Holt Korea Adoption Process
This brief summary provides a basic outline of our Korea adoption process.

Application

Holt staff carefully reviews the information in your application to determine that you meet Holt, U.S., and Korean adoption requirements before you begin the adoption process to ensure you will be able to successfully complete it.
Approval takes 3 – 4 days

Complete a homestudy

If you live in a state where Holt does not have a branch office, you can select a co-operating local service agency from a list we provide. The homestudy process will provide you with the opportunity to learn more about adoption. After your homestudy report is complete and approved by the Eugene Office, it will be kept with your complete dossier until requested by Holt Korea. (Back to the top of the page.)

Parent Education

After completing the courses, you will have a deeper understanding and be better prepared for what it means to be an adoptive family. (Back to the top of the page.)

File for USCIS pre-approval-“I-600A”

Approval from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is required in order to bring a child from another country into the U.S. as an immediate relative. (Back to the top of the page.)

Holt refers a child to a family

If you are open to a child with some medical conditions you may be contacted sooner. Families receive a photo of the child, any social history of the child’s birth family, and all medical and developmental reports. Families are encouraged to review the referral information with a medical professional before making the formal decision to accept the referral.

After your acceptance papers are received, they are forwarded to Holt-Korea, where the overseas adoption processing begins. Your translated homestudy is presented along with your acceptance papers and the child’s information to the Ministry of Health and Welfare for review and approval of the Emigration Permit for your child. (Back to the top of the page.)

File for USCIS approval-“I-600”

Following the Ministry’s approval of the Emigration Permit, several procedures need to be accomplished before the child can travel: blood testing for Hepatitis B and HIV; visa physical; and the Travel Certificate.

When the Holt-Korea staff has completed the intercountry adoption paperwork for your case, they will contact the American Embassy to retrieve the visa approval (I-171H) that your USCIS office has sent to Seoul. With this approval (I-171H), along with other documents, they submit the application for the Visa to be issued.

During the past year, the time frame for travel has been up to 6 months after the acceptance papers are submitted to Korea. (Back to the top of the page.)

When you get home...

Children from Korea remain under the guardianship of Holt International Children’s Services until their adoptions are finalized in a US court. After the six-month post-placement reporting period is satisfied, Holt International will issue a ”Consent to Adoption” and you may proceed with the final adoption.

Following your child’s finalization, you will need to send a copy of your child’s adoption decree to Holt (Eugene) and we will forward it to Korea. This is used to advise Korea of your child’s U.S. Citizenship, and they will then notify the Korean government authorities, which proves the child is no longer to be considered a Korean citizen. (Back to the top of the page.)