Program Requirements and Specifics

• At least one prospective parent must be a U.S. citizen to be able to sponsor a child to enter the country.
  
  
• Couples who have been married for at least three years may apply, and the family may have no more than five children, including the child to be adopted.
  
  
• Parents must be at least 25 and under 44 years of age when they submit the home study packet (dossier).
  
  
• Both parents must be high school graduates and in excellent physical and mental health.
  
  
• The current wait for a referral is 9-10 months following submission of the home study document.
  
  
• Children are cared for in loving foster homes, receive routine medical checkups and are up-to-date in their shots and immunizations. Reliable medical information is provided at the time of referral, including pregnancy and birth information.
  
  
• 85% of the children placed are boys.
  
• On average, children are 5-6 months of age at the time of referral and are generally 8-12 months of age at the time of placement.

If you have any additional questions regarding Korea's program requirements, please contact Namyi Min, Korean program coordinator, at 212-400-8150 or internationalinquiry@spence-chapin.org.

From Referral to Homecoming

Currently, after your home study is sent to Korea, the wait for a child referral is 9-10 months on average. The referral includes the child's social and medical history, along with color photographs. You'll receive background information, including information about the circumstances that led the birth mother to make an adoption plan. You'll also get your child's medical history, including the results of liver function and hepatitis B tests, a chest x-ray and blood count. Although HIV/AIDS is very rare in Korea, babies are also given an HIV test.

After you accept the referral, your child is brought to the United States in the care of an escort in approximately 4 months. If you prefer, you can travel to Korea to meet your child and bring him home yourself. Such a trip can offer a cultural experience and understanding of where your child was born.

Out-of-State Families

Spence-Chapin welcomes families from all areas of the country to adopt through our international adoption program in Korea. Families outside our geographic area work with a local agency in addition to Spence-Chapin. Networking benefits families by allowing them to work with Spence-Chapin's well-established international placement program in Korea while maintaining in-person contact with and direct service from a social worker in their local area. Spence-Chapin collaborates with other high-quality and reputable adoption agencies to help families complete all steps of the adoption process. Families will receive support from two agencies that follow them every step of the way! For more information about networking and a list of Spence-Chapin network agencies, please contact our International Inquiry Coordinator at 212-400-8150.

Cost Guidelines

Spence-Chapin has a sliding fee for the services provided by the agency, based on the applicant's adjusted gross income. For those working with networking agencies, Spence-Chapin charges a flat fee which is separate from any fees charged by the local agency.

When adopting internationally, the sending country assesses fees separate from Spence-Chapin's service fee. Please contact us for specific information about Korea's fees. Additionally, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and some states assess fees, including those for fingerprinting. Should you choose to travel to Korea, you will incur costs for airfare, hotel, food and incidental expenses. For suggestions about making adoption more affordable, please see our information in Affording Adoption.

Steps to Take After Homecoming

A child coming from Korea to the USA for the purpose of adoption is given permanent resident status by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) on the day the child enters the USA. On average, about 16 weeks after the child arrives in the USA, the adoptive parents receive their child's Alien Registration card, a photo ID listing the child's original Korean name and alien registration number (IR-4). On the day the child's legal adoption is finalized the child automatically becomes a citizen of the USA. Adoptive parents then need to apply to obtain a certificate of US citizenship and send a copy of the certificate to Spence-Chapin to have the child removed from the Korean citizenship roll.

Korean citizenship roll removal is not required. However, it is recommended, particularly for boys, as it may become a necessity if the child ever chooses to live in Korea for more than three months after he turns 18. This will prevent a male adoptee being drafted in to the Korean mandatory military service.

