[mrsmommyx6]

My husband does not like to travel and would probably much rather use a escort service. Has anyone used the escort option? Please explain to me how it works.

1) I know there is a fee, does it end up coming out to be the same price as traveling?

2) Do most agencies bring them to your home state or do we travel somewhere else within country?

3) How much longer does using a escort drag the process out?

4) Did you feel like you missed out on a very important part of the adoption by not going to the childs country?

Any other info you can give me would be appreciated too. Thanks!

[sis2kensia]

I think the answers to your questions depend on what country you are adopting from.

I have escorted two children from Haiti for their new families. There was no fee involved because the family found someone who was travelling to Haiti anyway to escort their child(ren). If you asked someone to escort your child to the US from your agency/orphanage - you would have an escort fee and pay the ticket/hotel/meals of your escort. Escorting in Haiti might delay things a week or so while paperwork is gathered, but if you facilitator is on top of things they can probably get that done while you are waiting for your immigration appointment or Visa to come.
I would always certainly recommend travel. What about choosing a country where one parent could travel so that you husband didnt have to go? I can't imagine having to tell my child I never even saw their birthplace! We have so many wonderful memories and pictures we can and will share when the time comes.

S.
sis2kensia@yahoo.com

[sak9645]

1. First off, relatively few countries allow escort. Most require at least one parent to travel and finalize the adoption in-country. As an example, Russia requires both parents to travel. China requires at least one parent to travel.

2. If a country allows escort, your agency will arrange to have your child escorted. The escort is often someone from the agency -- staffer or adoptive parent -- or from the foreign welfare institution.

3. You will usually pay the escort's round trip airfare and your child's airfare, plus the cost of lodging, meals, etc. This generally works out to less than the cost of travel, simply because the escort does not stay in the foreign country more than a day or two, and because only one adult is traveling.

4. The escort will usually bring the child to a major international airport -- not directly to your city, unless he/she happens to be going there. If you don't live near an international airport, you may have to fly or drive some distance.

5. Depending on the country, escort can extend the process by anywhere from a week to a month or more. Check with an agency working in the country of your choice.

6. I would strongly recommend travel instead of escort. The visit to your child's country is the trip of a lifetime. You will develop memories that you can use, as your child grows, to help him gain an appreciation of his/her birth culture.

Sharon

[mrsmommyx6]

Thanks for your input. Right now we are looking at Ethiopia and I know they are one that does escort. I wanted to check out all my options and get advice from others.
Thanks again!

[ocracoke]

Mommy,

All the information you have been given already is good for Ethiopia as well. I did not escort but I did condsider it. The costs for me (single) to travel would have been roughly the same as if I had escorted. The best advice on that of course would be check with the agency that you are using on their costs and policies.

The other thing to consider when escorting v. traveling is the I600. When you travel your I600 is filed in Ethiopia while you are there. When you escort your I600 is filed in your local USCIS office (where ever you filed your I600A). You would need to check on the length of time it is taking your office to process this document. Some areas of the country seem to be processing them fairly quickly. My area was slow at it and we estimated that escorting would add about an extra 4 months on to my adoption process.

Samantha

[Oldster]

We adopted our daughter 24 years ago. She was delivered to JKF airport from South Korea along with a dozen other screaming infants who had used up all their diapers. She was placed in our arms by a fellow travler, an African-American businessman. Fellow passengers were enlisted to help because the adoption agency workers who escorted the babies had more than they could handle.

It was like a mass birth.

It was exciting and wonderful.

It doesn't matter to me that I have never seen the country of my child's birth. Sure, I'd like to see Asia, but it's not the highest item on my "to do" list for my life.

Do whatever makes YOU happiest and don't listen to anyone who is trying to make you feel guilty. You are adopting, and that is something to celebrate. How and when and where that child is placed into your arms simply doesn't matter. It's just important that it happens. It makes no difference to your child, either.

If you are bent on traveling to the country, why not postpone it until the child is a teen, when you BOTH can enjoy the experience? (Start saving now!)


Oldster (now a doting grandmother of a GORGEOUS Asian boy!)