West Sands Adoptions is licensed to provide your home study services in Utah and/or Nevada. All adoptions require a home study. Your home study must be completed by a state-licensed agency. Home studies completed by independent social workers may be accepted for domestic adoption, but are not accepted by China, and may not be accepted by some other countries. If you live in Nevada or Utah, we would be happy to complete your home study for you. If you live in another state, please contact us. We may be able to recommend an agency if we have worked with a family in your area, or can give you information about finding a qualified agency.

West Sands Adoptions requires home study agencies outside the state of Utah to contact us before beginning a home study for a client of ours. Please send them our contact information so that they can contact us. Also, please let us know who you are using so we can follow up. We would appreciate them faxing us the draft of the home study before it is signed off. We want to make sure that the home study meets all the requirements for the child’s country of origin before it is finalized. This will save you time, frustration, and probably money as well.

Your social worker will usually work with your requests for age, gender and any potential medical or other needs you would consider for your adoptive child. Although it is important to be honest with yourself, and not try to gain approval for a child that you are not prepared to parent, it is also important to be a little flexible. If you request a baby 9 months or younger, and then your referral is for a 10-month-old baby, you will be required to do a home-study update and update with USCIS, which requires additional time and expense. Ask your social worker to include the broadest age range you feel prepared to accept. Also keep in mind that “age 0-4” is easier to work with than “up to 48 months.” If the child referred is 49 months old, you would have to update your paperwork. If you are considering adopting a child with special needs, take time to reflect on what types of needs your family can handle. Be honest and open with your social worker and caseworker about what types of needs you are looking for.

Please also remember that as an adoptive family, you have a “duty to disclose” all background information, including any information regarding financial status, history of arrest, child abuse, alcohol or drug abuse, significant changes in your home or marital relationships, etc., throughout the home study process, and until the adoption is complete. Failure to disclose important information may result in a home study denial or denial from US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).

If you are adopting internationally, an original of your home study must go to USCIS. If you are allowed to receive your home study, you can send this in yourself with the I-600A or I-800A application and the other supporting documents. In some states, including Nevada, it is required that the home study agency send it directly to USCIS without sending a copy to the family. Please make sure you understand who will be sending the home study to USCIS so there is no delay in receiving your I-171H or I-797 approval. If your home study agency sends it, ask them to send it FedEx or some other traceable method and to give you the tracking number so you know when it was received. All I-171H and I-797 applications are currently processed in Missouri. Within about 2 weeks of sending your application, you should receive a receipt from USCIS. Within about 2 weeks after that, you should receive a fingerprint appointment for your local USCIS office. The goal at USCIS is to process all I-171H and I-797 forms and provide the approvals within 30-45 days if there are no problems with the family file.