When you choose to become a surrogate, you’re helping others realize their lifelong dreams of parenthood, and that is beautiful. Just as you can be a surrogate for intended parents here in the United States, you can also do so for intended parents who live outside of the country.

If you want to learn more about this type of surrogacy, then you can contact us online to get free surrogacy information now. In the meantime, we’ve put together this guide that will provide you with everything you need to know about being a surrogate for international parents.

For some international intended parents, they may have difficulties pursuing surrogacy if they live in a country where it is illegal or severely restricted. Because you live in the United States, you have the chance to help their parenting dreams come true. In this detailed article, we’ll explain how you can become a surrogate for an international couple.

Choosing to Become a Surrogate for an International Couple

As a prospective surrogate, you get to decide what type of intended parents you want to work with. In the case of international surrogacy, you can either pursue an independent surrogacy or work with a surrogacy agency with international services.

The United States is one of the safest countries for surrogacy, and it’s why many intended parents and prospective surrogates alike want to work with a U.S. surrogacy agency. Various countries, including India and Thailand, have either outlawed surrogacy or made it close to impossible to complete because of heavy restrictions.

When international intended parents want to complete their surrogacy in the U.S., it’s often because this is the only opportunity available to them to have a biological child. If you’re choosing to become a surrogate for international parents, then you’ll be changing someone’s life through this heroic, selfless decision.

How to Become a Surrogate for an International Couple

When you pursue surrogacy with international intended parents, you may wonder how the process differs from surrogacy with intended parents in the U.S. For the most part, your surrogacy process will not vary that much aside from a handful of key differences.

From a general standpoint, here is the surrogacy process for surrogates with international intended parents:

Step 1: Find the Right Intended Parents for You

When you work with a reputable surrogacy agency, your surrogacy professional can show you profiles of pre-screened intended parents who match your preferences. You get to determine all the characteristics you want in your intended parents, including:

• Age
• Marital status
• Race
• Sexual orientation
• And more

One of these characteristics you can choose is location. If there is a language barrier, then your surrogacy professional can find a translator for you to break that barrier. On top of this, they can mediate your first conversation with the intended parents to dispel any nerves or tension. They can help you ensure that this is the right match for you. When you pursue an independent surrogacy, though, you will need to complete this step on your own. Also, it may be more difficult and take more time, especially when you live in a different country from the intended parents.

Step 2: Complete the Legal Process

Once you have found the perfect intended parents, your surrogacy professional can coordinate legal services for you and find a trusted surrogacy attorney. Keep in mind that surrogacy laws vary depending on your state’s laws and regulations. The intended parents will need a separate attorney in the case of international surrogacy.

Step 3: Complete the Embryo Transfer

Now that you’ve completed the paperwork, it’s time to move forward with the embryo transfer. When the intended parents live outside of the United States, they will need to ship their embryos to the U.S. or work with a fertility clinic in the United States to create the embryos there. In most cases, international intended parents will need to travel to the U.S. for this step.

Step 4: Maintain a Relationship with the Intended Parents

Just as you would for surrogacy in the United States, you will maintain a relationship with the intended parents and stay in touch throughout your pregnancy. For instance, you will email them or call them to give them updates on your pregnancy, doctor’s appointments and more. You can all find times to chat that work for your schedules and time zones.

Step 5: Complete the Delivery and Hospital Stay

When it comes time for the delivery, the intended parents will travel to you to support you during your hospital stay. Alongside the help of your surrogacy professional, you’ll determine all the details of this, such as where you’d like to deliver the baby, who you want to be in the hospital room and more.

During this step, you may have to sign some extra paperwork to establish parental rights for the intended parents. Your surrogacy attorney can help you with this to ensure a fair, legal and ethical process. After this step, your surrogacy journey is complete! The intended parents will return to their home country, and you can all stay in touch and develop a meaningful bond.

Because you are a prospective surrogate for international intended parents, you may face some unique challenges or obstacles. To ease any stress in the long term, it may be helpful to work with a credible surrogacy agency or professional to do all the heavy lifting for you.

How to Know if Becoming a Surrogate Is Right for You

Becoming a surrogate is a life-changing decision, and that especially rings true when you are working with intended parents in another country. By working with a surrogacy professional, they can answer any questions or address any concerns that you may have.

To help get you started, here are some questions that you can ask yourself:

• Are you willing to invest in a long-distance relationship with a possible language barrier?
• Are you comfortable with intended parents not being able to visit you at a moment’s notice?
• Are you interested in learning about cultures other than your own?

If you have any more questions about being a surrogate for international intended parents, then you can fill out our online contact form to get more surrogacy information now. This can be a lot to wrap your head around, so we’re happy to help you in whatever way you need us.