Cambodian Adoptions

Note: Adoptions Currently Suspended

Bordering Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam in southeast Asia, Cambodia has a population of over 12 million people. Although the history of Cambodia stretches back many thousands of years, most people focus on the horrendous civil war of the 1970s. After Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge gained control of Cambodia following the civil war, they tried to eliminate everything that had to do with the way life that existed before the war. Millions of people starved to death or were executed by the Khmer Rouge during this time. In 1978, Vietnamese forces launched a massive invasion of Cambodia, taking over the capital of Phnom Penh and pushing the Khmer Rouge from power. The United Nations sponsored free elections in the 1990s, which helped restore order and return some political stability to Cambodia.

In 2002, Americans adopted 254 children from Cambodia. However, the USCIS (formerly known as the INS and the BCIS) has stopped processing all orphan visa petitions from Cambodia because there have been cases where Cambodian children were stolen from their birthparents and sold to adoption agencies. The U.S. Embassy in Cambodia is currently working with officials in the Cambodian government to develop policies and procedures which will allow the suspension to be lifted. Until safeguards can be agreed upon by both the U.S. and Cambodian governments, all international adoptions from Cambodia are halted.

In a Nut Shell: The Low-Down on Adopting From Cambodia

• Prior to the moratorium imposed by the USCIS, the following information applied to adopting from Cambodia. (Please note that when the moratorium is lifted and adoptions resume in Cambodia, the procedures may change considerably.)

• Children Available: Healthy infants and toddlers (both girls and boys), and special needs children are available for adoption. All children must be registered with an orphanage for three months; therefore, babies are at least four months old when placed with a family. Children older than 8 years old cannot be adopted unless they have a younger sibling who is adopted with the older sibling.

• Parent Requirements: Parents must be between 25 and 55 years old and have no more than two children already in the family. Single parents (both men and women) meet Cambodian adoption guidelines.
• Travel Requirements: Travel is required for one parent, although both parents are strongly urged to travel. Trip length averages five to ten days.
• Time Frame: You can expect to receive a child referral an average of three months after submission of your dossier to Cambodia. You will be invited to travel to Cambodia to bring your child home an average of three months after you accept the referral of your child.
• Number of Children Adopted by Americans in 2002: 254
• Additional Information: The children available for adoption live in orphanages. Childless couples must be open to a child of either gender.

 

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Credits: Excerpted from "International Adoption Guidebook," by Mary Strickert