The Cost of Foreign Adoptions

You cannot deny that foreign adoptions have really been on the rise in the last five years. It could be the sheer volume of information coming across the television as people sit at home and see the needy faces of children who are desperate for good, loving homes. It might also be that couples and families find that adopting from a foreign country is a better choice because a biological parent is unlikely to try to regain custody. But there are still factors that can lead to being denied the right to adopt from that country, and you have to take them into account.

Okay, so you have made up your mind that foreign adoptions best suit your needs and you are looking to adopt a child from a foreign country. You will need to decide on the child's county or origin. For example, are you interested in an Ethiopia adoption or an adoption from Russia. Once decided, then it becomes an issue of race. Many people do not consider this to be a matter of concern, but you also have to consider how other family members will react to a child of a different race or ethnic group.

International child adoption does not come cheap. A typical adoption in the United States can cost upwards of fifty-thousand dollars once you factor in the agency fees, the court costs and the cost of hiring an adoption attorney. A foreign adoption is going to cost more than that because you will have to visit the country, sometimes more than once, and stay for a set amount of time so that the child can become accustomed with you. As well, the necessary paperwork which will allow the child to leave the country must be completed.

Couples find it easiest to go through the approval process for an international child adoption because some countries will not allow someone who is single to adopt a child. If you are not in a relationship do not let this deter you. There are countries that care more about the welfare of a child than they do about marriage contracts. Some are even Christian adoption agencies that help place children in homes with people who will love them regardless of their marital status.

Foreign adoptions can be quite complicated if you do not know what you are doing. You have to deal with the language barrier. You have to deal with foreign agencies and their paperwork and immigration processes. You have to deal with your own country's immigration paperwork and custody paperwork. It can be a nerve wracking process for an adoptive family to go through. That is why most people turn to an agency for help when it comes time for them to adopt.