What time is it!? ADOPTION TIME...line
Here is another picture of our adorable children, minus the two yet to be. :)
When people hear that we are adopting, there are two questions they almost always ask.
1. Why Colombia?
2. Some variation of: How long will it take?
I spoke to the Colombia question in my second blog post (click here to read). I would like to take this post to lay out our prospective timeline for bringing our kids home.
I am also going to be very honest about the money involved in Colombian adoption. Any fundraising we do - which is gong to be a lot, so my apologies if you are sick of that already - will be banked until large payments are due. But we are also setting aside a significant portion for travel expenses. You see, any money given to our gofundme account (All amounts welcome!) goes straight to Lifeline, which is how it should be. But that money, as well as any reimbursements or tax credits we get, cannot be put toward travel to get our children. We pay that out of pocket. And we will have to be in Colombia for 3 to 5 weeks in order to bring our kids home.
I want to share the "typical" process for Colombian adoption.
I say Colombian adoption specifically instead of just international adoption because the requirements and estimations are specific to the country. We have learned since filing our paperwork that the country you are adopting from determines much of the details like the cost, timeline, and even age of the child you can adopt. Some have extensive vetting rules, like requiring you to live in the country for six months before you can return home with your adopted child. Other countries still have corrupt local or regional officials that demand additional payments (read: bribes) once you are in the country.
[Lifeline as an organization is very strict about completing every step of the process in accordance with all regulations.]
~Colombia as a country is experiencing a sweet time in regards to focusing on caring for orphans and children in need. Recently, literally hundreds of in-country, local families were trained by Lifeline for fostering, which has never been a common practice in the country. The government, having made peace with FARC rebels in 2016, is embracing international agencies with more welcome.~
For a Colombian adoption, Lifeline estimates the timeline for adopting as follows. (This is the short version.)
Application processing - one week - we have already been approved, obviously.
Home study - 8 to 12 weeks - we have begun this step. This involves everything from evaluations by a licensed psychologist, case workers visiting your home, and interviews with existing children to letters of verified employment and FBI background checks. It can move faster or slower depending on the workload of the various agencies and professionals involved. It might also take 10 weeks for Chad to write his autobiography. :)
We paid ~$3500 to start the home study. We will owe another $3500 when it is finished.
Matching and Immigration application and processing - up to 3 months - This is the part I really look forward to.
Matching is the part in the process when we find out for sure who our children are, and it cannot be done until the Home Study is completed.
Although we have seen some siblings on the waitlist whom we are ready to love, we cannot legally be matched yet.
Matching works both ways, meaning on both ends of the adoption. We will review the files of waiting children. At the same time, Colombia (the government and agency workers there) reviews our files to see which children they would allow us to adopt.
Immigration applications also start once the Home Study portion is completed. Of course, most of this part moves as fast or as slowly as the government(s) at the time. Our paperwork could breeze through in a few weeks, or it could drag out a full three months.
We will pay $3500 to have our files prepped for review and our visas approved. Once they are approved, we will pay another $3500 in legal fees.
That gets us to a $14,000 total. So why do we say it costs about $40,000?
One, because we have to pay for almost all of the same paperwork and legal fees on the Colombian side for Lolo and Lala. Just as we pay Lifeline to prepare our files and visas for immigration with the US government, we also have to pay for the paperwork on the Colombian end. The children also have to be approved by their government and ours for matching and immigration. Colombian attorneys and advocates have to file and process paperwork on their behalf too.
Two, because there are incremental fees paid along the way. For instance, I paid for FBI fingerprinting today, which costs $50.
That gets us to around $28,000 and at least six months of paperwork and preparation. Six months assumes, of course, that there will be no delays, no gap time between processes, no government shutdowns, no changes in legislation, no misspelled names on an application, no delays in fundraising or hospital stays for emergency appendectomies - or any of the myriad hiccups that might rattle the adoption diaphragm.
So Lifeline officially gives 12 to 18 months as the estimated time.
After that it is a matter of matches being accepted and travel being arranged. Lifeline estimates $12,000 in travel expenses for Colombia.
We will need two plane tickets to get there, and four more to get us all home. :)
Chad and I have to be IN Colombia for at least three or four weeks, where we will pay for lodging, food, and daily travel. We will visit embassies, meet with lawyers, and have introductory time with our children.
{{*leans in and whispers* I'll tell you a secret. And perhaps I am being naive. Or optimistic. I am often both. I don't think it will take 12 to 18 months to get Lolo and Lala home. I just don't. God is moving so powerfully as we move forward in our adoption process that I just have a feeling (mother's intuition?) that our Colombian children might just make it home by Christmas.
And if not, He is still good.}}
As always, every day, I am humbled by the generosity, encouragement, and love from our friends and by the elaborate provision the Lord is pouring out upon us. We still have a long way to go, but we’re not fearful of how we might get there.
And if I ever seem to be wearing the adoption banner like a crown please know that the only reason I announce and proclaim and share about our journey is to glorify God and to show how overwhelmed and thankful I am about what he’s doing in our lives right now and in the goodness we are experiencing.
I cannot wait for you to meet our children!
Love,
Christa
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
https://adopttogether.org/families/?fundraiser=brogan-family-adoption
When people hear that we are adopting, there are two questions they almost always ask.
