How long does it take to adopt a girl from South Korea?

[exnra]

Hello,

My husband and I are interested in adopting from South Korea. We are just starting the process. I was also wondering if the fact that I am Korean-American (my parents came to America years ago) can speed up the process -- or slow it down.

Thanks!

[excitedtobeamom]

From my research girls take longer but since you are Korean things are usually faster.  Start calling all the big agenices and they will give you better info.  Good luck!  If I can suggest something, think about being open to a boy.  Boys tend to wait because for some reason girls are more wanted when people adopt.  Boys are great!

[RedOakMomma]

Yes...there's a saying that "Families wait for girls, but boys wait for families."  The waiting lists for girls from South Korea is so long with many agencies that they won't even accept gender requests anymore.  When you add the in-Korea bias for adopting girls, then the US/other countries bias for adopting girls, there is a huge surplus of boys who need families compared to girls who need families.

When we adopted our daughter, back in 2008, the waiting time for a referral of a girl was close to 2 years when the waiting time for the referral of a boy was determined only by the speed of the paperwork process...about 4-6 months!!  Our friends just brought their son home from South Korea last month...their wait for a referral was 6 months.  Their sister/SIL is also adopting from Korea, a girl, and they've been waiting for over a year at this point, I think. 

I believe the fact that you are Korean-American will speed your progress in some (most?) agencies.  South Korea has a preference of placing children with Korean-Americans (though their top preference, obviously, is placing with Koreans).

I would call the agencies licensed to work in your state, and see what the gender-request status is for Korean-Americans.  They may allow it for you even if they don't allow it for their other families.

The list of agencies licensed by state: http://www.adoptkorea.com/us-agency.htm

Good luck! :D

[WifeMomChiro]

I did not know that about Korean boys.  We are in the process of adopting domestically for our second child, but we have already talked about adopting a third child in the future.  We would love a boy.

[sk8boarder15]

We are also looking into Korean adoption, but we won't be old enough for a year. There are more boys than girls in orphanages, and few agencies take requests.