Colombia Adoption

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Commonwealth Adoptions International, Inc. is still in the process of obtaining our Hague Accreditation. Colombia is a Hague Convention country and therefore the rules of the Hague convention applies in this case. Until we are approved, we are not able to sign families up for this program. Please keep checking back with us as we are diligently working on getting our approval. If you want to learn more about the Hague Convention, please visit this website: http://www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption/convention/convention_462.html.

Commonwealth Adoptions International Inc. was the first International Adoption Agency in North America to be awarded the new License of Legal Recognition by Resolution 0747 of 5/3/05 from the Ministry of Justice under the new policies of ICBF.

Commonwealth is one of the best known and respected adoption agencies placing children from Colombia. Raul Velez Velez, our Colombian Program Director, is a Colombian Attorney who has helped over six hundred families to adopt from Colombia over the past 20 years. Raul is Commonwealth’s Ambassador for Colombian adoption.

CAII offers Colombian adoption through the ICBF (“Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar” or The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare) and through private orphanages licensed by ICBF, called “Casas Privadas “. We also work directly with several orphanages in Bogotá, Medellín and Cali. These orphanages are referring to as “Private Homes” because they are more like large homes rather than institutions.

adoption

Commonwealth is one of the best known and respected adoption agencies placing children from Colombia. Raul Velez Velez, our Colombia Program Director is a Colombian attorney who has helped over six-hundred families adopt from Colombia over the past twenty years.

Raul is Commonwealth's ambassador for Colombia adoption. He and his family live near Tampa and Raul splits his time between the Florida Commonwealth office and traveling to Colombia.
Raul and his wife, Gilma Ines Rojas, have two children and their daughter is adopted from Colombia.

Commonwealth offers Colombia adoption through the ICBF (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar or The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare) and through private orphanages licensed by the ICBF.

Commonwealth works directly with several private orphanages in Bogata, Medillin and Cali. These orphanages are often referred to as "private homes" because they are more like large homes rather than institutions.

time frames

From the time a completed dossier is approved in Colombia, a referral will take: -Up to 30 months for children from 2 months to 7 years old including sibling groups of children of these ages. -Two to eight months for children 7 years old and over, and sibling groups in which one child is at least 7 or over. -The referral process is significantly expedited for families of Colombian descent. In order to obtain a quicker referral, families must have a current Colombian passport or have obtained a Special Adoption Visa in their American passport

The time frame for adopting from Colombia varies, depending upon whether you wish to adopt an infant, an older child, or siblings, and how quickly your dossier is completed.

Referral information comes directly from ICBF or Casas Privadas with extensive medical, psychological and nutritional information about the children, along with photos.

Although in the ICBF or Casas Privadas adoption application, gender preference is allowed; CAI in accordance with the referral history, asks you to be open to receive a child of either gender because Colombia believes that children should be accepted as boy or girl, just as if the child is born to you.

After accepting the referral, the family travels to Colombia to finalize the adoption. The Court procedure starts after the bonding has occurred .

Colombia is very interested in placing siblings groups. Foreign fees are considerably reduced when a family commits to adopt a siblings group of children. Please call us for more information.

requirements

-Applicants must be at least 25 years old and no more then 55 (for older children, in some cases, the age can be more then 55). Married couples must be married for at least three years (occasionally some Casas Privadas my have requirements for marriage to be over three years) -Single man or woman will be considered only for children 7 and over, or sibling group in which one child is at least 7 or older. -Parents age 25 to 38 will be considered for children 2 months to 2 years. -Parents age 39 to 41 will be considered for children 3 to 4 years . -Parents age 42 to 44 will be considered for children 4 to 5 years. -Parents 45 and over will be considered for children 7 years and over. Children as young as two months or as old as 15 years may be adopted.

It is up to the discretion of the ICBF and orphanage Directors to match a child or sibling group with a family.

children

-Boys and Girls 2 months to 16 years old, at the time of referral. -Many sibling groups need homes!

Colombia permits infants that are relinquished by their parents to be adopted internationally. Children as young as two months or as old as fifteen years may be adopted.

