send the file with a guardianship petition to the courts where you will then get the guardianship order. It may sometimes take more than one court date to acquire the guardianship order.
• The US consulate let's your Indian adoption agency know what documents they need for the VISA interview and the Indian agency can then make an appointment for the visa interview

• If you travel, you can contact the US consulate to ensure that they have the documentation they need, that you have an appointment for the visa interview. Of course, your child must have their Indian passport and other documents for the immigrant visa interview.
• Make your travel arrangements.
• Once in India you can file the I600 first, or wait until you've received custody of your child and then file in Delhi.
• You must bring your child with you to apply for their visa. You will apply for the visa at the consulate that has jurisdiction over the city where your child lives. Or, you can obtain both the visa and file the I600 at the Delhi consulate.
• Once the visa is obtained, it's time to go home!

• Or if you've decided to have your child escorted to the US, your agency will make those arrangements and will then notify you of the arrival date of your child! Please note: India is now asking that a parent travel.

•  Apply for a social security number for your child
• Once your child is home and you've completed the postplacement requirements with your study agency, you can finalize your adoption with your local courts. You can obtain further information on this process from your agency or contact the Register of Probate or Clerk of Courts in your county and ask them if you need a lawyer or can you finalize on your own.

Remember to send in the required postplacement reports! These are separate from the reports that you send to your local agency.