When doing your research on the costs of adopting internationally, you may be wondering how much does it cost to adopt from Haiti?
The costs to adopt from Haiti can range anywhere from $30,000 to $50,000. This may or may not include other possible fees such as the application fee, the home study, the U.S. processing fee, orphanage fees, a post-placement fee, your travel expenses and Visas, and so much more.
The international adoption agency that you choose to work with will provide you with a structured fee schedule when adopting a child, so you should know upfront the costs of your adoption.
A professional adoption agency should be very organized, and you will not be in the dark about the next fee you will be asked to pay.
Nor will you be expected to pay additional funds over and above what has already been presented to you.
There should be no pressure to give donations or gift money over and above the fee structure that you were already quoted.
Visit Travel.State.Gov for up-to-date reports on adoption within each country of interest to know when travel and adoptions, if halted, will resume.
Considering international adoption? International Adoption Pros and Cons: What You Need to Know is an article I enjoyed writing that covers so much about the pros and cons of international adoption.
The Costs of Adopting From Haiti
When researching the costs to adopt a child from Haiti, it was very difficult to compare apples to apples, so to speak.
Each international adoption agency has its fee structure which can be quite confusing. When it comes to Haiti, I feel like the costs associated with the adoption are a bit more expensive.
Perhaps the reason for this is because regardless of where you adopt from, the fees are typically roughly about the same.
After all, adoption agencies cannot put food on their tables by simply volunteering their time. They have had specialized training to help assist in connecting you with a child.
Travel expenses alone range widely for any country. In most cases, both you and your spouse will be required to travel to the country you wish to adopt.
That additional flight arrangement only adds to the cost of travel. Not to mention you may be required to make a second trip.
One international adoption agency shows an estimated total of about $39,000 which does not include the cost of travel, accommodations, and other fees. Travel costs change constantly, so keep that in mind as well.
Another adoption agency we reviewed showed an estimated total of between $30,000 – $34,000, but again, this cost range does not include travel expenses and other fees.
Concerning all adoption agencies, we looked at, they all appeared to balance out to be about the same in costs. International adoption agencies understand that prospective adoptive parents will be shopping around, so to speak, so it is in their best interest to remain comparable to their competition.
In general, your expenses include your registration, application, and home study costs.
Add to that any additional document certification fees, adoption agency fees, and additional fees from the Haitian government.
A couple of things to consider here. Make sure that the international adoption agency you are considering provides you with a comprehensive fee schedule so there are no surprises down the road.
Go over the fees listed and ask questions. What will apply to you and what costs listed will not? What is optional and what expenses are you required to pay?
Also, I strongly advise you to reach out to more than one agency and compare their fee structures. Are they comparable in costs?
Does one agency seem to have more added fees than another? Are the fees listed required by the United States and or Haiti, or are there added expenses by the adoption agency?
With that said, adoption agencies provide a wonderful service, and there is a lot of work that is involved in organizing an international adoption.
We certainly do not expect them to provide their services for free. You just need to understand what all of the charges are for.
As a side note and although somewhat dated, I found the below data interesting.
| U.S. Adoptions in Haiti by Year | Number of Adoptions by Year |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 130 |
| 2018 | 196 |
| 2017 | 227 |
| 2016 | 178 |
| 2015 | 143 |
Would you ever consider adopting from the Philippines?
Verify the Adoption Agency is Hague-Accredited
Before we go much further about costs and fee structures, it is crucial that you first verify that the international adoption agencies you are considering are Hague-accredited.
Regardless of what country you may end up adopting from when adopting internationally, you are strongly advised to verify Hague credentials above all else.
The Hague Convention is an international agreement to safeguard intercountry adoptions.
Most all reputable international adoption agencies will be Hague-accredited. If an agency is trying to convince you that the Hague credentials do not matter, do not continue in that direction.
If you learn that the agency you are considering is Hague-accredited, get that in writing.
To learn more about the Hague Convention, visit Travel.State.Gov for more information.
Any adoption agency that is Hague-accredited will want to be the first to tell you they are and will proudly show documentation of their Hague credentials for prospective adoptive parents to see without having to be asked.
We strongly encourage you to do your homework to prevent yourself from being a victim of greedy, untrustworthy agencies claiming to want to help you, yet in reality, they are a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Many adoptive parents are desperate to adopt a child and are willing to pay thousands of dollars to do so.
There are children in Colombia that are desperate to be adopted.
Vet Your Adoption Agency Before Reaching For Your Wallet
It is common knowledge that the adoption process can be very expensive, so most couples pay for whatever is asked of them without even giving it a second thought.