Colombia has many sibling groups waiting for homes. Commonwealth is very active in seeking safe, loving homes for these children. Please call us for more information!

Colombian children are adoptable through legal consent (relinquish) of the birth relatives, or Abandonment Decree of the ICBF. Children as young as two months or as old as 15 years may be adopted.

travel

Colombia is a beautiful, lush country. Families very much enjoy their visit there. Travel time in country is between 3 to 7 weeks depending on the city in which the legal process takes place. Travel expenses vary depending on the time of the year.

Commonwealth has an office in Bogotá, which will assist you with all your needs in country. Our associates will provide the translation and transportation services that you require during your stay in Colombia. Families report that their experience in Colombia was comfortable, the people were exceptionally friendly and the scenery was magnificent.

If you have questions about Colombia, please call us; we will be happy to tell you more and share references from many families who adopted their beautiful children from Colombia.


If you have questions about Colombia, please
call any of our offices. We would be happy to tell you more and share references from many families who adopted their beautiful children from Colombia!

Read a Colombia Adoption Success Story:
-Charlie

-Olivia




See Olivia's family website!

adoption fees

PROGRAM COSTS AND ADDITIONAL EXPENSES ( Spanish Version )

In order to complete an adoption process, families incur different costs and expenses. Some are paid to the Intermediary Agency, some to official entities or private parties, and some when they are in the country from which they are adopting, in this case, Colombia.


PROGRAM COSTS (Paid directly to CAII):

Families pay Program Fees to CAII in the amount of $16,000 to adopt a child or children up to 6 years and 11 months. This amount is paid by installments according to the progress of their case. Below you will find the schedule, breakdown and description of fees to be collected.

- $2,000 ( Agency Fees ) is due at the beginning of the process. Families sign a contract that obligates both parties and identifies all respective duties of the agency and the prospective parents. This amount goes directly to CAII’s operational cost.

- $3,000 ( Parent Training/Case Management and Dossier Fees )is due thirty days after signing the contract. Families are assigned a case manager who will guide them through the adoption paperwork, adoption dossier and most importantly through the entire adoption experience. Families are informed of the specific procedures of the USCIS, Office of Vital Statistics, notarization and apostille issues, and adoption immigration paperwork. Families adopting from Colombia are prepared for Colombian ICBF paperwork, protocol and in-country stay. During this time, families also participate and complete Parent Education. Parent Education is a course specifically designed by CAII for families adopting from our different country programs. Case-managers and Parent Education trainer serve families with about twenty-five hours during this part of the process.

- $5,500 ( Program Management & Foreign Fees I ) due when the dossier is completed. This amount covers part of our Program Development in both the United States and Colombia. The dossier is reviewed and sent to our office in Colombia by the Case-manager. In Colombia, the dossier is translated and legalized at the Ministry of International Affairs, and is presented to ICBF. ICBF is the entity that approves and/or rejects dossiers for adoption from Colombia. Our office and representative in Colombia are in charge of completing all that is needed to have the ICBF approve the dossier. CAII CANNOT guarantee that if a family has been approved in the United States that they will be approved in Colombia. After families have been approved in Colombia, Case-managers are in contact with them over an average time of two years to thirty months, guiding the family while they wait for their referral, serving them with about another thirty-five hours.

- $5,500 (Program Management & Foreign fees II ) is due once the referral is received and the family accepts the child(ren). CAII organizes the travel and in-country stay of the family, appoints the attorney, arranges the meeting with the ICBF for uniting the child(ren) and family, coordinates all the judicial paperwork and the US Embassy paperwork for the child(ren)’s Visa, and supervises the Post Adoption Reports.

CAII is award of the need to find homes for older children and siblings groups. We are very committed to these adoptions and because of this, program fees are REDUCED for the adoption of children seven years and over, sibling groups in which one child is 7 years old or over, as well as adoption of relatives. In these cases, the total Program Fee is $10,000, reducing the installment payments to: $2,000 (Agency fee), $2,600 (Parent Training and Case Management Service Fee/Dossier Preparation), $2,700 (Program Management & Foreign Fees I) and $2,700 (Program Management & Foreign Fees II). Special needs children adoptions are considered case by case.

