How long will it take?

The answer is in flux, and depends a great deal on the country you are from. There are two main parts of the adoption process once you’re in Nepal.

1. Nepal government process – about 7 - 9 days (assuming no Nepali holidays) Your agency’s rep should get permission to visit the child in the orphanage for you, and then you visit your child in the orphanage for about 7 days. The last day should be your day to meet with the Ministry of Women Children and Social welfare to finalize your adoption (under Nepali law). You also need to get your child’s Nepal travel document after your adoption is finalized (like a passport)

2. Your country’s process – variable based on country. Some countries pretty much take the Nepali adoption decree as final and automatically approve your child’s entry into your home country. Others like the US, have their own set of criteria the child must meet to be able to immigrate. The US requires that the child meets the requirements of being an orphan as defined by US immigration rules. The US embassy will evaluate the information they are given, and may further investigate any issues that they think are questionable (RFE – Request for Evidence – up to 12 weeks). If the US embassy thinks your child is not an orphan by US standards, it will issue a NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny), and they will not allow the child to enter the US unless it is appealed and further investigation shows the child does meet US criteria of being an orphan.

It appears that the US is instituting a pre-approval process like what used to occur in Guatemala so people don’t unexpectedly get caught up in a very long visit to Nepal. (In Guatemala, the US embassy would review the adoption paperwork prior to the adoption being finalized under Guatemalan law – so referral first, then pre-approval by the US embassy, then adoption finalized by Guatemala, then final approval by the US embassy (usually 2 -3 working days after the embassy interview) That would keep the in country time to about 2 weeks total. (7-9 days Nepal government process plus 3-4 working days US embassy process)

At least this is the way I understand it….I’m probably not completely accurate on some of the details.