One of the first decisions adoptive parents face is deciding between domestic and international adoption. Although international adoptions have been in the media spotlight recently because of celebrity international adoptions and other controversies, domestic adoption continues to be popular in the U.S. In fact, more children are adopted domestically in the U.S. than in all the other countries. When deciding between domestic and international adoption adoptive parents must consider factors such as age, health, costs, government issues, risk, travel, wait time, and the adjustment of the child. Age: In domestic adoptions it is typically easier to adopt newborns because adoptive parents can meet the birth parents, and can usually visit the hospital during the delivery. International adoptions typically involve older children over one year of age. This is usually the case because the laws of countries outside the U.S. may not allow adoption from outside the child's country of origin un...