We've always known we wanted to have two children, and adoption just feels like the right way for us to go for kid #2. There are so many children in the world who don't have parents and families. We've already created one of our own, so why not make room in our family for another child who has no family of her own? Plus, making our family multicultural will be an exciting learning experience for us all.
We are in the process of our adoption from China. We also considered adopting from Guatemala, Taiwan or Vietnam. We ruled out Guatemala early on: too risky and too expensive. While adopting from Taiwan is appealing for many reasons, it's also a little too expensive and takes too long. We ruled out Vietnam because they has just recently reopened to adoption from the U.S. after being closed for two and a half years due to fraud and "babyselling," and we don't want to be the guinea pigs that try out the new laws.
So what is the process to adopt from China? Well, first you sign with an agency. You conduct a home study with a licensed social worker, compile a ton of paperwork about your family, and undergo an FBI criminal background check and a check to make sure you're not a convicted child abuser. All of this usually takes 2-3 months (it took us from early April until the end of June). Then you send all your paperwork off to the US government to apply for a visa for your child, and your agency sends your paperwork off to China. Then you wait, wait, and wait some more. With China, the wait is currently about 12 months before you receive your "referral," i.e., your child's name, photo, stats, and health info. Within a month or two after this, you travel to China to bring her home! All in all, the process typically takes from about a year to 18 months from the day you sign with an agency until the day you bring home your child (assuming everything goes smoothly, which is a big assumption to make about such a complex process!).
Of course, all along the way, you have to write big checks to your adoption agency, the US government, the government of the country you're adopting from, your travel agent, and about a bazillion other places. The total cost for a China adoption is around $18-20,000. Guatemala is more like $30-35,000!
