[bshaw96]

Though we have been considering international adoption for some time, we are just now really starting to dig into researching it and really start pushing forward to make it happen. We have not selected a country yet, but would like to adopt either a boy or girl under the age of 3.

My question is regarding money. We are prepared to spend about 40,000-45,000 but we do not have all of that ready at this time. It will likely be 2-3 years before we have saved it all. My question is, can we begin the process now as we are saving, or is it best to wait until you have all the money? I don't wanna wait 2 or 3 years to save, and then another 2 or 3 years to get a referral, you know? But then I worry that the process would go along quicker than expected and we'd have a referral before we saved all the money.

Can you control the pace at which the adoption process goes along (not referring to speeding it up, but slowing down if necessary)? We'd love to start the process the beginning of next year and hopefully be bringing a child home in 2-3 years.

I know country choice makes a difference as well. We have looked at Kaz (I love this one, but the money is a bit of a hurdle) China (too long of a wait for me) and South Korea (worried it may be closed by the time we're ready).

Please, any help appreciated!

[sak9645]

With most adoptions, fees are paid at various points in the process. As an example, you are likely to pay the homestudy fee right away, but you won't pay your hotel charges until you are in the foreign country. Given the pace of adoptions these days, it could take you two years or more before the last of the fees come due.

As to time frame, you generally can't count on being able to control the process. If you adopt from a fairly stable country, you can have a general sense of how things will go, but all sorts of things could happen to change the time frame by days, weeks, or even months.

If you put an adoption on hold early in the process -- for example, by not submitting your completed dossier -- you risk having documents expire or require changes, which means that they will have to be redone (at a fee). And if you put an adoption on hold once you have a referral, no agency or country will let him/her sit in an orphanage any longer than is absolutely necessary; you will lose the referral and, in some cases, the chance to get a new one.

With a country that allows gender choice, you may be warned that it could take a long time to get a girl referral, because most Americans request girls. However, if an orphanage suddenly receives several baby girls, you could wind up higher on the wait list than expected, or even getting a referral very quickly.

On the other hand, if a judge in some foreign country gets sick, or if a conflict breaks out there, or if there's a sudden rule change, your time frame could lengthen sharply. You might find that it takes longer than you expected to get homestudy approval or USCIS clearance, or you might find that you need to switch countries or wait for a second referral because of a fall-through.

The best way to approach an adoption is to say that it will occur when it occurs, and get busy doing all the things you won't have time to do once your child arrives -- taking a course, finishing your basement, going to a country inn with your spouse for a long weekend, taking on a second job to save a little extra money, etc.

Also, most international adoptions do NOT cost $45,000. Yes, if you adopt from Russia, it's possible. Russia has always been one of the most expensive countries, and now that most families have to make two trips, or sometimes three, the costs are very high. Paying for three round trip airline tickets for each of two people definitely raises the price.

But if you are willing to adopt from Ethiopia, or Korea, or any of the countries that require only one trip, and that have traditionally had moderate fees, you should be able to do an adoption for $25K-30K, including everything.

And if you are willing to adopt a school aged child, or a child with certain special needs, you may find that the agency is willing to discount its own portion of the fees very significantly. Agencies want to get these children placed with families, and know how hard it is to find families willing to accept them. Obviously, you'll still need to pay homestudy, USCIS, foreign government, and other fees, but you could wind up saving several thousand dollars.

Also, do not forget about the federal tax credit. The current one was $10,000 when passed, but has actually increased because of adjustments for inflation. While not everyone will be eligible for the full credit, and some people will get it over a few years, not all at once, it can be very valuable. And while you can't take the credit until the adoption is completed, many families can borrow against their 401K or get other loans to do the adoption and then pay it back with tax credit money received.

The tax credit is due to expire next year; however, it has been reauthorized a couple of times in the past, and it is likely to be reauthorized again. Be aware that some states also have tax credits.

I hope this helps.

