We are currently seeing families travel home with children ages 3-5 with moderate medical special needs. Older children and older sibling groups with, or without, medical special needs are also common.

Families are first approved by the central authority of adoption in India following home study finalization. Once approved, they enter into the matching process where Lifeline’s team will present families with one file at a time within their specified capacity. Families have up to 30 days to review a file. Once families submit acceptance paperwork and their dossier, the match proceeds through the central authority and court approval processes.

The process of adopting from India is estimated to take approximately 2-3 years and depends on a family’s openness to age range, special needs and sibling groups.

Families will travel to India for approximately two to two and half weeks to complete their adoption. The trip consists of a family day at the child’s SAA and then the family will travel to Delhi to complete important appointments for the child’s visa and exit permits. Lifeline has an amazing in-country team who walks alongside families each step of the way and provides support during a families stay in India. The in-country team provides transportation and guide services.