Sierra Leone: Under Sierra Leonean law, adoptive parents are currently required to be resident in Sierra Leone for six months and to attend the court hearing for the adoption. Although in the past the High Court of Sierra Leone would sometimes waive either the personal appearance of prospective adoptive parents at adoption proceedings or the six-month residency requirement, this was always at the Court’s discretion and should not be considered the norm. The High Court is currently reviewing its application of the Adoption Act and practices may change without notice.

Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans from Sierra Leone.
Fiscal Year Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2005 24
FY 2004 39
FY 2003 56
FY 2002 32
FY 2001 8

There do appear to be a few US agencies placing children from Sierra Leone, but fraud seems to be rampant, as well as safety concerns for traveling.

Somalia: Don’t go there right now. No other information available.

South Africa: South African law recognizes two kinds of adoptions by foreigners: 1) those completed by foreign residents of South Africa, and 2) international adoptions where foreigners are given children to adopt in their home country. The first category requires the foreigners to be resident for five years in South Africa and the adoptions are handled by an accredited agency and finalized by the Department of Social Development. The second category is only available to citizens of countries with a working agreement between them and South Africa. At this time, the United States does not have a working agreement of this type.

Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to country’s orphans:

Fiscal Year Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2005 17
FY 2004 13
FY 2003 26
FY 2002 36
FY 2001 14

There are no US agencies placing children from South Africa.

Sudan: The Department of State has occasionally received inquiries from American citizens concerned about the plight of the children of Sudan and wondering about the possibility of adopting them. At this time, it is not generally possible to adopt Sudanese children, for several reasons.

Intercountry adoptions are fundamentally private civil legal matters governed by the laws of the children's home country, which has the primary responsibility and jurisdiction for deciding what would be in the children's best interests.

The U.S. and international media have occasionally reported on the difficult situation faced by Sudanese children, and it is completely understandable that some American citizens want to respond to such stories by offering to open their homes and adopt these children in need. However, it is a generally agreed international principle that uprooting children during a war, natural disaster or other crisis may in fact exacerbate the children's situation. It can be extremely difficult in such circumstances to determine whether children who appear to be orphans truly are. It is also not uncommon in a hostile situation for parents to send their children out of the area, or for families to become separated during an evacuation. Even when it can be demonstrated that children are indeed orphaned or abandoned, they are often taken in by other relatives. Staying with relatives in extended family units is generally a better solution than uprooting a child completely.

There are still ways in which U.S. citizens can help the children of Sudan. Many American non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Sudan say that what is needed most at this time are financial contributions. Individuals who wish to assist can do the most good by making a financial contribution to an established NGO that will be well placed to respond to Sudan's most urgent needs, including those related to the children of Sudan.

The Department of State continues to strongly warn U.S. citizens against travel to Sudan, which remains very dangerous.

Swaziland: Intercountry adoptions in Swaziland are governed by the Adoption of Children Act of 1952. Under this law, an adopted child cannot be removed from the Kingdom of Swaziland within one year of adoption unless permission has been obtained, in writing, from the Minister of Home Affairs.
Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics indicate that only one immigrant visa was issued to an orphan from Swaziland in the last five fiscal years.

Tanzania: You must be a resident of Tanzania to adopt from there. This requirement is never waived. Adoptions may take up to 18 months in Tanzania.

Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to Tanzanian orphans:

Fiscal Year Number of Immigrant Visas Issued
FY 2006 11
FY 2005 2
FY 2004 4
FY 2003 2
FY 2002 3

There are no US agencies placing children from Tanzania.