Georgia is part of former Soviet Union, it is a country struggling to maintain a stable economy and government. The official language is Russian and Georgian. Georgia offers a different adoption experience since Georgian adoption law does not allow any foreign adoption agency to photo list their available children.

Georgian government accepts applications from married couples, single women and in some cases also single men and also older couples. A single parent or a couple up to 55 years old can adopt a baby. The adoptive parents shall be 16 years older than the child they are adopting.

Adoptive parents must submit a complete dossier, INS approval and a complete home study. All documents must be notarized and then authenticated at the Secretary of State in the adoptive parents state of residence, then to the Department of State in Washington DC for authentication and then to the Georgian consulate in Washington DC. After that the dossier will be sent to our facilitator in Georgia, translated and registered with the Georgian Authority for Adoption which is the Ministry of Education in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Once we register the dossier with the Ministry of Education we can receive a referral of a 2-4 month old Caucasian baby, a picture and medical report. If the parents agree to adopt the baby they will have to sign the form of acceptance of this child. After the acceptance, the government will place the child in a foster family. It takes then a Georgian judge approximately 6-8 weeks to assign a court date.

Both parents will have to travel to Georgia and be there for 2 weeks. They will return home with their child. After the adoption is completed parents must go to the American Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia to get the immigrant visa for their child.

Adoption Avenues works with a Georgian facilitator who has been completing adoptions for American families for several years. Our Georgian facilitator only works with American families who are clients of an US licensed adoption agency.

Families are well supported during their trip. From the moment of their arrival in Tbilisi, Georgia a translator and chauffeur will be with them at all times while in country. Parents can choose to stay at an apartment in Tbilisi for $ 30 per day or in a hotel.

Developmental delays or emotional issues are possible with any abandoned or orphan child. Adoptive parents should familiarize themselves with the issue of institutionalized children before proceeding.