[sak9645]

Unfortunately, you do have to wait until your adoption is considered final until you can file for the tax credit. If you both travel, that will be in the year you actually receive your adoption decree in China. If only one parent travels, that is supposed to be the year in which readoption/recognition occurs in the U.S. (often a year later), although there is a "safe harbor" that might protect you if you file in the year of the actual adoption.

Do be aware that you do not pay all of the fees at once. In many cases, with an NSN adoption or an adoption in which China chooses a child with the special need you specify, you pay the final installment of your adoption fees after you receive your referral, so you have quite a while to accumulate the funds.

Some families still do find it difficult to pay the full costs of their adoption before they receive employer benefits and the tax credit. In many cases, they try to obtain a loan from family members, which they pay off when they get the tax credit. In others, they attempt to secure a loan from an adoption-friendly bank and pay it back after the adoption. Some people, who have a 401-K or similar plan through their employers, can borrow against the funds in it, at a very low interest rate, and this works very well.

Sharon