[shannobananno]

Hello, I have been a lurker as DH and I have decided to adopt from Russia. He is a Russian speaker, used to live there, and we cannot conceive naturally. However, after reading a thread about the costs of adopting from Russia, I'm not so sure. $45,000? That can't be right. The agency near me reported that it costs about $10,000 on top of the travel expenses. I know travel expenses are high but not that high and, yes, I know it takes two trips. So, aside from the travel expenses, how much have you paid to adopt from Russia? I really appreciate the help. I need to know of this is not going to be a possibility for us. Thanks!!

[Bcelli]

$45K sounds way too high for me. Our last adoption was in '04 and we had to make 2 trips for it and took our 6YO son with us. All tolled, I think we ended up at about $28-30K and I'm not shy about buying keepsakes. His 'adoption fees' were about $17,500, which doesn't include form fees, passports, visas, medicals, homestudies, PPRs (post-placement reports), consulate registration, etc. etc. You should certainly be able to complete an adoption for about $30K today.

[angelkisses0102]

I would say $45,000 total would be a good guess...Moscow is the most expensive city in the world...the value of the dollar is low...and the length of time in Russia or taking three trips increase travel costs.

We adopted DD back in 2002, had only two trips and had our ten days waived and her adoption was about $38,000 total. With DS in 2004, again only two trips, ten days waived and we used Marriott points for all but two nights (in region)...was about $35,000. These include travel...

All the best.

[GCS]

$45K is about what it is costing today to adopt from Russia.

We also adopted in '04 and we only paid a little more than that to bring two children home.

There are a number of factors at play here. The decreased value of the American dollar. The fact that 10 days almost never gets waived so you are in country trip two for almost a full month or you are traveling 3 times and not waiting out the 10 days.

My close friend is in Russia right now waiting for court. She will be there 29 days for trip two because the 10 days are not waived. That's more days at a hotel and more meals to pay for.

Airfare is increasingly higher than it was in '04 when we went.

We are hoping to adopt again so I have just been gettng info from our agency and from others who have recently traveled. I figure we will be about $5K less than we were in '04 and that was adopting two children.

[Jessi_76]

Hello Shanno~

WELCOME!! And congratulations on your decision to adopt. I would say, quite honestly that $45k, would be the bare minimum that one could get away with spending these days and that's if you are in a less demanding region. Also, travel is VERY, VERY expensive especially these days with the price of jet fuel, so count on it adding a LOT to your total bottom line.

Our airfare alone for the three trips is $20,000 (although that does include $5,000 in change fees from making flight changes with dumb old Delta).

Hotel rooms on first trip: $540; second trip: $600; third trip: $2,900 (and it could potentially be WAY more than that if you plan to stay during the 10 days, we are going home - although our extra airfare would offset this).

In other words, basically, without any food, or in-country transportation, hotel and air alone are almost $25,000.

Then you add in child passports and Visas, your visas, your USCIS process/fingerprinting, dossier costs (which depending on region may include psychiatric evaluations, CPA reports, etc. which added thousands of dollars to our total expenses --- keep this in mind, there are SO many unknowns), homestudy, eight-doctor meds for you and dh, medicals for the children, birth certificates, adoption certificates, translator, airport transfers, coordinator, FedEx fees to send things to your agency, State Police checks, etc. (we even had to have our well water tested as part of our homestudy)

I would say that $10,000 is a very unrealistic estimate as the foreign fee alone is almost double that per child these days. Then you have to add in the agency fee, application fees for placing agency and HS agency, all of the notarizing and apostilling (which literally cost us about $3,000), etc.

For two children, our total estimated costs as of today (and they change daily, believe me because they were based on estimates before and as I get the actual costs, I usually find I'm WAY off ) exactly based on my spreadsheet which kept track of absolutely every single thing are: $95,947.79 ($69,978.79 of which we have already paid). The remaining $25,969 even includes the post placement reports for both children which are due when we return from court, and the cost of readopting in my state once we return home).

Point being...it's never what you expect. We expected $65k total for two (as you can see we were far off), which was just completely unrealistic. BUT, I would NEVER EVER change it for anything in the world. Our children are AMAZING and I cannot wait to have them home with us forever. I'd paid triple what we did...it's worth it all!!

I would say that it was about $55-60k for the first and $35k - $40k more to add a second child. However, we have never really figured that out...it just doesn't matter!! All that matters now is that they are home, safe and sound with us, ASAP!!!

Best of luck to you!! Follow your heart. For us, we felt VERY, VERY called to adoption by God, and knew that He woudl provide and it would all work out financially. Don't get me wrong, it can be very stressful, but I've spent a lot of time coming to terms with the fact that it's just money, and I'd rather have debt and struggle than not have children.

xoxoxo

[Shark01]

I advise people to budget $50k......remember, even ordinary hotels in Moscow cost $400/night. We paY $100/DAY FOR A DRIVER.

[momofMikhail]

$45K is realistic. We spent $50K to adopt our son just 3 months ago. Airfare for 2 trips alone was $10K, adoption fee $12,500, hotel $6K, and there are several other expenses for your dossier, and your agency. I did get some souveniers, but I don't think I went over board. Food is also very expensive in region, and even more so in Moscow. We decided to stay during our 10 day wait because it was cheaper. Our hotel in region was only about $110 a night and airfare for me and DH was going to be at least $4,500. But if you plan on adopting a child with special needs there is assistance from our government that would offset that some.

