Worldwide, WACAP has placed more than 9,000 children with U.S. families. Adoptions from Kazakhstan, however, are new to WACAP. We seek families to pioneer our first Kazakhstan adoptions.

Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia and borders China. Although the majority of the population is ethnic Asian Kazakh, some of the children are of Russian or mixed heritage. Children eligible for adoption in Kazakhstan represent a variety of ethnicities, including Asian, Eurasian and Caucasian. They range in age from infant to 15 years old. You must be open to adopting a child of either gender and any of these ethnicities.

Children generally come to an orphanage because they were abandoned in a maternity hospital or were removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. Children are first referred for domestic adoption inside Kazakhstan. After six months they can be referred for international adoption. So a child referred to WACAP will be at least 6 months old. Because this is a new program, we don’t know the average age of infants at referral. We ask you to be open to considering a child of either gender up to 18 months old.

Parent eligibility requirements may vary, and are based on the child’s needs and best interests. Married couples are welcome. For young children, authorities prefer a maximum age difference of no more than 48 years between the mother and the child. Single women may also adopt. Requirements tend to be more flexible for placing older children or those with special needs. Parents must meet Kazakhstani medical requirements, which include being free of infectious disease and severe medical conditions. Pioneer families should have no prior arrest records. Final approval of each adoption rests with the regional court judge.

Families must complete a complex dossier of paperwork, which is submitted through WACAP to the Consulate of the Republic of Kazakhstan. From there, the dossier is forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Science, and finally to the regional Department of Education, which sends an invitation for the family to come to Kazakhstan to adopt a child. From the time WACAP receives your completed dossier until you’re invited to travel to Kazakhstan is estimated at four to nine months.

In Kazakhstan, child information is considered confidential, and prospective parents must travel there to review the information in person. You’re expected to “travel blind,” meaning that you won’t have information on a specific child before you go. Upon arrival in Kazakhstan, you’ll receive written information and photos of a child, which we recommend you share with an experienced international adoption medical specialist. Once you’re ready to seriously consider the child, you may meet the child in person.

You must travel to Kazakhstan for either one trip of six to seven weeks or two trips consisting of a three- to four-week trip and a second one-week trip. After accepting a child on the first trip, you’ll visit with the child daily for a 14-day “bonding period.” At the end of the bonding period, a court date is set for seven to 10 days later. After the court hearing, you may choose to return home or stay in Kazakhstan during a 15-day appeal period. After the appeal period, you’ll return to Kazakhstan (if you went home) to receive adoption documentation, register the child with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and obtain the child’s U.S. visa. These duties take about a week.