The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has left many homeless and with nowhere to turn. The danger has become too much and now many Afghans have fled their country with no choice. Sadly, many of these refugees are now children.
No one decides to become a refugee, all are human beings, who are sadly, forced to run for their lives to escape violence, war, or persecution, or sometimes all of these things.
It is a sad fact that over half of the refugees in the world are refugees, and most often they are alone, having been separated from their parents and family, with no one else to care for them, at no fault of their own.
It is a sad truth. However, here in the U.S. we can help them, and give them comfort, love, and a home.
If you have been moved by the news of the Afghan children affected by the violence and war in Afghanistan, maybe you have considered adopting an Afghan child in need. This is totally possible for you to do, however, it is not all that simple.
Let’s talk about how you can go about doing this.
Overview Of Adopting Afghan Refugee Children
It is not an easy path to take in order to adopt an Afghan refugee child. According to the UN, over 400,000 Afghans were forced from their homes in 2021 alone.
This 400,000 were a number joining 2.9 million who had already been displaced across the country since 2020 ended.
Everyone knows how deeply important it is that we follow our very human obligation to help people like this when they are in need, as we would hope they would do the same for us if the tables were turned.
An operation that assists with the adoption of Afghan refugee children is The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, which includes the U.S. as a co-signer.
Basically, a child has to have been on an inter-country list for adoption, and this needs to have not been successful, with no domestic placement.
As refugee children are often displaced from their origin country, the adoption would instead be processed under adoption laws of the new country they reside in.
Before the Taliban takeover, the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan needed parents to be eligible to adopt under U.S. law.
For this reason, American adoptions from Afghanistan were rare, however, with the takeover, it is not likely that previous adoption agreements will be upheld, and parents who are in the process of adopting a child are desperately scrambling to get their child out of Afghanistan safely.
What Are The National Requirements?
So, what are the requirements for you to adopt a refugee child from Afghanistan?
Well, you still need to meet particular requirements to be able to bring a foreign born child to the United States via adoption. There are several basic requirements that any potential adoptive parent needs to meet.
You have to be a U.S. citizen to adopt internationally.
Should you not be married you have to be at least 25 years of age.
Should you be married, you need to adopt the child in joint agreement with your partner, even if you are separated (not divorced), and your partner also needs to be a U.S. citizen, or at least in legal status within the United States.
You need to meet other particular requirements which will determine how suitable you are as a prospective adoptive parent. This means that there will be fingerprinting conducted, as well as criminal background checks, and even a home study.
What Are The State Requirements?
Not only will you need to qualify under the U.S. law to be able to adopt an Afghan refugee child, you will also need to meet the requirements for your home State.
You can find information on this on the Child Welfare Information Gateway website, or by contacting your State government to check what their requirements are.
What You Need To Know About Caring For Children
Back in late 2021, around 53,000 Afghan refugees were staying at 8 select military bases around the United States. Around 2,600 had also been resettled into American cities and towns.
Children who are not accompanied by parents are then placed into the care of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is a division of the Department of Health and Human Services. They are then housed at children’s facilities.
Should parents not be found, the child may then be released onto a vetted sponsor, perhaps a family member who arrives with them.
Most are reunited very quickly. Around 210 unaccompanied children are in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement on average. However, while 210 is a small number, their pain and plight has been recognized by Afghan Americans.
Those who wish to provide foster care to these children do need to be certified and trained, this means background checks need to be conducted (see also “6 Best Background Checks For Adoptive Parents“).
Potential foster carers will also need medical clearance, first aid and CPR training, home inspections and interviews.
There are 14 states in which families are eligible to foster unaccompanied child refugees (see also “10 Best States For Families“). These U.S. States include:
Adopting a child is always a big step in life, and an amazing thing to do.
However, when you are looking to adopt a child refugee, it is a bit more challenging, so knowing the rules and laws around it and what you need to do is critical before starting an application.
Hi, I’m Joan Crassel, and I started my firm in 2006, with the goal to help and represent clients in a range of adoption-related matters.
Since then, the firm has gone on to aid hundreds of clients in adoption proceedings, and in other areas of family law.
With this site, I hope that you can find all of the answers that you are looking for, with in depth guides and informative articles from lawyers, not bloggers or social media influencers. We have actual first-hand knowledge of the adoption process, and can provide you with insight that no one else can.
