Married couples over 25 years and singles over age 35 old may adopt from Nigeria. Adoptive parents must be at least 25 years older than the child they wish to adopt. Single women will not be permitted to adopt a child of a different gender or a child over the age of 5. Nigeria does not allow adoptive parents who are diagnosed a mental health condition to adopt. This includes more mild anxiety and depression. Certain factors could keep you from adopting in general or from Nigeria in particular, as each country has its own rules as to who can adopt. Before applying, please consult with Nightlight regarding any sensitive issues that may apply to you, such as a divorce, a mental health issue, or a criminal history.

1. Complete an application to Nightlight Christian Adoptions.
2. Apply to Nigeria’s Ministry of Youth & Social Development
3. Begin your adoption home study and submit form I-600A to CIS.
4. Begin to assemble your dossier. We will give you detailed instructions.
5. Once USCIS has approved your adoption home study, you will receive your I-171H pre-approval notice.
6. Once your dossier is approved and mailed to Nigeria, you will wait to receive a referral of a child in Nigeria. The wait time will depend on your openness to age, gender, and special needs.
7. Complete official referral review with Nightlight’s Social Services Department
8. Once you have accepted a match of a child, Morgan Hill will add the child’s paperwork to your dossier and file with the Ministry for approval.
9. You will receive permission to travel and go to Nigeria for the bonding and court period (minimum 12 weeks).
10. During your second trip (2-3 weeks), you will apply for your child’s passport, complete the Embassy doctor appointment, complete the visa appointment at the US embassy and then bring your child home!

You receive a referral of a child from Nightlight Christian Adoptions. The referral will include a photo, brief social history of the child, the current health and development of the child, and lab test results for HIV, Hepatitis B & C, Sickle cell, Syphilis and TB. We highly recommend that you have this information reviewed by a doctor who specializes in international adoption before you make a decision. Once you decide to accept a referral, you will be considered “matched” with the child. Once you receive permission to travel from the Ministry, you will then make plans to travel to Nigeria for the bonding period. You will need to make plans to travel to a Nigerian consulate before you leave to obtain a visa before you are able to fly to Nigeria.

Families are required to take two separate trips to Nigeria. The first trip is a minimum of 12 weeks for the bonding and court processes. After the adoption is finalized in the court, you will return home and file the I600 with USCIS to apply for the child’s visa. After the I-600 application is submitted, the Embassy in Lagos performs the I604 investigation. This I604 investigation can take several months and there is little communication from the Embassy about your case during this time. Once the case is approved, you will receive an Email from USCIS and your case will be returned to the US embassy in Lagos to schedule the visa interview. You will return to Nigeria for the second trip at that time which requires about 1-2 weeks in country. Both parents must be present for the first trip at the start of the bonding period as well as for court. The in-country stay gives you time to visit and live with your child daily and to begin the bonding process. It is also a great time to learn more about the culture and history of Nigeria.

Nightlight Christian Adoptions is committed to preparing families for the adoption of a child with special needs. We provide pre- and post-adoption education and information regarding medical resources.

Within 30 days of your arrival home, you must have a home visit by your home study provider. This one-month social worker report is required by Morgan Hill and we will be sending them this one-month report along with 6-8 updated photos of your child. If your child comes to the U.S. on an IR3 or IH3 visa, their Certificate of Citizenship should be mailed to them. Nigeria also requires reports to be sent to the ministry each year until the child turns 18 years old. The one-month report, first year report and second year report from your child being home, needs to be completed by a social worker. After you are home for 2 years, you can begin self-reporting on the child until they turn 18 years old. All reports need to include 6-8 updated photos of your child with at least one photo with both parents, which Nightlight will mail to Nigeria. These reports include your child’s developmental progress and pictures. This is a very serious commitment; Nightlight is committed to showing the Nigerian government and birth families that children adopted by US citizens are healthy and well cared for. Nigeria has also informed us that The Ministry of Youth and Social Development will no longer send us child referrals should families not comply with Post Adoption Report Requirements so this is a very important requirement for all families to complete. Therefore, Nightlight charges a fee to monitor and process these post placement reports and requires families to pay for the cost of the post placement reports in advance. Shipping costs for the post adoption reports to be sent to Nigeria until the child is 18 years old is $1,600, which will be collected prior to the family traveling to pick up their child.

Please contact Kate Lubsen at kate.resh@nightlight.org or (502) 423-5780 with any questions.