RUSSIAN
ADOPTION
PROGRAM
NOTE:
OUR RUSSIAN COORDINATORS ARE ACCREDITED TO WORK IN
RUSSIA!
CHILDREN
Ethnicity: Caucasian, Asian, and European children.
Age: usually 9
months to 16 years.
Medicals:
children are tested for HIV, TB, and Hepatitis C prior to referral.
Background: children we
place come from orphanages all over Russia.
ELIGIBILITY
Age: Parents should be no more than 45 years older than
the child they wish to adopt (this is based on the youngest adoptive
parent, usually). Exceptions may be made for children
with special needs.
Please contact us for more details.
Marital Status: Russia currently accepts single women,
however, not single men..
Health: Parents should be in good medical health.
If you are concerned that you have a disability that could affect your
adoption, please let us know.
COSTS
Adoption from Russia can be expensive. As the costs vary
per individual case, Kids To Adopt doesn't post fees online.
PROCESS
Parents must first send in an application to Kids To Adopt.
Upon approval of application, Kids To Adopt sends out a
contract. Parents must sign the contract and send it back to us with
the first payment.
Upon receipt of the signed contract, Kids To Adopt sends
parents the Dossier Kit which includes instructions on compiling the
documents required by Russia.
When parents have completed all of their paperwork, they send
it back to KTA. We proof your dossier to the best of our abilities, then
send it off to our Russian coordinators.
If there are no problems with your paperwork, our Russian
coordinators send your dossier to Russia to be translated, proofed, and
registered. If your dossier is accepted, our coordinators send us a travel date for you.
This travel date usually occurs 4 to 8 weeks from the date KTA receives
parents dossier (depending on the availability of children).
Parents travel on their first trip to receive an official
referral and visit the child referred to them by the central
authority. At this point, USCIS Approval is not needed. The
first trip varies in length, as it depends on the region parents travel
to. Usually, it is 5-10 days long and both parents are required to
go.
If the parents accept the referral, they return home and wait
for an appointed court date. The court date usually occurs 4-6 weeks
after the first trip.
A court date is appointed and parents travel on their second
trip for court and to finalize adoption. USCIS Approval is needed
for this trip.
The second trip usually lasts 7-10 days if the judge waives the
"10 day waiting period." Both parents are required to be
at court, and one may return after court (court usually occurs the first
couple days in country on the second trip). After the adoption is
finalized and all the paperwork is completed, parents travel home with their child.
Parents must register their child with the Russian Embassy.
Parents must submit Post Adoption reports as required by Russian law at the
time of adoption.
TIME FRAME
The time frame is very difficult
to foresee as it depends on many factors, some being: parents
diligence in completing paperwork, Russian national holiday's, problems
with incorrect paperwork, regional changes in requirements, emergencies,
etc.
Parents can estimate the
process, from start to finish, taking at least 3 to 10 months, depending
on a variety of factors.
GENERAL INFORMATION ON RUSSIA
Russia is
located in northern Asia and Eastern Europe and is about 80% larger than
the United States. The largest country in the world, Russia borders
the Arctic and northern Pacific oceans, shares major borders with China,
Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Finland, and has smaller borders with 9
other countries. The population of Russia is about 146 million and
growing. Given Russia's size and geographic location, it is a
country of many diverse ethnic groups and and extremely rich history and
culture.
The history of Moscow, the capitol of Russia, dates back to the 12th
century. The primary religions observed by the Russian people are
the Russian Orthodox and Muslim. Russian is the language used in
everyday business and is the primary language taught in the schools.
The country has fossil fuel reserves as well as plentiful supplies of
other minerals and metals, although climatic and geographic issues make it
difficult to mine or drill in many areas. The climate is varied and
ranges from cool to hot summers and cold to frigid (arctic) winters,
depending on the region.
The orphanages in Russia vary in condition, with most being clean and
well-run. Caregivers are typically hard-working and caring people
that do everything they can to raise the children despite a lack of
resources. Most orphanages have a good "staff to child"
ratio and children live in groups with the stable caregivers. It is
common for the children's caregivers to teach them songs and poems at a
fairly early age as they play in their groups.