1. Why Colombia?
2. Some variation of: How long will it take?
I spoke to the Colombia question in my second blog post (click here to read). I would like to take this post to lay out our prospective timeline for bringing our kids home.
I am also going to be very honest about the money involved in Colombian adoption. Any fundraising we do - which is gong to be a lot, so my apologies if you are sick of that already - will be banked until large payments are due. But we are also setting aside a significant portion for travel expenses. You see, any money given to our gofundme account (All amounts welcome!) goes straight to Lifeline, which is how it should be. But that money, as well as any reimbursements or tax credits we get, cannot be put toward travel to get our children. We pay that out of pocket. And we will have to be in Colombia for 3 to 5 weeks in order to bring our kids home.
I want to share the "typical" process for Colombian adoption.
I say Colombian adoption specifically instead of just international adoption because the requirements and estimations are specific to the country. We have learned since filing our paperwork that the country you are adopting from determines much of the details like the cost, timeline, and even age of the child you can adopt. Some have extensive vetting rules, like requiring you to live in the country for six months before you can return home with your adopted child. Other countries still have corrupt local or regional officials that demand additional payments (read: bribes) once you are in the country.
[Lifeline as an organization is very strict about completing every step of the process in accordance with all regulations.]
~Colombia as a country is experiencing a sweet time in regards to focusing on caring for orphans and children in need. Recently, literally hundreds of in-country, local families were trained by Lifeline for fostering, which has never been a common practice in the country. The government, having made peace with FARC rebels in 2016, is embracing international agencies with more welcome.~
For a Colombian adoption, Lifeline estimates the timeline for adopting as follows. (This is the short version.)
Application processing - one week - we have already been approved, obviously.
Home study - 8 to 12 weeks - we have begun this step. This involves everything from evaluations by a licensed psychologist, case workers visiting your home, and interviews with existing children to letters of verified employment and FBI background checks. It can move faster or slower depending on the workload of the various agencies and professionals involved. It might also take 10 weeks for Chad to write his autobiography. :)
We paid ~$3500 to start the home study. We will owe another $3500 when it is finished.
Matching and Immigration application and processing - up to 3 months - This is the part I really look forward to.
Matching is the part in the process when we find out for sure who our children are, and it cannot be done until the Home Study is completed.
Although we have seen some siblings on the waitlist whom we are ready to love, we cannot legally be matched yet.
Matching works both ways, meaning on both ends of the adoption. We will review the files of waiting children. At the same time, Colombia (the government and agency workers there) reviews our files to see which children they would allow us to adopt.
Immigration applications also start once the Home Study portion is completed. Of course, most of this part moves as fast or as slowly as the government(s) at the time. Our paperwork could breeze through in a few weeks, or it could drag out a full three months.
We will pay $3500 to have our files prepped for review and our visas approved. Once they are approved, we will pay another $3500 in legal fees.
That gets us to a $14,000 total. So why do we say it costs about $40,000?
One, because we have to pay for almost all of the same paperwork and legal fees on the Colombian side for Lolo and Lala. Just as we pay Lifeline to prepare our files and visas for immigration with the US government, we also have to pay for the paperwork on the Colombian end. The children also have to be approved by their government and ours for matching and immigration. Colombian attorneys and advocates have to file and process paperwork on their behalf too.
Two, because there are incremental fees paid along the way. For instance, I paid for FBI fingerprinting today, which costs $50.
That gets us to around $28,000 and at least six months of paperwork and preparation. Six months assumes, of course, that there will be no delays, no gap time between processes, no government shutdowns, no changes in legislation, no misspelled names on an application, no delays in fundraising or hospital stays for emergency appendectomies - or any of the myriad hiccups that might rattle the adoption diaphragm.
So Lifeline officially gives 12 to 18 months as the estimated time.
After that it is a matter of matches being accepted and travel being arranged. Lifeline estimates $12,000 in travel expenses for Colombia.
We will need two plane tickets to get there, and four more to get us all home. :)
Chad and I have to be IN Colombia for at least three or four weeks, where we will pay for lodging, food, and daily travel. We will visit embassies, meet with lawyers, and have introductory time with our children.
{{*leans in and whispers* I'll tell you a secret. And perhaps I am being naive. Or optimistic. I am often both. I don't think it will take 12 to 18 months to get Lolo and Lala home. I just don't. God is moving so powerfully as we move forward in our adoption process that I just have a feeling (mother's intuition?) that our Colombian children might just make it home by Christmas.
And if not, He is still good.}}
As always, every day, I am humbled by the generosity, encouragement, and love from our friends and by the elaborate provision the Lord is pouring out upon us. We still have a long way to go, but we’re not fearful of how we might get there.
And if I ever seem to be wearing the adoption banner like a crown please know that the only reason I announce and proclaim and share about our journey is to glorify God and to show how overwhelmed and thankful I am about what he’s doing in our lives right now and in the goodness we are experiencing.
I cannot wait for you to meet our children!
Love,
Christa
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
https://adopttogether.org/families/?fundraiser=brogan-family-adoption
This is explained so well!! Thank you for the updates! We are so excited about your adopted kiddos.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you might need a Cici and Papaw to take care of Eirinn and Brent when you go to Columbia. Hope you travel in the summer so we can have them here. If school is in session maybe we could split the time with Dan and Lyn. It could be hard for us to be away that long. I think our church might disown us too. Just saying you have support at home so in case it's there, you can take that concern off your "stress" list.
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