Ukraine - The Country
Ukraine, located in southeastern Europe, covers 233,089 square miles and is slightly smaller than Texas. Forests cover some 13% of the territory in the northern regions and large plains with fertile soil dominate southern Ukraine. Ukraine has cold winters and cool summers.

Ukraine has a long and interesting history, which dates back to 1500 B.C. The population is comprised of ethnic Ukrainians, ethnic Russians, Jews, Tatars, Poles, Germans, Hungarians, Romanians, and Greeks. Ukraine is a parliamentary democracy led by a strong executive president.

Who Can Adopt From Ukraine?
Individuals and couples may adopt from Ukraine. Couples must be married at least 1 year. Divorce is acceptable. Other children in the family are acceptable. There are no age restrictions for adoptive parents, other than they must be no older than 40 to 45 years older than the child, although this is often flexible.

Children Available
Healthy children over 1 year are available. Younger children with various medical conditions, some of them easily correctable, are also available. All children must be registered with the Regional Data Bank and a National Data Bank. The children are generally Caucasian in appearance. The children are of good general health yet have some developmental delays due to the orphanage setting. Pre-travel photographs, videos, and medical information on the children are not available due to the laws of Ukraine. We work in different orphanages including the Kiev region, Crimea, and in Western Ukraine.

The Process In Ukraine
Ukraine adoptions are a bit different than other international programs. Your dossier is translated then submitted to the National Adoption Center (NAC) for approval. In approximately 3 months approval is obtained and you are given an appointment to go to the NAC. You will then travel to Ukraine to register in person with the NAC and receive preliminary information about available children. You will travel to an orphanage to meet and select a child. After the court hearing and paperwork is completed, you will travel to Kiev to apply for your child's immigrant visa. You can then fly home with your child. Your stay in Ukraine is generally about 3 weeks. Itinerary and travel information will be provided before your travel date. You will be met at the airport by your driver/translator who will accompany you to your apartment and throughout your stay.

Post-Placement Supervision
Your child's adoption is finalized in Ukraine, but Ukraine requires post-placement reports and photos of your child over a period of time. Reports may be needed on a yearly basis for up to 18 years. You will also need to register your child with the Ukrainian Embassy in the U.S.

Hands Across The Water is committed to "our" children and their new families. We will assist you in every possible way in your parenting efforts.

To Begin The Process:
Hands Across The Water is committed to guiding you through the adoption process. "We have been there, now we're here for you."

1. You will first need to apply to Hands Across The Water for services by filling out an application and submitting it with the application fee.
2. File your I-600A with the U.S. BCIS (INS). We will assist you with this process.
3. Complete your Home Study with Hands Across The Water. Hands Across The Water will work closely with the Ukrainian facilitators throughout the process.
4. Hands Across The Water will forward your completed dossier to the Ukrainian facilitators to be translated and submitted to the National Adoption Center.
5. Within approximately 1 month, your dossier will be approved and you will receive notice as to when to travel.
6. At the appointment time you will travel to Ukraine to register with the National Adoption Center and receive information on available children. You will then travel to the orphanages to meet the children.
7. When all the Ukrainian paperwork is complete, you will obtain your child's visa from the U.S. Embassy in Kiev. Your stay in Ukraine will be approximately 3 weeks. This is a very valuable time to learn about the country, people and culture of your child's birth.

Dossier Documents Required
(Documents needed may change)

Home Study
Medical Report on adopting parents
Marriage Certificate or Birth Certificate if single
State Police Clearance Letter
Adoptive Parents' Letter of Obligation (generated by HATW)
Copy of passport
Petition to Adopt (generated by HATW)
Power of Attorney (generated by HATW)
Financial statement (supplied by HATW)
Copy of I-171-H (INS pre-approval)
Employer letter
Family photos

The photos on these pages are of children already placed and are not available for adoption. HATW does not photolist children waiting for adoption via the internet.

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