Guatemala

jenniferw223 · 01-28-2005, 12:27 AM

Hello. My husband and I have decided to adopt. We are trying to decide Russa, Kaz, or Guatemala. From what I can tell it seems the babies in Guatemala tend to be healthier. Anyways my question is about the cost. The agency fee for the agency we are considering ranges from $23,900 to $26,900 plus travel expenses and misc expenses (which probably total around another $5000). Does this seem a little high for the agency fee? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

HLLB · 01-28-2005, 12:34 PM

Jennifer,

"Agency" fees like that also include the country fees. Guatemala is not a cheap place to adopt from. Neither is Russia. Not sure about Kaz. Of those three, I would definitely choose Guatemala. The babies are in foster care there and no matter how hard an orphanage tries, foster care is better.

Have you considered Korea or China? Both of those programs are much cheaper. Korea is my personal favorite and also features foster care. Costs range from $18K to $22K for Korea and travel is not required. Let me know if you want more info!

Holly

JenJen78 · 01-29-2005, 02:04 PM

Jennifer,
It depends on if they are including homestudy fee, DNA fee, INS (or that's what it used to be, now it's B something), and the fees for collecting the dossier. If so, they are probably close to right.

If they are not including that, then I'd say they are high with the $26,900 they are estimating. I've been looking to adopt again, and Guatemala is one of my choices. I've been finding the fees to be closer to $23k. (that is just for the agency fee and attorney fee)

When we adopted, everything including what I listed above as well as travel was around $28k. Now, I'm expecting closer to $30k because of the agency fee that has gone up.

Good luck in your choice. If you do choose Guatemala, I can say that it's a beautiful country with just as beautiful children. (of course I'm bias

)

jenniferw223 · 01-30-2005, 01:20 AM

Thanks for your responses. That fee does include most things. The home study and some miscellaneous things are extra but that is the majority of the cost. We are traveling to Tampa on the 18th (we are in Orlando) to meet with someone from the agency. Hopefully that will help us narrow our decision. :-)