This makes it easy to take advantage of prospective adoptive individuals wishing to adopt, as they already expect to pay out a lot of money and don’t think twice.
One story, in particular, comes to mind of a couple spending almost 100K to adopt their first child.
They used a different adoption agency when they adopted their second child, and they paid much less than 50K that time. Please, be careful!
There are things you can do to help protect yourself from being taken advantage of. We STRONGLY encourage you to do the following with every adoption agency you consider using. Follow these steps to protect yourself:
- Contact the State Licensing Specialist in the state where the adoption agency is located. Is the agency in good standing?
Do they have any complaints against them? How long have they held their adoption agency license?
- Contact the State’s Attorney General’s Office located in the state capitol.
Ask if any legal action has ever been taken against the agency, if there is any pending litigation against the agency, or if they have an established complaint file.
- Request three references with the names and phone numbers of clients who have adopted a child through the agency within the last three years.
- Contact the Better Business Bureau closest to the adoption agency. Ask them if they take complaints against adoption agencies.
If they do not, contact the State, City, or County Protection Office where the adoption agency is located for complaint inquiries.
Information provided courtesy of Child Welfare Information Gateway
Adopting from Korea has its pros and cons. Learn more here.
Costs of International Adoption in Haiti – Helpful Facts
The following is courtesy of Travel.State.Gov:
In addition to being found suitable and eligible to adopt by USCIS, prospective adoptive parents seeking to adopt a child from Haiti must meet the following requirements imposed by Haiti:
- Residency: Under Haitian law, prospective adoptive parents seeking to complete an intercountry adoption from Haiti need to be habitually resident in another country, such as the United States.
- Age of Adopting Parents: If married or a couple living together, one of the prospective adoptive parents must be at least 30 years old; if single, a prospective adoptive parent must be at least 35 years old.
No prospective adoptive parents may be over age 50 when their application to adopt (dossier) is submitted to IBESR, unless the prospective adoptive parents are adopting a relative.
In addition, prospective adoptive parents must be at least 14 years older than the child(ren) they seek to adopt.
When adopting relatives, prospective adoptive parents must be at least nine (9) years older than the child(ren) they seek to adopt. - Marriage: Prospective adoptive parents may be unmarried, married, or in common-law relationships, although Haitian procedures do not allow adoptions by LGBT couples regardless of their marital status.
Married couples must be living together and be able to provide proof that they have been married for at least five (5) years before seeking to adopt from Haiti.
Couples in common-law relationships must provide proof of at least five (5) years of co-residence.
- Income: Haitian law and procedures do not specify any income requirements for adoptions, although prospective adoptive parents must be able to provide proof of employment and financial stability.
- Other: Prospective adoptive parents may not apply to adopt again from Haiti until at least two years after a previous adoption was finalized in a Haitian court.
Any biological or adopted children age eight (8) years or older who are already in the prospective adoptive parents’ home must state their opinion regarding adoption from Haiti.
Haitian law bars adoptions by any prospective adoptive parents who have been convicted of a felony or ever lost their parental rights over a child.
- Staying safe when traveling is a concern we all have, especially when we are traveling abroad. Stay up-to-date with travel alerts and warnings here:
- Travel.State.Gov – International Travel
- Learn about U.S. Visas, which type of Visa is right for you, country information and their Visa requirements, and so much more here:
- Travel.State.Gov – Visas and What You Need to Know
- Would you like to entertain the idea of adoption from other countries besides Haiti?
The following link provides valuable, in-depth government-based information on each country you may be considering adopting a child from.
This amazing resource will provide you with all the adoption details and requirements for the country of interest.
Visit Traval.State.Gov – Intercountry Adoptions – Country Information to get the following information on each country:- Hague Convention Information
- U.S. Immigration Requirements
- Who Can Adopt
- Who Can Be Adopted
- How to Adopt
- Traveling Abroad
- After Adoption
- Contact Information
- Visit here to receive intercountry adoption news and notices:
Important to note is that due to the global outbreak of Covid-19, travel and adoption restrictions may apply.
Get news updates for travel and adoption at Travel.State.Gov.
When you visit the country you may wish to adopt, you will see updated news articles to the right on the website about that particular country.
China used to be a very popular place to adopt from. How far would you travel to adopt a child?
About the Author:
Trina Greenfield is passionate about providing information to those considering growing their family. Trina does not run an adoption agency. Her website is strictly information-based, so she is able to provide unbiased, credible information that she hopes will help guide those along their journey.
