[Theminesweeper]

hello. can anyone refer me to a less expensive but still reliable adoption agency for adopting in china? i would prefer a christian agency but it's not vital. i've seen estimates of $24,000-$36,000 and as low as $15,000 but have no idea if either one is accurate or the agency is not mentioning all costs. we really are interested in adoption in china but the cost is probably not feasible for us if it is truly $24,000-$36,000.

thanks.

[jbzanie]

We did ours for about $20,000 which including our bio child going with us to China. I will send our agency's name.

[LockStock]

The fees when all is said & done should not be significantly different from one agency to another. If you're being quoted a much lower fee, it could be for a special needs child. Some agencies may also include homestudy fees and travel costs, while others may not.

My recommendation is to request information packets from at least 5 agencies. They should all include an approximate cost to complete everything. Break it down. How much are the agency fees? How much are they quoting for country fees? Does the cost estimate include homestudy, travel, USCIS, fingerprinting, mailing, etc.?

We considered China for our current adoption and requested information from several agencies. Most estimates seemed to fall within a couple grand of $20K.

Good luck. I hope the costs don't preclude you from pursuing adoption!

[sak9645]

Agency fees are actually very similar. Remember that agency fees are usually just one small part of the fees for the total process. What you need to do is create a spreadsheet with all the components of cost, and then contact agencies to see what costs are included and excluded in their estimates.

The biggest component of fees is the travel. If two parents travel, it costs more than if one parent travels. If you travel business class instead of coach, costs skyrocket. If you travel at a peak season, such as during the Guangzhou trade fair, travel and lodging costs increase. And so on.

Sharon

[sak9645]

To add to what I said earlier:

Here are some of the costs of an adoption. Not all agencies put them in their description of fees:

1. Homestudy -- fee depends on factors like the cost of living in your state, the general hourly rate of social workers, and the amount of paperwork required by your state, and can range from under $1,000 to over $3,000. Don't skimp on homestudy fees, as the homestudy is what presents your case to the foreign government, the U.S. government, and your state, and should meet all requirements and really portray you effectively.

2. USCIS preapproval fee. This fee is $670 for the household, plus $80 for fingerprinting EACH member of your household 18 and over. This fee applies whether you are using the I-600A (non-Hague) or I-800A (Hague) process.

3. Document acquisition for homestudy and dossier. Will depend on requirements of your state, your agency, the foreign country of your choice, the USCIS, etc. As an example, you will need to obtain documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, police clearances, child abuse clearances, etc. In addition, you will probably need to have a new physical exam, since the doctor will have to order a variety of tests required by your state and the foreign country and fill out separate and different forms for the homestudy and dossier. Fees will depend on your state, in terms of getting copies of documents like marriage certificates.

(Continued in next post)

[sak9645]

To continue:

4. Dossier preparation. For the foreign country, you will generally need to submit a dossier of documents. Besides fees for acquiring the documents in the U.S., described in #3, you will face fees for having these documents "authenticated". As an example, if you adopt from a country like China, you will need to have all documents except those generated by states notarized. Then you will have to get the Secretary of State in the state(s) where the documents originated to "certify" the notary's signature/seal. Then you will need to get the U.S. Secretary of State to "authenticate" the state seals. And finally, the Chinese Embassy will have to attest that all the approvals were done properly. If you adopt from Russia, the process is known as "apostille", and is somewhat different. But do be aware that some states charge significant fees for certifying notary signatures; as an example, back in the 1990s, New Jersey was charging $25 per document. Some families, boggled by the process, pay their agency or a private party to help with dossier prep; this adds to the cost, but may be worthwhile in order to ensure that everything is done right. Some families also pay couriers to take documents to embassies and such. You can also expect to pay long distance phone charges, FedEx charges, and possibly fax or mail charges.

5. Placement agency fees. If your placement agency does not do your homestudy, because it is out of state, you may pay a small fee for having the agency review your homestudy for completeness. You will also pay an application fee. In addition, there is an agency fee that may or may not include some of the foreign fees.

6. Foreign government fees. As mentioned in #5, your agency fee may include some foreign fees. However, do expect fees to the foreign government for processing the adoption paperwork and finalizing the adoption.

7. Orphanage fee. Some countries have a standard fee that each family must pay to help offset the cost of care for their child while in the orphanage and to help support children who will never be adopted due to age or special need. In some cases, the fee can be as high as $5,000.

8. Parents' passport and visa fees. Parents need a U.S. passport for travel, and when going to their child's country, they will need a visa showing that the foreign government allows them in. There are passport and visa fees.

9. Transportation to, from, and within the foreign country. Airfare is fairly expensive, especially when the timing is unpredictable and you have to get flights on short notice, as often happens. Count on at least $1,000 per adult for getting TO and from China -- more if you choose business class or are flying at peak times. A child under 2 can fly on a lap ticket at about 10% of the adult fare, but some parents prefer to buy the child a seat (at full fare). In-country flights tend to be cheaper, but you do have to factor in these costs.

10. Lodging and food. Lodging costs may or may not be discretionary, since some agencies require all members of a group to stay in the same hotel. In general, don't skimp on lodging, as you will be too tired from your new parenthood to deal with staff who don't speak good English, unavailability of 24 hour room service, distant location, etc.

11. Child's visa medical exam at a clinic approved by the U.S. Consulate.

12. Child's Chinese adoption documents, plus child's visa at the U.S. Consulate.

I may have left out some other things.

Sharon

[stampin4fun]

Here's a hot tip with step #4 from SAK9645 (which, by the way, Sharon, was an excellent summary!).

We found out that if you notarize all of your documents with a military notary, you can skip the state authentication step. A state can not authenticate a US Government notary, which is what an officer in the military is, so it saves you about $25 (depending on the state) per document! You still have to get US Sec of State authentication and Chinese Embassy authentication, but at least it saves the one step.

My husband is a civilian but he works with Navy Officers who, as officers, all have to be notaries.

Good luck!!
-Renee

[KarenInCa]

I haven't read all the responses yet, so it might have already been mentioned. But, some agencies include all costs and some do not. Some have social workers included in their fees, and some have you hire your own social worker, so that fee is left out of the agency costs. When it's all said and done, the total COSTS to you are similar with all agencies usually. However, costs can vary for travel, depending on if you plan to travel coach, business or first class. And also the time of year you travel can make a huge difference. Chinese New Year is in February, and there's a trade fair in October every year in China, and the costs for plane tickets and hotel stay goes way up during those times of year. You won't have any say as to what time of year you travel because after you get your referral, you are told the dates you will be in China around 6 weeks later (with only around 2 weeks to book the flights).

Adding to Renee's response, our agency is local, and does all the notarizing for free, except for the notarizing for the doctor exams because they do not travel to the doctors offices, but many doctor offices have their own notary available.