International Adoption Costs
Understanding the total adoption fees in an international are too often made difficult by the fact that some adoption agencies, adoption facilitators, and attorneys do not outline all the costs up front which means you could spend much more than you originally thought.
Types of Adoption and Fees
The total fees involved in an international adoption are often lower than the fees involved in a domestic adoption.
The country from which you adopt and the agency you work with are the major factors that effect your total child adoption costs. You will also find that the costs involved in adopting a healthy infant or child in a foreign country are frequently higher that in adopting a child with special needs. Costs involved in an international child adoption typically range from $5000 - $60,000.
Financial Assistance for Adopting Families
Financial Assistance for Adopting Families is a link that will provide information about federal, state, employer and private programs that are designed to help you reduce the cost of adopting a child. Yes, there is help out there if you take the time to read about it. Just make sure to differentiate between programs that may assist differently depending on whether the adoption is domestic or international.
Services and Costs for an International Child Adoption
Be careful when comparing fees since some agencies, adoption facilitators, and attorneys may give you partial costs and fail to mention fees charged by other governmental authorities, or hospitals, doctors, attorneys, or travel costs, or document preparation fees, etc.
Remember, your TOTAL adoption bill includes not only agency costs but also many other fees such as your Home Study, all legal, doctor, state and federal fees as well as orphanage, court, travel, lodging, filing fees, document fees and others.
You will quickly discover that agencies and private adoption sources may charge for any or all of the fees listed below and they may combine some of the fees in with other categories. In some cases many of these fees are paid "up front" and may or may not be refundable. You should ask any agency or other adoption resource about the following services and fees, when they are paid, and if and when they are refundable.
REGISTRATION FEE
This is the initial fee an agency may charge to review your initial information, to see if they can help you, and to open a file. This fee typically ranges from $0-$2000.
APPLICATION FEE
This fee may be combined with the Registration and is usually paid when a completed application is being prepared. This fee typically also ranges from $0-$3000.
HOME STUDY AND PRE-PLACEMENT REPORT HOME STUDY FEE
This fee covers the costs for the interviews and home visits that are made as part of the Home Study process. Following the interviews and review of documentation, a Home Study Report is prepared. This fee typically ranges from $750-$4000.
HOME STUDY UPDATE FEE
All Home Studies must be kept current and they are typically valid for 12-18 months. If a placement does not take place within that period, a completely new Home Study may not be needed. Rather, an update Home Study may need to be completed. This fee typically ranges from $0 - $500.
HOME STUDY REVIEW FEE
This fee is typically charged when you have your Home Study completed by one agency but you work with a different agency to help you complete an adoption. This fee typically ranges from $0 -$1000.
AGENCY SERVICE FEE
This fee typically covers on-site (agency office) services rendered to the adopting persons. Many agencies have all, or part of, this fee paid "up front" or at the time of a child referral. If the placement and adoption do not proceed you may loose all or part of this fee. This fee typically ranges from $2,500 -$7,000.
POST-PLACEMENT SUPERVISORY FEE
Many international adoptions require after-placement (called post-placement) supervisory contacts and visits. The number and frequency of these depends on the requirements of the foreign country. Typically you are charged for the supervisory session, for travel time and travel costs, and for any needed reports. This fee typically ranges from $250-$550 for each visit with the average number of visits being 1-3.
ON-SITE SERVICES FEE
This applies only when an agency or attorney provides on-site (in-office) services based on an hourly rate. Typically, hourly rates vary from $100 - $325/hour.
MEDICAL EXPENSES
This covers the medical examinations that have, and will be done, on the child you are adopting. The fees usually range from $0 -$1500.
NON-AGENCY FEES INVOLVING ATTORNEYS
This fee covers the foreign country's attorney fees. Total legal fees typically range from $1500 - $7500.
FOREIGN PROGRAM FEE
This fee is typical of international child adoptions and covers the agency and foreign coordinator fees. It is usually payable at the time you accept a child referral. This fee varies from country to country and agency to agency but typically range from $2,000 - $28,000.
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTATION, AUTHENTICATION, AND ORPHANAGE FEES
These fees only apply to international adoption and combined typically range form $1000 - $5000.
NON-AGENCY FEES INVOLVING ATTORNEYS
This fee covers the foreign country's attorney fees. Total legal fees typically range from $1500 - $7500.
FOREIGN PROGRAM FEE
This fee is typical of international child adoptions and covers the agency and foreign coordinator fees. It is usually payable at the time you accept a child referral. This fee varies from country to country and agency to agency but typically range from $2,000 - $28,000.
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTATION, AUTHENTICATION, AND ORPHANAGE FEES
These fees only apply to international adoption and combined typically range form $1000 - $5000.
Adoption Services' Fees for an International Child Adoption
Our Agency, Adoption Services, no longer does international adoptions. We specialize in the domestic adoption of newborns and infants.
We pride ourselves on providing the highest level of personal and professional care. We spend a great deal of time, effort, and money to reduce or eliminate risks.
We are a private, fully licensed, and non-profit agency. We receive no federal or state money to support our Agency and our programs.
A complete and detailed breakdown of Adoption Services' fees and the other miscellaneous fees you can expect to pay are part of our Program Description and Fee and Service Schedule that are provided upon request and automatically provided to everyone who registers with our Agency.
Please visit our home page to read about our commitment to assist adoptive parents like you as well as pregnant women and birth parents