The Pakistani community in the United States maintains close ties with each other across the country with through yahoo groups, family interactions and cultural connections. Through this community network many families have discovered the opportunity for a couple who is unable to conceive a child to adopt a child from Pakistan. This adoption benefits an orphan in need of loving parents and it benefits parents who are unable to conceive a child or parents who perhaps desire to parent a boy or a girl.
Wishing to become a parent of a child and grow your family and pass on your traditions and values is a wish common to humanity. Fortunately for Pakistani couples adoption is a recognized practice to become a parent for both United States citizens and families of Pakistani heritage. The concept of parenting a child who is not your genetic child is philosophically and religiously compatible with the majority religions of both Pakistan and the United States. Both major majority religions, Islam and Christianity, allow for and encourage the practice of taking an orphan child into your home and loving and caring for the child as if that child is your own, the definition of adoption.
When a child is adopted in another country by citizens of the United States there is a merging of the cultures, laws and customs of both countries. In the case of adoption from Pakistan, the end result of the adoption process is very compatible to the United States, however at various stages of the process the cultural mores, religious practices and ethical standards can become confused in translation or have the appearance of incompatibility. The laws and requirements of the adoption process also vary between countries.
To achieve a successful adoption of a child from Pakistan, one has to successfully negotiate the laws, customs and processes of both the United States and Pakistan. When the United States signed onto the Hague Convention on Adoption in 2002 and implemented the Hague process in the United States it both clarified and changed the process for United States Citizens of Pakistani heritage who want to adopt a child from Pakistan.
Family Connections, Inc., a New York authorized agency with over twenty years of experience in international adoption, was in its final year of achieving Hague Accreditation through the Council on Accreditation (COA) when it found itself facing a dilemma. The agency had conducted two home studies for two Pakistani-American families who wanted to adopt children from Pakistan. The implementation of the Universal Accreditation Act (UAA) during this process caused the agency to become the default Primary Provider for the families.
When the agency was informed of this interpretation of the UAA, the agency researched the Pakistan and United States international adoption process as is related to Pakistan. The research involved discussion with mentors, the COA, the United States State Department, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and several attorneys. The regulations and laws of both Pakistan and the United States were also researched. In addition, a review of the practices of other countries that have a systems with similarities to Pakistan was also considered in order to establish standards of practice for a Pakistan/United States adoption process. As a result of this research, Family Connections established a process for United States citizens of Pakistani heritage to accept the placement of a child from Pakistan, obtain a visa to bring the child to the United States, and finalize the placement of the child in compliance with the Hague Standards of Adoption in the United States.
If you are interesed in learning more about adoption from Pakistan you can contact Anita at Family Connections by calling 607-756-6574 or 1-800-535-5556. Family Connections, Inc. is an authorized New York State adoption agency who has achieved Hague Accreditation from the Council on Accreditation. Family Connections, Inc. Family Connections provides home study and post-adoption supervisory services for families adopting internationally. Family Connections, Inc. also acts as a Primary Provider for families adopting from Pakistan. The agency has been successful in guiding families through the entire process from application, to receipt of visa and finalization in the United States.
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