Homecoming

Some countries require two trips to complete an adoption, but most require a single trip. Trips vary in length from 3-5 days (Haiti, Taiwan, and Ethiopia, among others) to 30 days or more (some parts of Kazakhstan and Russia, for example.) Still others have lengthy residency requirements and may not be options for most Americans. Still, these programs can be popular among U.S. expatriates, those who have relatives in other countries, Christian missionaries, etc. Other countries (Ethiopia, South Korea and Haiti, for example), allow children to be escorted, making them good choices for parents who can’t travel overseas. Parents should be aware that if they choose to have their child escorted, or if only one spouse travels to accompany the child home, he/she will enter the country on an IR-4 visa, and the adoption will have to be finalized in the U.S. The family will also have to apply for citizenship for their child, whereas it is generally automatic if both parents travel to complete the adoption. (An exception to this is when both parents have previously seen the child, such as on a child-identifying trip or visit trip. As long as both parents have personally seen the child, the adoptee is generally issued an IR-3 visa even if escorted).

Finalization and citizenship

Finalization of adoption is another area of difference among international adoption programs. In many countries, the both the country-of-origin and U.S. ends of the adoption are completed once the child goes home, and the child becomes an American citizen upon hitting U.S. soil (assuming he/she enters on an IR-3 visa). With other programs, the adoption must be finalized after the child enters the U.S. South Korea, for examples, requires U.S. finalization after 6 months. In still other countries, such as with the new Zambia program, families are merely given guardianship rights and the adoption must be completed/finalized after a prescribed period of time.

Readoption

In some states, “readoption” is required even if the adoption has been completed in-country. In others, it is optional but essential for obtaining a U.S. birth certificate (ever tried to use a Chinese birth certificate to sign your daughter up for t-ball?) In still others, a U.S. birth certificate can be obtained without the readoption process. Readoption requires a brief appearance in front of a judge (with or without an attorney, depending on the state), along with supplying copies of adoption documents. There is a small fee associated with filing the required documents, plus attorney fees, if applicable. In my home state, we paid a $17 fee plus $450 for the attorney’s services.

Costs

As with domestic adoption, there is a quite a range of expenses associated with international adoption. Agency adoptions run from around $15,000 to over $30,000. On the low end of the spectrum are China, Haiti, Ethiopia and Liberia, with Guatemala, Russia and other Eastern European countries at the high end. It is possible to adopt from some countries independently, and this can cut costs substantially for parents who are willing to take on the work themselves. As with all adoptions in the U.S., families who adopt internationally are generally able to claim the adoption tax credit. From the IRS website:

“Beginning in 2007, the credit allowed for an adoption of a child with special needs is $11,390 and the maximum credit allowed for other adoptions is the amount of qualified adoption expenses up to $11,390. The credit begins to phase out if you have modified adjusted gross income of $170,820 or more and is completely phased out if you have modified adjusted gross income of $210,820 or more.”

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