India Adoption Requirements

Who Is Eligible to Adopt from India?

Here are the requirements India has for international adoption from its country:

• One parent must have U.S. citizenship (per USCIS requirements)

• Married couples (M/F), married 2 years

• Single adopters allowed

• Family size: up to four children in the home (families with more than 4 children already in the home are considered case-by-case)

• Age: must be at least 25 years older than the child to be adopted (must be 27 years at time of registration)

• No minimum income requirement; however, families should have adequate financial resources to care for an adopted child and must meet USCIS threshold for family size

• No crimes against children, other previous criminal history assessed on a case-by-case basis

• Must be assessed to be physically and mentally fit

• Doctors must be able to confirm a parent is in good health without chronic health issues that would impact parenting

• Psychological Evaluation must be completed for each PAP

• The age of the child a family is eligible to adopt is based on the maximum age of the prospective adoptive parent(s).  The composite age of each prospective adoptive parent(s) is calculated by adding together the exact age of each spouse, per the chart below.  The exact age of an individual includes the total years, months, and days "old" a person is, based on their specific birth date.  For example, India considers a prospective adoptive parent to be "30 years, 6 months, and 21 days old", rather than just "30 years".  (This is important for married couples to consider when determining their composite age and the age of child/ren they are eligible to adopt.)