First, the country must sign the Convention. The United States Senate gave its advice and consent to the United States' ratification of the Convention on September 20, 2000. As a result of this action, the United States is now a full member of the Hague Adoption Convention, which entered into force for the United States on April 1, 2008. Annual reports to Congress are required by the IAA concerning certain aspects of the Convention and the IAA implementation. Conclusion

The United States became a full member of the Convention, and the Convention entered into force on April 1, 2008. The Convention now governs intercountry adoptions between the United States and other Convention member countries in accordance with the provisions of the Intercountry Adoption Act. Prior to ratification, the DOS had numerous duties and responsibilities connected with the implementation of the Convention.
On April 1, 2008, the United States became a full member of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption (hereinafter "Convention"), and the Convention entered into force in the United States. As a result, the Convention now governs intercountry adoptions between the United States and other Convention member countries in accordance with the provisions of the Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA). In order to comply with the Convention membership requirements, the United States had signed the Convention, the Senate had given its advice and consent to the ratification of the Convention, and Congress had approved legislation (the IAA) for the implementation of the Convention. In addition, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) had a number of duties and responsibilities, summarized below, which were required to be completed prior to the formal ratification and the entry into force of the Convention.