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Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic - The Country
Located in the Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, east of Haiti. Tropical climate with little seasonal variation. Country consists of white sand beaches, impressive mountain ranges with spectacular rivers and waterfalls.

Why Choose to Adopt in Dominican Republic?
Children reside in orphanages. Travel to the Dominican Republic is relatively easy and the country is located in the Caribbean! The language is Spanish. Adopting parents will live with the child in the Dominican Republic for sixty days providing you an excellent opportunity to get to know the country, culture, and people – and your child!!

Children Available
Children available for adoption are over the age of 1 year. Average age of referred children is under 2 years. Boys and girls are available. Rarely are siblings available. The majority of the children are of Spanish descent with African descent and is listed as “73% mixed, 16% white, 11% African.”

Who Can Adopt From the Dominican Republic?
Married couples between 30 and 60 years of age are eligible to adopt. Couples must be married at least 5 years. There must be at least fifteen years difference between adopting parent and child.

To Begin The Process

  1. Apply to Hands Across The Water for services.
  2. Complete your Home Study with Hands Across The Water or an appropriate agency in your state. Please contact HATW for assistance if you live outside of Michigan.
  3. File your I-600A with the U.S. BCIS (INS).
  4. Prepare your dossier for Dominican Republic. HATW can do this for you or you can take this on yourself.
  5. Dossier is sent to country and reviewed and approved by CONANI.
  6. You will receive a referral 3 to 6 months later.
  7. After a referral is received, you will need to accept or decline the referral. Should you accept, the adoption process starts in Dominican Republic.
  8. Travel to Dominican Republic is 6 to 9 months after process starts for a 60 day stay. Your stay in Dominican Republic is a very valuable time to learn about the country, people, and culture of your child's birth.

Post-Placement Supervision
Your child’s adoption is finalized in Dominican Republic, but post placements are still required. Three post placement reports are required, at 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months after arrival home. The frequency and number is subject to change.

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