Republic of Georgia Adoption

CHILDREN AVAILABLE

• Children of either gender from toddler to teen are eligible for intercountry adoption.  
• Sibling groups are rarely cleared for intercountry adoption.
• Most eligible children have known medical and/or developmental diagnoses, typically moderate to non-correctable.

ELIGIBILITY TO ADOPT 

Married couples and single women are eligible. A minimum age difference between prospective adoptive parents and a child of 18 years is required as is a maximum age difference of 49 years, unless an exception is made in the best interest of the child. Applicants must not have a criminal record or substance abuse history.  

PROCESS 

1. Make application to Nightlight Christian Adoptions.
2. Complete your adoption home study and submit form I-800A to USCIS.
3. Begin to assemble your dossier. We will give you detailed instructions.
4. Once USCIS has approved your application, you will receive your I-797C pre-approval notice.
5. When your dossier is complete, it is shipped to Georgia and you will be registered to adopt.  
6. The referral wait time is unpredictable and varies depending on a family’s specific child request.
7. Issuance of a referral by Georgia’s Central Adoption Authority.
8. Complete the official referral review with Nightlight’s Social Services Department.
9. Upon referral acceptance, Nightlight will begin processing the family’s I-800.
10. Once the I-800 is approved and the US embassy in Tbilisi has issued the Article 5 letter, a family will be invited to meet the child and undergo the court and US visa processes.  This single trip takes about three weeks and both parents must travel. 

TRAVEL

A referral from Georgia will include a brief social and medical history of the child, and the current health and development of the child. We highly recommend that you have this information reviewed by a doctor who specializes in international adoption before you decide to proceed.  You will complete a referral review with a Nightlight staff member before accepting the referral.  If accepting the referral, Nightlight will assist you in filing your I-800 and obtaining your National Visa Center numbers for issuance of the Article 5 Letter by the US Embassy.  Upon arrival in Georgia, you will have the opportunity to meet the child and spend time getting to know one another ahead of the previously scheduled court date.  The court will issue a full and final adoption decree.  Families are then assisted in obtaining the child’s passport and wait for official translations of all post-adoption documents. When all documents necessary for the visa interview have been secured, the appointment at the US embassy takes place and the child’s visa should be issued within a few days.  Families can now return to the US with their new child. 

POST ADOPTION 

Within 30 days of your arrival home, you must have a home visit by your home study provider. Georgia requires five post-adoption reports at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, and 36 months after the adoption is finalized. These reports include information about your child’s health, developmental progress, and pictures. All reports must be social worker generated, notarized and apostilled.  Georgia’s Central Adoption Authority reserves the right to request family generated reports until the child turns 18.  Nightlight is committed to showing the Georgian Central Adoption Authority that children adopted by US citizens are healthy and well care for by sending all required reports in a timely manner. Compliance with post adoption reports is also required by The Hague Convention.  

As a Hague accredited agency, you can be confident that Nightlight programs are regularly evaluated and monitored for excellence in both process and service. Our home study services are recognized by our peers as educational and thoroughly completed for the benefit of our clients.

You can count on Nightlight to be there for you long after your adoption is complete too. Our team is available to help answer questions and provide guidance as you navigate parenting your adopted child. You are not alone!

Please open our International Quicklook spreadsheet to give you an overview of the wide variety of international programs available through Nightlight.

To get started email robin.sizemore@nightlight.org or call (336) 899-0068

Republic of Georgia Booklet and Fee Schedule 

Compare International Programs

Agreement for International Services