It costs how much???

I have a lot of people asking me how much does it cost to adopt in Africa.  It's crazy expensive.  In general, families spend around $20,000-30,000 in fees when they use an agency. You may be wondering why international adoption is so expensive.  Me too!  There are lots of costs associated with adopting.

Our fees came in 3 categories. 

1.  First we had the Homestudy, Fingerprinting and Initial agency application.

2.  Next came the Agency and African Program fees (attorney).

3.  Lastly, we have travel and accommodations to pick our little girl up.

Here is a breakdown of our fees:


Agency Application Fee $300

Homestudy Fee $1300

Immigration fee
I-600A, Family pre-approval $720
CIS Fingerprinting (2 adults) $170

AGENCY FEE $4500

FOREIGN COSTS

First portion $3000

Second portion $2000

Program Fee $3000 (subject to change since she's older/special needs)

Child’s US Visa $230

Child’s Medical Visa $400


TRAVEL COSTS

These costs vary (average $7100 includes airfare for 2 adults and 1 child, accommodation, food, transportation in Africa for 5 weeks).  We plan to take all 3 of our bio kids (God willing) so this bumps up our travel cost another $4500.

TOTAL: ~ $27,220

So where are we in this process?  We still have to pay for our little girl's last portion of the program fees ($1500ish) and our travel fees.  Isn't God just amazing?  I could go on and on about God's hand on our adoption.

We have been on the fence on whether we should take our kids and we feel that it would be best to introduce our entire family to her and vice versa.

Goodness gracious, this is a family affair!!

We all want to meet her and show her love!  I also want the peace knowing that my family is completely intact.  We have went round and round with this decision, but this is the one that we are at peace with.  We are planning for all 5 of us to travel unless God shuts the door. 

We have already seen God faithfully provide financially in such big ways in this process and we are continuing to trust His timing!

My prayer is that God is glorified through this entire process and He opens the doors that need to be opened and slam shut the doors that need closed.