[CordeliaS]

I read somewhere that you can choose to adopt two children at once... is that still possible? Also, if you can do all the fees double, or only some of them? And do both children come home at the same time... or can you pick them up at different times if that'll be faster for one of the children (does that make sense?? I hope so!!)

Thanks in advance to those who respond!

[DenhamLady]

Siblings are processed together.

Unrelated children are processed as separate cases and may come home at different times.

Most fees are double in either case. You are more likely to get a small discount for siblings.

Good luck with your decisions.

[DPline]

We adopted two at once essentially. We accepted Lauren's referral about three months before Daniel's and she came home about three months before he did. Double attorney fees, but the agency only charged us their fee once.

[trucel]

We are adopting two children at once. The adoption fees were the same with the exception of the agency fee which was 1/2 for the second child. The paperwork was processed together until we exited PGN at which time the BCs were ordered from different cities. We are still waiting for the BCs and will pick both children up at the same time.

[aamommy]

We are adopting two at once. We saved a teensy bit on the lawyer fees since we are using the same lawyer for both adoptions, but not much!! We also saved the 2nd agency fee and if we would have waited to adopt a 2nd, would have had to pay the BCIS fees again and the homestudy update.

If everything goes smoothly, we probably will pick them up at different times, which is kind of what I want so I can get used to having 3 kids for a month or 2 before I have 4!!!

[LauraP0322]

We adopted 2 at once over 4 years ago and have several close friends who have done the same.

Our 2 came home at the same time. Though the attorney didn't guarantee this, we requested that they try their best and we did, as did our friends. Their referrals were also at the same time.

[CordeliaS]

Thanks for the replies! It all seems so daunting!

[jnancynancy]

Just another aspect...check if you agency will do this for you. Our's will allow you adopt siblings, but not two unrelated children at once.

Right or wrong that is the way it is for our agency.
Nancy

[MicheleB]

Nancy is right. That is something to take into consideration - our homestudy agency does not approve people for more than one child unless they are coming home at least 6 months apart - unless they are bio siblings. This is true in several agencies. So, check that out too. It doesn't matter what your placement agency says if you don't have approval from your homestudy agency - becasue they determine what your I-171H form approves you for.

We ran into this situation with our adoption and had to have special circumstances granted our our adoption. We have two coming home that are only 3 months apart and are not bio related - however, since the child we are waiting for now is the bio sibling of our oldest (home 2.5 years ago) they made an exception to approve us for two children that are less than 6 months apart in age.

Good luck in your research!!

[Pamsko]

We adopted two at once...it was twice the fee minus about $1000...small potatoes considering...

They were handled by the same attorney, and he was even able to put them through PGN on the same file although they were not bio siblings (not sure how or why)...They also lived in the same foster home, so they were familiar with each other if not with us...I suspect it made the transition a little easier for Alex (now almost 2 yo). They are 11 months apart.

We picked them up together-- both a blessing and a curse...I don't know that I'd opt to do it any other way (what with the cost of pickup trips and figuring out what to do with my 11 yo daughter and whichever baby would have come home first)...but there are times when I wish I'd had more one-on-one time with the babies separately...

Our agency would let us adopt however many the homestudy SW recommended...so it is agency dependant and worth asking the question if you do want to adopt two simultaneously!

Good luck!

Good luck!

[DPline]

Originally Posted by aamommy

We also saved the 2nd agency fee and if we would have waited to adopt a 2nd, would have had to pay the BCIS fees again and the homestudy update.

We had to pay the second BCIS I-600 fee at the Embassy when we paid for Daniel's visa. I don't know if there are situations in which they don't charge you a second fee for the second child, but for us they did.

[aamommy]

I meant the fee when you send in your I600A ..... is it $550??? Plus you save $140 for fingerprinting fees.

[DPline]

Yup. We had to pay that again at the Embassy. I just went to look at the receipt to make sure I didn't imagine it. It was $525 when DH was there in February, but I know it has gone up since then. Yes, you will save the fingerprinting fees though. (May yours not expire like ours did!)

[dsepme]

I just have to chime in that adopting 2 at once needs to be given consideration far beyond the financial and logistical. I have been home with my bio-related sons for 3 weeks, ages almost-3 years and 15 mos. They are doing VERY excellently. But, there is no way that I could do this were it not that my husband works from home and I am a SAHM now. There are times that 4 hands are not enough, and there are moments when we both definitely need a break to not snap.

My ONLY regret is that I simply cannot get or give the 1-1 time to each child that they sometimes need and deserve. I give a lot to each of them together and alone, but I cannot believe how "easy" it is when we each take one boy out alone. It makes me appreciate that we are going a million miles an hour at all times. Fortunately, I have that kind of energy.

It's hard because when one is in a good mood, the other melts down, disrupting a great moment we may have been having with child #1. I can't take my 3yo to preschool story time at the library, because I can't predict what my 15 mos old will do. And my 15 mos old may be making swimming progress at the pool, but my 3 yo decides instead to start banging his head against the concrete in a brewing tantrum. I feel like one child gets cheated sometimes. The only thing that's worse is when both melt down and both want mommy, and mommy only. Trying to attachment parent is almost impossible in a way that the books describe. With time, their behavior will get more predictable, but with working through testing, grieving, and other post-adoption behaviors, life is hard to manage some days.

Our freedom is greatly limited, so IMO, families really need to examine whether they can handle this and whether their partner is VERY "bought in" to the adoption and can handle very active parenting. At first, DH was trying to do his own thing like normal / before when we came home, then realized that he couldn't be doing that! He had a crash course in head on toddler parenting which was a rude awakening. It takes both of us putting in equal 110% effort.

And I would like to emphasize that we had a VERY excellent transition with the boys that we are still in awe of. We are not dealing with nearly the issues we could be. So, if one or both of our children were in a clinical situation with attachment, PTSD, etc.... well, I don't even want to think about it, just thank the Good Lord for being so good to us!

[ksm'smom]

Just checking if there is an additional fee at the Embassy for another child for a 1600? Is this true if they are siblings as well?
Thanks!
Sheila