Adoption Associates, Inc: Domestic Infant and International Adoption Agency

Prospective adoptive parents must be at least 21 years old. The maximum age difference between adoptive parents and adopted children cannot exceed 45 years.

In Ukraine, two languages are spoken: Russian and Ukrainian. While it is not a requirement to learn either language, we strongly recommend that families learn some common Russian and Ukrainian phrases before they meet their child. Once children leave the orphanage, they can be easily intimidated by the changes they face. When adoptive families speak some of an adopted child’s native language, it can help to maintain familiarity in the child’s life and even improve his or her adjustment. You will look, sound, smell, and act differently than the caregivers the child has known, and being able to bridge the communication gap in even the smallest way can help the child relax. In addition, using some Russian and English words is a wonderful way for a child to stay linked to his or her country of origin as he or she ages.

After you formally apply to AAI, you will receive a packet of information including a dossier packet and a travel packet. You will also be assigned an international consultant, and if you are utilizing AAI for your home study, a caseworker as well. Your consultant will assist you during this often confusing dossier process, and will even review your documents before you get them apostilled.

No. This service is incorporated into the foreign fee that you pay. Once your dossier is completed, you will send it to AAI, and we will forward it to Ukraine. At this point, a Ukrainian facilitator will translate and authenticate the documents and submit them to the State Department for Adoption (SDA).

Families should apply for their passports at the beginning of the adoption process. Sometimes it can take time to have them processed and returned to you, and you will need to provide copies of your passport for your dossier.

No. You will go to Ukraine without any information about a child. At the meeting with a representative of the State Department of Adoption (SDA), you will be given the opportunity to choose your child from the database of children available for adoption.

Dossier preparation takes two to four months, depending on how quickly the family is able to gather the necessary information. Dossier translation and registration in Ukraine takes about two weeks. The wait for a referral can vary and usually takes about six months. Families waiting for infant females or two young children will likely wait the longest. When the family receives an invitation from SDA, they can go to Ukraine and choose their child. As soon as they are ready to adopt the selected child, their papers will be submitted to the court. The Ukraine adoption process typically takes up to twelve months from start to finish. However, there can be delays or times when the cases move faster than expected.

One trip is required. This trip will last about four weeks. If parents are unable to choose a child at the first appointment with SDA, it can lengthen the trip by a couple more weeks.

Both parents must travel to Ukraine. After the court hearing, one of the parents can leave and another can stay to obtain the necessary documents and visa for the child.

We strongly recommend that you limit yourself to one piece of luggage and one carry-on bag when you travel. The vehicles in Ukraine may be smaller than those to which we are accustomed, and oversized luggage can be problematic, especially when you also travel with a translator. Domestic flights may have different size or weight restrictions than international flights. Additionally, in-country flights require you to carry your own luggage onto the planes, and there might not be enough room if you are overloaded. Consider investigating ways to maximize the limited space you have. You won’t regret it!

You are certainly welcome to bring additional people along on your trip to Ukraine. The cost for doing so is $200 for one additional person traveling. This amount can be included with the designated portion of your foreign fee and covers the extra ground transportation needed for an additional person. Additional fees may be assessed for the sightseeing excursions as well.

It is important to consider some critical factors when deciding whether or not to bring guests on your adoption-related travels. First of all, family members may not be allowed to be present during the court proceedings or meetings with the Department for Adoption officials or orphanage staff. Also, serious consideration must be given to allow opportunities for the newly-adopted children to meet and begin attaching to you as their parents. Your trip can be a critical time period for attachment formation, and it is preferable for this to begin solely with the parents without concerns about the impact of additional adults.

You shouldn’t depend solely on using credit cards while traveling to Ukraine. In larger cities like Kiev, hotels will often advertise that they accept major credit cards, although this can be uncertain as the machines are often broken. The decision is yours, but we strongly advise you to have cash to pay for your hotel accommodations. Payment for your in-country flights and sightseeing excursion fees is expected to be in cash. The fees required at the U.S. Consulate in Kiev must also be paid in cash.

The largest portion of your Ukrainian adoption expense is the Ukraine foreign fee.

AAI has a Ukrainian facilitator who will be with you during your entire trip. He will help to coordinate all of the in-country details, such as transportation and hotel/apartment accommodations. If you are interested in sightseeing, the Ukrainian facilitator can arrange this for you. You will definitely receive the attention you deserve!

