When you return home after adopting in a foreign country and have had some sleep, there are several things to complete.

Most countries require at least one post placement report, also required for readoption. You will need to obtain a Social Security Number for your new son or daughter. And you will want to get United States citizenship for your child.

The post placement report requires that you have a letter from your doctor stating the child's present health, any health concerns, any problems treated, and immunization status. I will make a home visit and see how things are going (normally very well) and take a picture. That report will talk about placement, the child's development, and the family adjustment. Normally the post placement report takes a couple of hours. A copy will go to the country where you adopted (the number of reports required varies by country, talk with your agency before you adopt). A copy is available for readoption and you will have a copy for your files.

Re-adoption is only mandatory if just one parent travels, then INS will require it before granting citizenship. I recommend that every family complete a readoption on their return to the US. The result of readoption is an adoption decree from the state and a birth certificate. Both of these documents are in English and easily replaceable. Obtaining a birth certificate or adoption documents from another country can be a difficult and lengthly process. If you did not have the name changed at the time of adoption this is also the time for name change. You will want to do this before going to Social Security Administration for the Social Security Number to avoid the frustrations of having to do name changes later.

The Social Security Number is obtained from the Social Security Administration, usually in person. They will require identification, adoption documents, and the child's identification. They may not accept the green card from INS.

Immigration and Naturalization Service grants citizenship. If you and your spouse traveled together and you met your child before the adoption was finalized your child will receive an IR-3 visa and US citizenship will be automatic under the Citizenship for Orpnans Act of 2000. Normally you will enter the country and the certificate of citizenship will be mailed to you in about 6 weeks. Should you adopt from a country that completes the adoption before you travel or if only one parent travels your child will receive an IR-4 visa and will receive a "green card" after landing in the US. In this instance you will need to complete the readoption of your child in the US and complete the N643, Request for Citizenship On Behalf Of An Adopted Child . The time required to complete the process varies from office to office. You will want to do the name change during the readoption and before completing this step so that it does not have to be done with INS later, otherwise do not delay this process.