Answering YOUR most common questions: Question #1

So I thought I would start tackling the most common questions we have received over the last couple of weeks. All of them VERY good questions- just too many to write about at once!

So todays question (and one of the most popular) is: You have to raise HOW MUCH!?!?  Why is Ethiopian adoption so costly??

Answer:
   So, yes $28,00 is a lot of money, however when it is broken down, it really brings clarity as to how quickly the dollars add up.
  Here is a breakdown of most of the fees:

     Agency application fee: $250
     U.S. Adoption Agency fee: $6,200
     Home study review fee: $100
     Ethiopian "in-country" fee: $10,000
     Home study: $1,500- $2,500
     Dossier (documents) fees: $750
     Post-adoption reports: 300 (x3)= 900 (these are done at 3,6, & 12 months post adoption)
     Airfare: $1,700 each (x2 parents and 2 trips) = 6,800 **Ethiopian adoption requires 2 trips-
     1 for court & 1 to bring the child home 6 weeks later
     Lodging in Ethiopia: $400 (x2 trips)
     USCIS fee: $720
     FBI fingerprinting: $85 x2 (one set per parent)
     Entry visa: $70 x2 (one per parent)
     Child's visa: $230


There you have it!  The above costs actually total $29,560.  We have the goal of raising 28,000 as more of the minimum we need to make it happen. If we raise 28,000 I (Amber) will still have to travel alone on the first trip for court and then Josh would join me for the second trip. That would be very difficult (for many reasons) but if we need to do that we will!

There are financially a large range of items that will need covered~ take a look at our list and see if you could "adopt" one of the items for us!

Blessings!
Amber

Keep checking back for  the next question/answer post about this journey we are on. The next question we will tackle is "Why Ethiopian Adoption? Why not domestic adoption?"

*note*
the above financial information is gathered from the agency we will be using to adopt our little girl once we have the funds. The agency is Celebrate Children International (CCI). We share it here strictly for informational purposes and in no way intend to portray ownership of the above information. Thanks!