What expenses are normally incurred for an international adoption?

Question

I have recently started looking in to international adoption. I have friends who adopted from Guatamala and Vietnam. Although they would assist me in obtaining information on adopting I do not want to come right out and ask how much it cost them to adopt each child. Does anyone have any ideas how much you can plan on spending to adopt a child abroad

Answer 1

Stay away from Guatemala - there are horrible abuses there, including paying young women to get pregnant in order to "sell" the babies, baby-stealing [the US Embassy in Guatemala City requires a DNA test of the baby and the birth mother to prove the baby wasn't stolen] and outrageous fees.

We adopted from Colombia, which is reputed to have one of the cleanest and most corruption-free programs in the world.

Total cost was about $19,000 and we get an $11,800 tax credit, so the actual cost was closer to $7,000. We lived very well while we were in Bogota - you could do it much cheaper.

There is an organization called KidSave International that brings abandoned orphans to the USA every summer. If you are serious about international adoption, why don't you contact KidSave and see about hosting a child for a few weeks this summer? It's called the "Summer Miracles" program.

Answer 2

Firstly, let's get one thing clear - you are not paying for the child!!

You pay for the home study report, travel expenses, accommodation, and many orphanages ask for a small donation to help them keep the baby home in good condition and to buy things for the children.

There is no set cost for all these things, it really does depend upon where you go and the social services system you are using.