The costs that you can expect for an international adoption generally fall into these categories:
- INS approval in your state
(ex: in Connecticut, $545 application processing fee; $70/parent fingerprinting)
- charges for the home study in your state
(ex: Rainbow Adoptions application fee = $150; home study fee $1,700)
- costs for authenticating documents at state and consular levels
(ex: Connecticut Secretary of the State = $5/document; Guatemalan Consulate = $10/document)
- agency fee in U.S.
(ex: Rainbow Adoptions fee = $4,500)
- program fee for the foreign country. This generally includes orphanage/foster care costs, legal fees, routine medical care, document translations, expenses related to your documents, and court costs
(ex: in Guatemala, fees range from $19,000 to $23,000)
- additional expenses will include travel and lodging (for Guatemala = $1,000/person), U.S. visa for the child (for Guatemala = $380), and specific to Guatemala is the mandatory DNA testing of the birth mother and child ($450).
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