Who can adopt a child in Haiti?
Haitian law does not allow for a Haitian child to travel to the United States to be adopted. Therefore, prospective adoptive parents must obtain a full and final adoption under Haitian law before the child can immigrate to the United States. Prospective adoptive parents can expect a lengthy process to adopt a child in Haiti. Haitian courts, in some jurisdictions such as Port au Prince, require American prospective adoptive parents to travel to Haiti to appear before a justice of the peace in consent proceedings before the adoption is finalized. The U.S. Government does not require adoptive parents to travel to Haiti at any time during the adoption and immigrant visa process. While It is our understanding that this should only take one trip to Haiti to complete the process, the number of trips will depend heavily on the local agents in scheduling and planning on behalf of their clients, the availability of the consenting parties, and of course on the availability of the magistrates.