All families before traveling to Colombia, must deposit the amount of $1,000 to ensure they complete the required Post Adoption Reports. Once the four Post Adoption Reports are completed, this amount is reimbursed to the families.

There is NO AMOUNT PAID, GIVEN OR DONATED to the ICBF. All paperwork through the ICBF is FREE of charge. On September 19, 2007, the Technical Administrative Guidelines (La Ley de la Infancia y Adolescencia) were implemented by the ICBF. These guidelines issued a mandatory waiver of charging Colombians for any fees related to adoption. This includes families of Colombian descent in the United States. As a result, currently no American agency that are in compliance with this ruling, can provide services to families of Colombian descent who want to adopt. Previous to these Guidelines, families of Colombian descent enjoyed the choice of working with CAII’s full program of services paying $16,000 for Program Fees, or choosing to work with CAII for a portion of the adoption and completing the other portion independently, paying only $9000 for Program Fees. This option will again be available to families of Colombian descent once the ICBF releases the restriction of charging them.


ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL EXPENSES IN UNITED STATES (Paid to official entities or Private Parties) :

Application: Families pay $ 200 to CAII for the analysis of their adoption

Application.

Home Study: $850-$3000. This cost depends on the State in which the family lives and the Home Study agency they use. Families need to use private agencies for their home study because the home studies provided by the government are generally not in compliance with international adoption requirements, since the government’s goal is to place their foster children.

Psychological Evaluation: $500 to $1600. This cost also depends on the state in which the family lives and the psychologist they use.

If the family does their Home Study with CAII, the cost is $1,400. CAII endorses Home Studies and Psychological Reports done by other agencies free of charge.

USCIS Authorization (I-600A or I-800A): This is the permission given by the United States Government to families to adopt and bring a child (ren) who is adopted abroad into the United States. The cost of this application is $670 (paid directly to the Immigration Authorities). Because of the long wait time for a referral from Colombia, most families have to re-apply for their I-600A or I-800A, and an additional cost of $670.

Miscellaneous legal paperwork expenses such as: notarizations, State Certifications, Apostilles, etc. This paperwork can cost the family between $250 and $350.


ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL EXPENSES FOR TRAVEL TO COLOMBIA AND WHILE IN-COUNTRY (Paid to third parties) :

$1,500 - $2,400. Round-trip airfare per couple (varies with season).
$200-$300. Airfare in Colombia per person to Bogotá.
$1,000 - $3,500. Lodging for three to seven weeks ($50 to $200 per night).
$80 - $460. New birth certificate and passport per child.
$900. Attorney’s fees for assistance with Judicial Adoption Process.
$500. Transportation and Interpreter fees.
$85. Medical consultation for US Embassy.
$400 United States Visa for adopted child.

Meals and tourism are not included considering this depends very much on the in-country stay and family budget.


COSTOS DEL PROGRAMA Y GASTOS ADICIONALES

Para llevar a cabo el proceso de adopción, las familias incurren en diferentes costos y gastos. Algunos son pagados a la Agencia Itermediaria, algunos a entidades Oficiales o personas independientes; y algunos cuando estan el pais de donde estan adoptando, como en este caso, en Colombia.


COSTOS DEL PROGRAMA ( Pagados directamente a CAII ):

Las familias le cancelan a CAII la suma de $ 16.000 US por la adopción de un niño(a)o ninos(as) hasta de 6 años y 11 meses. Esta cantidad es pagada por cuotas de acuerdo al progreso que vaya teniendo el caso. Enseguida Ud. verá la programación, el desglose y la descripción de los honorarios a recibir.

- $ 2.000 US ( Honorarios directos de Agencia ) pagaderos al comienzo del proceso. Las familias firman un contrato que obliga a ambas partes y que identifica las respectivas obligaciones tanto de la agencia como de los padres aspirantes.

