Before actress Angelina Jolie made it so popular, international adoptions had long been common in the United States. Whether it was because they could not have children, could no longer have them, or simply wanted to give a good life to a child who might not have one in his or her own country, U.S. families have been adopting orphaned children from countries across the globe for many years.

However, it is not as easy as one might think. Adopting internationally is a long and tedious legal process that requires the interaction of many individuals and agencies in both of the participating countries. So families turn to adoption organizations, such as Tucson-based International Child Foundation, Inc., for help.

Begun in 2004, the agency originally focused on adoptions from Guatemala and Vietnam, then later expanded to include other countries such as China, Haiti, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, according to CEO and Executive Director Jackie Semar. Although the agency has dealt with older children, most of the children that are adopted from these countries are between 6 months to a year in age.

Guatemala remains the most popular country, making up around 70% of the agency's total adoptions, Semar said. However, recent changes in the Guatemalan government, including the incorporation of Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption regulations, has put a hold on Guatemalan adoptions, although Semar believes that it will not be very long before they resume.

Children that can be adopted internationally have to fit a specific criteria: they have to technically be an "orphan". As defined by the U.S. government, "A child may be considered an orphan because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from, both parents. The child of an unwed mother or surviving parent may be considered an orphan if that parent is unable to care for the child properly and has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption." According to the U.S. Department of State Web site, 4,728 immigrant visas were granted to orphans from Guatemala during the 2007 fiscal year - second only to China.

Most of the adopted children from Guatemala are of indigenous descent, Semar said.

Poverty is prevalent in Guatemala and particularly affects those who live in rural areas, such as indigenous people who survive on wages that a single person can barely live on, let alone an entire family. If one parent dies or if a single woman becomes pregnant, this results in a situation in which the parent is forced to give up the child because the parent is not able to provide him or her with the proper care.

Semar gives one scenario:



Many of the countries have strict regulations concerning adoption and require that the family raises the child to be aware of who he or she is.

"They want the children to know they're adopted," said Semar. "They want them to be informed about what their country is like and they want to preserve their citizenship so that if they were to choose to go back to their native country they can freely do so."

Although this requires the family to continue to file paperwork up until the child is able to make that decision, many families still feel more comfortable with adopting from other countries rather than from within the U.S., according to Semar.

Semar explains why:




View the slideshow below to see some of the children and families of International Child Foundation, Inc.

All photos provided by Jackie Semar