Ask-A-Lawyer

Q. Is it more difficult to adopt a child from another country than from the United States? Are there differences in costs?

A. There are several differences between international adoptions and domestic adoptions. In a domestic adoption, birthparents choose the adoptive parents for their child. In international adoptions, birthparents very rarely play a role in their child’s adoption and usually have relinquished parental rights to the child by the time he or she arrives at an orphanage. By the time the adoption is finalized on foreign soil, the relinquishment is irreversible. This means the adoption is final, period, end of statement.

The sheer number of children available for international adoption makes a positive outcome virtually certain for qualified parents. You will be parents of a child if you can pass the foreign government's requirements. You can count on that happening usually within 12 to 18 months. However, you should not consider international adoption if you are not ready to parent a child with special needs or developmental delays. Most, but not all children adopted internationally have at least mild developmental delays.

Depending upon the foreign program one chooses, the cost difference between a domestic adoption and an international adoption can be significant. The fees for services in domestic adoptions can range from less than $10,000 to as high as $40,000, depending upon birthparent expenses, medical costs, and the like. In an international adoption the fees range from $20,000 to $35,000. Some of the reasons that international adoption costs so much are because private in-country legal fees can range in the thousands; it can be tough to find qualified, highly reputable people to prepare the child's legal documents in the foreign country; travel costs can be astronomical because you may be asked to travel at the last minute and be unable to use frequent flyer miles or discount fares. Part of your total cost may be an “orphanage donation” to help feed and clothe the children who remain in the orphanage.

Answer by Harlan Tenenbaum, Chair
Adoption Committee, ABA Family Law Section, Wilmington, DE

A. The difficulty and cost of adopting a child from another country depend largely on the laws of the country from which the child is adopted. Many countries, for example, require that the adopting parents travel to the country at least once to adopt the child and may require an in-country stay of several weeks. An agency or attorney with experience in international adoptions should be able to advise you on the requirements and costs associated with adoptions from different countries. The U.S. State Department also offers country-specific information for international adoptions.

Answer by James Landman, Associate Director
American Bar Association Division for Public Education, Chicago, IL