A home study is required in order for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to determine if you are suitable and eligible to adopt a child abroad and bring the child to the United States through the Form I-600/A (orphan) or Form I-800/A (Convention) process. A home study is a review of you, your family, and your home environment. It assists USCIS and the foreign country's adoption authority, in determining whether you and your home environment are suitable for a child.

Home studies conducted for intercountry adoption cases must comply with U.S. federal regulations (8 CFR 204.311), which set out specific requirements to assist USCIS in determining the suitability of prospective adoptive parents to provide proper care to an adopted child. Home study preparation requirements vary by state. However, all home studies must generally specify the country/countries from which you are approved to adopt. Please see the USCIS adoption web pages here for information on home study requirements.

If your home study is not performed in the first instance by an accredited agency, it must be reviewed and approved by an accredited agency. This requirement, however, does not apply to home studies conducted by public foreign or public domestic authorities. Also, unless a limited exception applies, you will need an accredited or approved adoption service provider to act as the primary provider in your intercountry adoption case. Prospective adoptive parents pursuing an intercountry adoption (a Convention adoption or an orphan adoption), including the adoption of a relative, must work with an adoption service provider who is able to ensure that all adoption services have been provided. Under U.S. law, U.S. adoption service providers that are not public entities or otherwise an exempted provider must be accredited or approved in order to provide adoption services relating to intercountry adoptions.

Please refer to the Adoption Service Providers page for more information. 

For more Information

• Instructions for filling out Form I-800A
• Instructions for filling out Form I-600A
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Child Welfare Information Gateway
• Guide for Social Workers to the Hague Adoption Convention
• Technical Guidance on becoming accredited or approved