How to remove your child from the Korean citizenship roll

A child coming from Korea to the USA for the purpose of adoption is given permanent resident status by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) on the day the child enters the USA. On average, about 16 weeks after the child arrives in the USA, the adoptive parents receive their child’s Alien Registration card, a photo ID listing the child’s original Korean name and alien registration number (IR-4). On the day the child’s legal adoption is finalized the child automatically becomes a citizen of the USA. Adoptive parents then need to apply to obtain a certificate of US citizenship and send a copy of the certificate to Spence-Chapin to have the child removed from the Korean citizenship roll. Korean citizenship roll removal is not required. However, it is recommended, particularly for boys, as it may become a necessity if the child ever chooses to live in Korea for more than three months after he turns 18 years of age. This will prevent a male adoptee being drafted in to the Korean mandatory military service.

Summer Programs for Korean Adoptive Families

Spence-Chapin sponsors and supports several programs for Korean adoptive families. Each summer, we coordinate a trip for families to return to Korea, to connect with their children's roots, visit SWS and, when possible, meet with foster families. Through a special grant, Spence-Chapin also sponsors a summer internship program that allows two of our young adult adoptees to spend a month working with SWS in one of their baby homes, and exploring Korea. Spence-Chapin also sends information to adoptees about applying for the Korean Language and Culture Program at Kyung Hee University in Seoul.

Roots Family Tour 2008
This 13-day tour is specially designed for children and young adults of Korean heritage to visit the country of their birth with their adoptive families. The goal of experiencing first-hand the history and culture of Korea is of vital importance to many Korean adoptees. Those who have returned to visit Korea have had the opportunity to satisfy their curiosity and alleviate their anxieties about their overseas adoption, their birth families and their cultural roots. Spence-Chapin and SWS assist families in searching out important people and places from their child's past. An experienced social worker and an English-speaking Korean travel guide accompany the tour group. In preparation for the trip, families participate in an orientation workshop. To receive a brochure or for more information, contact Namyi Min, Korean program coordinator, at 212-360-0292 or nmin@spence-chapin.org.

For more details about the 2008 Roots Family Tour, please download our Roots Family Tour 2008 brochure and Registration form.

Korean Summer Internship Program
Established through the generosity of adoptive parents Ed and Ellie Bloom, the Korean Summer Internship Program funds two young adult, Spence-Chapin Korean-American adoptees who visit the country for a month from late May to June to experience the country and culture of their birth and help care for infants and preschool-age children at the Ehwa Baby's Reception Center in the city of Naju.

Korean Language and Culture Program
This three week intensive language program is part of the Institute of International Education at Kyung Hee University in Seoul. It is a partial scholarship funded by SWS and the Korean government. The scholarship covers tuition and housing expenses - airfare, food and personal expenses are the responsibility of the participant. Five or six adult adoptees will be able to attend and participants can choose one of the summer program sessions. They are scheduled from August 1 to August 22, 2008; and September 1 to September 19, 2008. Participants are also welcome to stay without charge at the SWS Guesthouse in Seoul for up to seven days. The program provides a wonderful opportunity to live in Seoul and experience the university setting.

Summer Program Requirements

Applicants may apply for either or both programs and must have been adopted from Korea through the Spence-Chapin program with SWS. Spence-Chapin will send a mailing with program information and applications in January 2008. Applicants must be 19 to 25 years of age as of June 21, 2008. They should be comfortable in a foreign country with access to limited spoken English and basic accommodations. Flexibility, maturity and self-sufficiency are important qualities. For more information or to update your address, contact Merri Robinson at 212-360-0250 or mrobinson@spence-chapin.org.

Celebration for Children from Korea
Each March, Spence-Chapin hosts a party for children adopted from Korea. Families come together to celebrate with traditional Korean food, crafts and entertainment and to share their experiences with each other. Children get an opportunity to explore their common heritage as Korean-American adoptees. For information about this year's celebration, please contact Heather at 212-360-0274 hluboff@spence-chapin.org.

	Suggested Resources
	After the Morning Calm: Reflections of Korean Adoptees, by Dr. Sook Wilkinson & Nancy Fox, Editors
	Culture Shock! Korea, by Sonja Vagdahl Hur & Ben Seunghwa Hur
	A Single Square Picture: A Korean Adoptee's Search for Her Roots, by Katy Robinson
	Additional Books &  Resources