Inter-Country Adoption Costs
Agencies that provide intercountry adoption services charge fees that range from $7,000 to $30,000. These fees generally include dossier and immigration processing and court costs. In some cases, they may include a required donation to the foreign orphanage or agency. Overall costs may be affected by the type of entity in the foreign country that is responsible for placing the child (e.g., government agency, government orphanage, charitable foundation, attorney, facilitator, or some combination thereof). Many intercountry adoption agencies offer a sliding fee scale.
Depending on the country, there may be additional fees, such as:
- Child foster care (usually in South and Central American adoptions)
- Parents' travel and in-country stay(s) to process the adoption abroad
- Escorting fees, charged when parents do not travel but instead hire escorts to accompany the child on the flight
- Child's medical care and treatment (occasionally in South and Central America)
- Translation fees
- Foreign attorney fees
- Foreign agency fees
- Passport fees
- Visa processing fees and costs of visa medical examination
Finalizing Inter-Country Adoptions in U.S. Court
Some intercountry adoptions must be finalized in a court in the United States. Some intercountry adoptions are finalized in the child's country of origin. Although not required in these situations, parents often choose also to finalize the placement in a U.S. court to provide additional protection of their child's legal status. All of these procedures incur a cost. The cost for court document preparation can range from $500 to $2,000, while the cost for legal representation may range from $2,500 to $12,000 or more in some States. (Again, these costs may be reimbursable.) In some jurisdictions an adoption can be finalized without representation by an attorney.
From the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)
