Intercountry Adoption of Sister's Child

Ok, let's start a long description of what's going on:
My sister is 7 months pregnant and won't be able to take care of her son once he's born.  She has no clue who the father is and the man she's living with said he won't support her and the child. (yes sounds like Jeremy Kyle)  My mother, who more than helped raise my sisters first child (now 6), won't be able to do the same and doesn't feel that she should since my sister has made it clear she doesn't want anything to do with our parents anymore.  My fear is that the baby may be put up for adoption with an unfamiliar family or worse, my sister may decide to try to take care of him herself. 
I would like to explore the possibility of adopting my soon-to-be nephew with my civil partner here and if anyone has a remotely similar experience.  The issues I may face are: 1) I'm from Alabama, they don't really like gays much less recognize CP's, 2) going through various hoops to bring him over as a dependent on my partner's EU rights, and 3) finding resources for situations like this. 
At the moment it's just an idea, but one I feel strongly about as I'd like the baby to be raised in our family and to know us as opposed to being placed somewhere I may never get to connect with him, especially since I don't live near them.

I think this really varies state-by-state, and also with your sister's willingness to give up the child. I worked in group homes in California, and we had the most difficult time getting children to live with family members in different states even when everyone was willing.

I guess the best bet would be to contact a family/adoption laywer in her home state and go from there.

 
I would like to explore the possibility of adopting my soon-to-be nephew with my civil partner here and if anyone has a remotely similar experience.  The issues I may face are: 1) I'm from Alabama, they don't really like gays much less recognize CP's, 2) going through various hoops to bring him over as a dependent on my partner's EU rights, and 3) finding resources for situations like this. 

My husband and I are looking into adoption for when we live in the US, and had started the process of fostering in the UK, so I have read up on it.

I think the biggest obstacle in the process for you will be that both countries focus on the best situation for the child- and international adoptions are not looked upon as good for a child. As Cali Girl said, lots of inter-state adoptions fail for this reason. Just as you said that you feel strongly that your nephew should be near family, the State could see it as you taking him away from his family/heritage/connections. You would need to research laws that deal specifically with Alabama to see if family adoption internationally is feasible in that state.

I am not sure about the CP adoption laws in Alabama. At minimum, you both will need to pass background checks and have been living together for more than 3 years (this is a base requirement for most states).
From what I have read about them, ALL adoptions, including family based, require a "home study" (an interview). This would be hard to do while living overseas, but they may substitute a UK foster agency home study in place. Beware- a home study can take more than a year to acquire in the UK and I believe with international adoption you have to pay for it.

A good resource would be Oasishttp://www.adoptionoverseas.org/faq.aspx] [url]http://www.adoptionoverseas.org/faq.aspx[/url] that deals with international adoption and look at Alabama's laws (just google searched this website) http://www.dhr.alabama.gov/services/Adoption/intro_adoption.aspx

I would definitely look into a good adoption lawyers on both sides of the Atlantic, one in Alabama, and one with US>UK adoption experience.

Wishing you & your nephew the best!