Russia: Country and Program Overview

Russia has been open for international adoption for over fifteen years, and historically, Russia is one of the most popular countries from which people choose to adopt internationally. Children can be adopted from many regions of Russia, and only children who have been placed in state recognized orphanages are available for foreign adoption.

Partners for Adoption is proud to announce that as the result of our absorbtion of Adoptions & Aid International's Russia program, we are now able to offer our clients one of the longest standing Russian adoption programs in the U.S. Our program director, Diana Revutsky, has facilitated adoptions from Russia since 1993. She manages all aspects of the adoption process personally, traveling to Russia frequently. Due to Diana's diligence and efforts all of our Russian coordinators and translators are hand picked and work exclusively with our agency. While in Russia, our clients are provided with around the clock support regarding all adoption procedures, living arrangements, and help with their children. One of the most unusual features of our program is that once a family has accepted a referral for a child, additional medical evaluations of the child can be easily arranged upon request of the family. Diana invites all prospective clients to visit her in our office or have a free consultation over the phone. To schedule an appointment please call us at 925-946-9658.

Children Available

Many children of different ages are available for adoption. Sibling groups are also available. All children must be residing in recognized state institutions in order to be internationally adopted. A child is determined to be available for adoption if that child was orphaned, abandoned, relinquished by a parent or introduced to a state institution because parental rights were taken away by the courts. Children 10 months and older can be adopted. Each child made available for foreign adoption must first have his name in the National Russian Federation Data Bank for six months and it must be determined that there is no current Russian family available for placement.

Parent Requirements

Married couples and single women may adopt from Russia. Persons older than 45 years of age must be prepared to adopt a toddler or older child.

Timelines

The family begins by initiating their paperwork for the homestudy process with Partners for Adoption. At this time the family also applies to USCIS for approval to bring an orphan into the United States, and chooses a placement agency to work with. Once the homestudy process is underway, the compilation of the first dossier of placement papers (Russia requires two dossiers) begins. Once the dossier is registered in Russia the family begins their wait for a referral. The current referral wait time for a boy is approximately 8-12 months, and for a girl is 12-14 months. Upon receipt of a referral the family schedules their first trip to Russia, which takes place within a month and is approximately one week in duration. Upon arrival home from their first trip, the family organizes their second dossier of papers and sends them to Russia to secure a court date and travel date for their second trip. Currently the time between trips is approximately 3 months. The adoption is formally completed at the court hearing.

Travel

When a family adopts from Russia they must make two separate trips to complete the adoption. The first trip takes place within one month of receipt of referral. The second trip takes place approximately three months after the first. Both parents must attend the court hearing to complete the adoption.

Fees

Approximate total costs for an adoption from Russia are approximately $22,000 to $33,000. This includes: Partners for Adoption homestudy services, travel, stay in country, foreign program fee and legalizations of paperwork.