[Bcelli]

Well, this is all very disheartening as we have been contemplating a third adoption. However, when we went in '04, we were told $250/night for a hotel in Moscow. We paid $79 for a suite. We were told $150/night in Saratov. We paid $70 for a suite. Of course, with the current cost of fuel, I can see the flights going up expoentially. Do some still offer adoption fare rates? This whole process has to be a shopping adventure to keep the costs within reach for most of us. When we began, I queried three agencies for home studies. The prices ranged from $2000 to $600. We went low. To update will cost us about $75. And post placement reports are $50, where some are paying hundreds, if not more. I guess what I'm trying to say is that many of the associated costs can be mitigated with planning and research. Of course, if you have the money, I would always advise to go directly to Go and skip the shopping hassle.

[mommyto4]

I agree with above posters in terms of recent adoption fees. Travel expenses are higher with inflation and fuel costs, travel is where a big bulk of your money will be spent. Agency fees are also increasing because of inflation and the average 2 trips is now either 3 trips or longer trip 2 in country(average 3weeks) , because of the 10 days not routinely being waived any longer.Best wishes.

[GCS]

Originally Posted by Bcelli

Well, this is all very disheartening as we have been contemplating a third adoption.

I feel your pain! We originally waited until the accreditation mess was over to start the process for number 3. Now we are looking at the $$s and wondering if it is really feasible.

I wanted to bring the kids with us so they could see their home region and the orphanage and really experience everything with us. With hotel pricing and plane fares being what they are that is not even an option now. So now we have to think about how we are going to manage being gone so long without the kids, which is a whole new thread.

I thought since we were looking to adopt a child of either sex around 3-4 years old we would pay a bit less in agency fees. Not the case.

We also need to look at getting a new car - I can't put 3 carseats in my Escape. More $$

Doing a new room for another child - we moved a year and a half ago and have a guest room but it needs to be redone for a child, not a big expense but an expense none the less. More $$.

Maybe moving the guest room downstairs and finishing part or all of the basement so the Grandmas can stay here - not a priority but we'll end up having to do this eventually. More $$

I have saved every bit of clothing my kids ever had so there is a savings there. At least that's what I keep telling DH!

If it were a girl it would be easier because she and Buttercup could just share a room that first year and we could take our time moving her into her own space. Big Boy is in 1st grade so moving a toddler into his room would not be a good option.

These sound like piddly things but you need to look at the entire picture and figure out how you can move forward. I think we could just upgrade to a larger (more gas guzzeling) car and make do with the rooms until we had saved some money. I was shocked by how expensive it has become and we were just not prepared for it.

[votemom]

travel in summer to moscow is much more costly.

definitely rent an apartment to save about 50% when you stay in moscow on your last trip.

[Ebadge90]

$45,000 sounds ballpark to me. In Massachusetts, we had to pay $5 a page to have it apostilled. Any idea how many pages total? I don't even want to remember. Add in $100 a day for thedriver and interpreter, and in 2 weeks, there is almost $3000. Do that for 3 trips, one of which could be almost a month, and that adds up quickly.
We still have yet to decide on another adoption or not, but the more we thisk about it, the $45,000 will make a nice start to a colege fund for our son.

[texasbeth]

Texas charges a maximum of $100 per adoption for apositilles. I had about 30 documents done, and if I need more the adoption is assigned a number they will be done with no charge. I also found a friend to notarize. I asked my friend if I could pay the fee to get her to become a notary so she could do all of my papers, but her boyfriend is already a notary. That is way to save money.

I am finding tons of small expences such as $20 for a certified copy of my house title, and the Hague training hours at $15 an hour. They seem small but they are numerous and really adding up.

I can't wait to get the call for a referral but the travel cost seem outrageous. I have it, but it dips into my savings. Scary.

[Jessi_76]

In Pennsylvania we paid $5 per page for notarizing, and $15 per page for apostilling (seems like we are in an expensive state compared to what others are saying), so $20 per document, and we had well over 200 documents. Our region requires a LOT in the way of paperwork, so depending on where you're sent it can be more or less. Plus, we're adopting two so we had to double everything.

[cmmandjam]

I agree with everyone else. $45,000 is probably a fairly reasonable estimate. we paid over $50,000 and have been home a year. there were so many unforeseeable things. our coordinator here told us our doctor's visit in russia would cost $25 a piece. when we got there, our coordinator on the russian side told us it would be $1,000 a piece. we were originally told the entire thing would cost $35,000. we carried $15,000 with us on the first trip and $20,000 on the second trip. that doesn't include any travel. it also depends on who you work with. our coordinators weren't concerned with getting us the best prices. for instance, we paid $600 per night to stay in moscow. had our coordinator asked for the adoption rate it would have cost us HALF. moscow may be the most expensive city in the world, but it is also one of the most beautiful. we had an amazing experience there.

when i saw the cost i didn't think there was any way we could do it. i had a friend who had done it and told me that it didn't matter and i just didn't get it. after seeing that little face, i understood what she meant. in the end, the money really just doesn't matter.