This is unnecessary, as you can purchase all these things while in Ukraine. Transporting them from home just adds weight and bulk to the luggage you already have. The Ukrainian facilitator can help you obtain whatever you desire from a local shop.

Yes. Under Ukrainian law, the judges are supposed to impose a ten day waiting period after the court hearing. The family cannot leave Ukraine until the adoption process is finalized. Sometimes, families can request that this ten day waiting period be waived. They may do this through a verbal request at the court hearing or through a written request in the form of a court petition. If you choose to write a court petition, a Ukrainian facilitator will be able to advise you. However, there is no guarantee that the ten day waiting period will be waived.

Families often ask if there are any particular foods they should bring for their children when they travel on their trip. Our Ukraine staff advises families to wait to purchase such things until they arrive in Ukraine. Families can then get the most current information from the orphanage and it helps maximize their limited suitcase space!

Once home, many families try to design meals for their children based on the information they received from the orphanage caregivers. This can help a child become acclimated and serve to instill some familiarity for a child. However, do not be surprised if the child shows some resistance to foods they might have loved in Ukraine. This can be a common issue once a child arrives home as he or she is becoming adjusted to new surroundings. Remember to be patient and to seek advice from your pediatrician, if needed.

Past AAI families have mentioned that they found that food textures proved the most challenging for their children’s adaptation to their new diets. They have met with the most success when they slowly introduced new textures to their children. Most say that their children initially preferred foods that were more bland, although there can always be exceptions to this.

Finally, keep in mind that parents should be the only people who feed the child in order to best facilitate attachment. This is one of the most basic methods to encourage bonding, and at the same time, it helps to build a trusting relationship with your child.

On average, children range in age from 18 months and older.

The majority of children come home in good health; however, it is also possible to adopt a child with special needs.

It is possible to adopt children of all ages and genders. Children in the Ukraine program are mostly Caucasian.

You child will travel home with a Ukrainian passport and a U.S. visa. For this reason, your child will have dual citizenship.

Because both parents have seen the child prior to the adoption being finalized, the child will travel on an IR-3 visa, which enables him or her to be granted automatic U.S. citizenship. You will receive the documentation regarding this once you arrive home. This can take several weeks, or possibly even months, to arrive. When your child reaches age 18, the Ukraine citizenship status remains unless he or she makes an attempt to have it revoked. His or her U.S. citizenship remains.

You will be able to change your child’s name after the court hearing when you receive his or her new birth certificate. The child’s travel document and visa will then be issued with the new name.

We strongly recommend that families use an independent evaluation when they receive medical information about their child during their trip. Your Ukrainian facilitator will help you to make the necessary arrangements for this.

AAI provides families with a welcome home letter soon after they arrive in the U.S. from their trip. This letter includes a pre-paid overnight envelope. We ask families to enclose their child’s passport and the paperwork they received in Kiev inside this envelope and then mail it to AAI. AAI will send the paperwork to the Ukrainian Consulate in the U.S. for the processing of your child’s registration. After the registration is completed, we will mail your child’s passport back to you.

Ukraine requires adoptive families to submit post placement reports once a year for the first three years after the adoption and then once every three years up to the child’s eighteenth birthday. You will work together with AAI to ensure that these reports are completed in a timely manner. AAI notifies you before these reports are due and sends you the format in which they should be completed. You then send it to AAI and we submit your report to the Ukrainian Consulate.

Ukrainian law requires that families register their newly adopted child(ren) with the Ukrainian Consulate. They require that this process be fully completed within one month of the child’s arrival home in the United States. A document in AAI’s formal application and a portion of your dossier will include signed contracts whereby you agree to complete this registration.

It is an incredibly exciting time when you bring your child home, and it is extremely easy to forget this important step in the adoption process. In order to ensure that this is done, and to avoid complications in the adoptions of future AAI families, we provide families with a welcome home letter soon after they return that includes a pre-paid overnight envelope. We ask families to enclose their child’s passport and court decree along with the completed registration form inside the envelope and send it to AAI. We will then send the paperwork to the Ukrainian Consulate for the processing of the child’s registration. After the registration is completed, we will mail the child’s passport back to the family.