Sharon

[HarryPotter7]

Hi,
Just read your post and I am also thinking of international adoption. You should check COLOMBIA. My uncle and his wife just adopted a beautiful baby girl. The cost is NOT what you are expecting. I know Russia is terribly expensive but Colombia has great programs and support for families thinking of adoption. NOT the amount you are thinking about. I spoke to my uncle and he said that it is illegal for them to charge you (you are not buying a baby, you are adopting), travel expenses paperwork and translation of documents wold be where you spend the money but Colombia requires only one trip. One of the parents can leave after 10 days and the oder adoptive parent would stay to finalize paper work...
Hope this helps!

[bunndel]

I adopted last year from Russia, and spent about the money you are planning to save. We applied in March and got our baby home in November. It went really fast and smooth for us.Sometimes the waiting time depends on the agency you are using, since some agencies have more regions than others, therefore more referrals become available to them. We looked into Colombia but because of our age (I was 39, my husband 42 then) we could adopt a child older than 5 years old. If you are younger, you can consider Colombia as an option to adopt a child younger than 3. Regarding the costs, as much as you pay, you NEVER are buying a child. All that money (in a Russian adoption, which is what I know) goes to home study, translation of your dossier fees, arrangements to take you from and to airport/regions/ orphanages/adoption centers/court, court fees, legal fees, issuance of birth certificate/adoption certificate/ termination of rights certificate/etc, hotel and air fare, medical visit and evaluation by 8 doctors, US visa for the child, petition to adopt an orphan, visas for the country you are traveling if required, police clearance, post placement reports, fedex back and for, etc etc etc. As you can see, no one is paying the birth mother or anybody else for the child.
You have to find an agency you are comfortable working with and see what they say about the waiting time, if they say 2 years, go ahead and start now, but ask them if there is any possibility that it may be earlier to make sure you can come up with the money and you don't lose a referral of a little one because of it (some people take a loan and think about money later).
I wish you good luck. If you have any questions you can contact me.
Daniela

[Navyvet4665]

I got my referral in April , First trip was in May. brought her home August.

[Bunnygirl]

You won't have to pay it all upfront! The bulk of it comes towards the end of the process when you've accepted a referral and making travel plans (usually travel expenses are included in the estimated cost).

As a general rule of thumb -- it's easier to adopt boys than girls because there's less of a demand for them in IA, also children over, say, two years old, are less in demand & therefore easier/quicker to adopt. We started off planning to adopt a baby girl from China (still logged in and waiting) but now we have a beautiful son from Vietnam. If you find out that there's a significant difference in wait time for boys v. girls in the country you choose, go for a boy! It's true that you can't dress them up, etc. (LOL) but they are amazingly sweet!

[cborsa7]

My question is regarding money. We are prepared to spend about 40,000-45,000 but we do not have all of that ready at this time. It will likely be 2-3 years before we have saved it all. My question is, can we begin the process now as we are saving, or is it best to wait until you have all the money? I don't wanna wait 2 or 3 years to save, and then another 2 or 3 years to get a referral, you know? But then I worry that the process would go along quicker than expected and we'd have a referral before we saved all the money.

Can you control the pace at which the adoption process goes along (not referring to speeding it up, but slowing down if necessary)? We'd love to start the process the beginning of next year and hopefully be bringing a child home in 2-3 years.

#1. First, we were a Guatemala adoption and spent approx. 35,000 due to visits with our son. I would allow for at least 30,000 even for Columbia (which agencies estimate at approx. 19- 28 thousand anyway) Problems can arise and it is important to be prepared. There are certainly some countries with travel that will reach close to your estimate, Russia for sure.
If you are looking into international your process will be anything but certain. Not having funds available to complete your adoption would be an awful circumstance to be in. If you were looking at China, I'd say you have the time, years. Any other country and I personally would not risk this. It would be unfair to that child. 2-3 years is a long time to be saving should your process move smoothly. Our process in a country under Hague crisis and in the middle of a closure was very smooth and was only 8 months. We have friends who have been waiting years still. There is NO Way to be certain when it will be your time.

#2. If you are looking for a process that will certainly take the 2-3 years (at least) you need to wait I would consider China. Otherwise, you should wait until you are at a closer stage financially. It is not possible to hold off on a referral once you are in that process for that length of time. Many children are in a orphanage setting and this would keep them from being placed in a home.

Good luck with your journey!