• Children Available
• Qualifications
• Steps to Adopting
• Estimated Adoption Expenses

1. Orientation: We invite you to meet with an agency representative to discuss the process of adopting from Lithuania in detail.  This is an excellent opportunity to learn about children available and the process and policies of the Lithuanian Government, the Agency and CIS (formerly INS).
   
   
2. Application to Family Tree Adoption Agency (FTAA): FTAA will review your application to insure you meet state requirements in addition to the qualifications required by the Lithuanian Government.  Upon application approval, the home study will be initiated.
   
   
3. Completion of the Dossier and Filing with CIS: During the home study process you will begin to gather documents needed for your dossier and CIS.
   
   The dossier is a collection of documents that will be submitted to the Lithuanian Government for review.  The dossier serves to provide information about you and contains documents that verify that you have met the regulations and requirements of Lithuania, your state and CIS.
   
   Upon completion of the home study, the I-600A application is filed with supporting documents (including your home study) to your local CIS office for approval to adopt a foreign-born child.
   
   FTAA will assist you with the dossier and CIS process.  We will meet with you to explain the dossier process including the documents required for Lithuania and how to authenticate your documents.
   
   
4. Review of Dossier and Submission to Lithuania: FTAA will review your dossier for New York State applicants.  The dossier is then submitted in accordance with the requirements of Lithuania and is translated in the country of Lithuania.
   
5. Waiting for Referral of the Child: Once a family is approved to adopt, the family is assigned a log in number. Lithuania will ‘match’ a child to the family when the family's log in number is reached.  This process of matching/waiting may take 24 months or longer. *Please give careful consideration to the time frame to adopt before applying to this program
   
6. Travel to Lithuania: After a referral of a child has been made and accepted, the family will travel to Lithuania to adopt. An adoption petition can be filed with the court and there is a 40 day waiting period from the time an adoption petition is filed with the judge until it becomes final. 
   Travel may occur in one or two trips to the country.
   
7. Post Adoption Supervision: We recognize the importance of post adoption support  and we will visit you according to the laws of the Government of Lithuania. Post Adoption Reports are a requirement of the Lithuanian Government. All families are required to authenticate (obtain the apostille) and have the correct notary and county clerk seals before submitting them to the agency. Failure to do so could jeopardize future adoptions in Lithuania.
   
8. Your Child’s Citizenship:  Obtaining proof of citizenship and social security is  necessary for your child. FTAA will assist you with information on obtaining a U.S. adoption decree.

For more information or questions please contact: cindi@familytreeadoption.org