South Korea Adoption

Country Profile: South Korea is the southern half of the Korean Peninsula shared with North Korea. Seoul, South Korea is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Approximately one half of South Korea's population lives in the Seoul metropolitan area. South Korea is the world's leader in shipbuilding and is among the world's most technologically advanced countries.

Children Available: The majority of children available are babies (age 5-6 months at time of referral), as well as some toddlers and special needs. South Korea does not permit the adoption of two or more unrelated children at once. Boys, as well as girls are available. However there may be a longer wait for a girl. Also, some agencies may have varying policies on selecting boy or girl.

Requirements: Married couples age 25- 44 are eligible to adopt from South Korea. Up to one divorce per parent is permitted. Couples must be marrried for a minimum of 3 years before adopting. Singles are not accepted to adopt from South Korea. Up to four biological and/or adopted children in the home is allowed.

Time line: The time line of adoption from South Korea may vary. Unlike some other countries, adoption agencies are the ones to refer children to families, therefore a dossier, required for most countries, is not need for South Korea. Waiting for a referral from your agency comes soon after beginning the process and can take anywhere from 2-15 months to receive a referral. After receiving your referral the wait until travel to South Korea or child escorted home ranges anywhere from 3-6 months.

Cost: $17,000- 22,000

Children placed in 2006: 1,376 children came home from South Korea to the United States in 2006.

Adoption Agencies for Adopting from South Korea:

• Bethany Christian Services
• Children's Home Society and Family Services
• Dillon International, Inc.
  
• Holt International
  
• LifeLink International Adoptions
• Wide Horizons for Children
  

Adopting from Korea- An Adoptive Parent's Guide to Korean Adoption

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at: bound4meimei@yahoo.com

Russia Adoption

Country Profile: Spanning across both Europe and Asia is a transcontinental country, Russia. Russia is the largest country in the world being almost double the size of the world's second-largest country, Canada. Russia shares borders with fourteen countries across Eurasia. Russia has the world's ninth-largest population and is the leading nation in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Children Available: In Russia, the children reside in orphanages of vastly varying circumstances. The children are relinquished, abandoned, or removed, as neglect due to alcohol is not uncommon. Both girls and boys are available. The children range in age from 6 months old to teens. Special needs children, as well as sibling groups are available. Dependent upon the agency, adopting two unrelated children at once may also be an option. Most of the children are of Caucasian descent.

Requirements: Both couples and single women are allowed to adopt. In certain cases, single men will be permitted to adopt. Income requirements are varied, although the standard seems to be approximately $10,000 per family member. Single applicants must show an above-average of financial resources. Also, single applicants must complete a few extra steps to the dossier that couples do not. Russia has no country requirements on age, length of marriage, or number of previous divorces. Although adoption agencies, certain regions of Russia, and Russian judges may have requirements. It looks as if the standard for the mother's age is no more than 45 years older than the child with no strict requirements for the father.

Time line: There is a great variation in the time line of an adoption from Russia, ask an agency for specifics. However, it looks as if the wait is slightly longer for girls than boys and generally it is a shorter wait for sibling groups, older children, or special needs. Also, Russia requires two trips to Russia for the adoptive family.

Cost: $22,000-28,000

Children placed in 2006: 3,706 children came home from Russia to the United States in 2006.

Adoption Agencies for Adopting from Russia:

• America World Adoption Association
• Adoption Blessings Worldwide
• Angel's Haven Outreach
• Buckner International Adoption
  
• Children's Home Society and Family Services
• Children's Hope International
• Families Thru International Adoption
  
• Grace International
  
• Villa Hope Adoption
  
• Wide Horizons for Children
• WACAP- World Association for Children and Parents
  

*Information is subject to change. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at: bound4meimei@yahoo.com