Frequently Asked Questions

How old are the children?
From 6 months to 6 years old.

How do I start the adoption process?
In order to start an international adoption, contact us and sign up for the program. We will assist you with everything from that point onward and refer you to a homestudy agency in your area.

How long will the process take?
To a large extent, the overall time frame of the adoption depends on you. It is up to you to begin and complete a homestudy and apply for and receive USCIS clearance. Some families can complete their homestudy, dossier papers and USCIS clearance in a few months, but some take much longer.

Who will help us during our stay in Russia?
AAi can recommend excellent placement agencies, who will provide you with an adoption package that includes ticket reservations for travel inside Russia, drivers, translators, contacts, and information regarding hotels and homestays in Moscow and the region for you and your child.

Can a single parent adopt?
In Russia only a single mother may adopt.

Where do the children come from?
Many children in Russian Orphanages come from teenage pregnancies. Some are truly orphans, and bothparents are deceased. Others may have been relinquished to the care of the state if a family was unable to afford their care.

Russia Program Overview

Step One: Getting to Know Us
The first step in the adoption process is for you to request and receive our information packet. Please feel free to contact any of our references. When you decide to join the program, mail in the application form along with the application fee. Once your application is approved, we will send you our Retainer Agreement.

Step Two: Doing Your Homestudy
Partners for Adoption provides homestudies throughout California. We can provide dossier preparation and consultation regarding Russian adoption throughout the US, and are happy to recommend placement or homestudy agencies in your area.

Step Three: Doing the Dossier
Once you sign up with us, we will work with you on your Dossier, a list of paperwork required by the Russian Government. We will tell you how to get your papers notarized and apostilled and walk you through the process. We pride ourselves on the personal nature of our program and you will receive help and support every step of the way. You will be assigned a dossier specialist who will help you through each step of the process. We will review your dossier and work with you to correct any problems. This is also a good time to apply for a current passport if you do not already have one, as Russian law requires that a parent or parents pick up the child personally (for more information, please see our Russia FAQ section).

Step Four: Dossier Goes to Russia
Once we have helped you collect all your notarized papers and had them apostilled, we can forward the dossier on to your placement agency. They will then send your documents to Russia to be professionally translated and notarized by the Russian equivalent of a notary public, and presented to the Russian authorities.

Step Five: Child Referral
When a child becomes available, your placement agency will present you with a referral. Based on what information is available in each region at the time of the referral, you will receive photos of a child along with medical information. If you are adopting a sibling group, you will, of course, get information on both children. Upon acceptance of the referral you will fill out a Referral Acceptance Form. If, for some reason, your needs are not met, your placement agency will generally will work with you until you find a referral that is right for you.

Step Six: Child's Documents Prepared in Russia
Upon your acceptance of the referral, your placement agency will contact the appropriate Russian authorities(Departments of Education, Adoption Center Department, local courts, etc.) to prepare the child's documents for adoption.

Step Seven: Travel Preparations
Buy a brush! While you paint your child's room, you will be reading over the Travel Packet your placement agency sends you and preparing for your trip to Russia. As soon as your child's papers are in order, we will notify you of your departure date. Again, we want to stress that we will help you through every step of the process, from suggesting a travel agency to helping you choose what to pack. Once you receive the travel packet, we will set up a travel meeting to go over travel information and the travel process.

Step Eight: Departure
You depart for Russia, either alone or with a group of other parents to adopt your child.