- $ 3.000 US ( Honorarios para Educación de Padres, Manejo del Caso y del Expediente ) pagaderos a los 30 dias de haber firmado el contrato. A las familias se les asigna una “Case-Manager” ( persona encargada del caso ) quien los guiara a través del proceso de adopción, del expedeitne de adopción y lo mas importante, los guiara sobre toda la experiencia de la adopción. Las familias son informadas sobre el procedimiento especifico ante el USCIS ( Servicio de Inmigración ), diferentes oficinas de Registro y asuntos de apostilla y sobre el papeleo de inmigración con respecto a la adopción. Las familias que estan adoptando en Colombia son preparadas con relación a los documentos del ICBF, en cuanto al protocolo y reglamentacion y a la futura estadia en el pais. Durante este tiempo las familias tambien participan en la escuela de padres. La Educación de Padres, es un curso especificamente creado por CAII para las familias que esten adoptando de nuestros diferentes programas.. En esta parte del proceso, las familias reciben unas 25 horas de entrenamiento de parte de la Educadora y la “persona encargada del proceso ( case-manager)”.

- $ 5.500 ( Manejo del Programa y Honorarios/gastos en el Exterior I ) pagaderos cuando el expediente esta completo. Esta suma cubre parte del desarrollo del programa tanto en los Estados Unidos como en Colombia. El expediente lo revisa el encargado del caso y se envia a nuestra oficina en Colombia. Alli, el expediente se hace traducir y se legaliza ante el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, y luego se presenta al ICBF. El ICBF es la entidad que aprueba o rechaza los expedientes en Colombia. Nuestra oficina y nuestra representante en Colombia estan encargados de hacer lo necesario para que el expediente sea aprobado por el ICBF. CAII no puede garantizar que si una familia fue aprobada en

Los Estados Unidos, tenga que ser aprobada en Colombia. Después de que las familias son aprobadas en Colombia, la persona encargada del caso ( Case-manager ) esta en contacto con ellas un promedio de dos anos a 30 meses orientando a la familia mientras ellas esperan recibir una asignación, acompanandolas con otras 35 horas promedio de mas.

- $ 5.500 ( Manejo del Programa y Honorarios/gastos en el Exterior II ) estos son pagaderos una vez que haya habido una asignación y la familia acepto el nino(a) o ninos.CAII debe organizar el viaje y la estadia de la familia en Colombia, seleccionar un abogado, hacer los arreglos con el ICBF para la reunion del encuentro de la familia con el nino(a) o ninos, coordinar toda la documentación para el tramite Judicial y el tramite ante la Embajada de los Estados Unidos para la obtención de la Visa del nino(a) o ninos; y supervisar los respectivos informes de seguimiento post-adopcion.

CAII esta muy conciente de la necesidad de encontrarle familias a ninos mayores y grupos de hermanos y por esta razon para este tipo de adopciones, los costos del programa son REDUCIDOS para las adopciones de ninos mayores de 7 anos, para grupos de hermanos donde uno de ellos es mayor de 7 anos y para la adopción de parientes. En estos casos el valor de los honorarios del Programa es de $ 10.000 US, rebajando las cuotas con pagos de : $ 2.000 US ( Honorarios directos de la Agencia ); $ 2.600 US (Honorarios de Educación de Padres y Manejo del caso y del expediente ); $ 2.700 ( Honorarios de Desarrollo del Programa y Gastos en el Exterior I ); y $ 2.700 ( Honorarios de Desarrollo del Programa y Gastos en el Exterior II ). Los casos de adopción de ninos con necesidades medicas especiales , son considerados caso por caso.

Todas las familias antes de viajar a Colombia, deben depositar la suma de $ 1.000 US para garantizar que cumpliran con los respectivos informes de seguimiento post-adopcion. Esta suma se reembolsa una vez las familias hayan cumplico con todos los informes.

No hay ninguna SUMA DE DINERO, PAGADA, DADA O DONADA al ICBF. Todo el tramite ante el ICBF es libre de gastos. En Septiembre 19 del 2007 el ICBF implemento los Lineamientos Tecnico-Aministrativos de la Ley de la Infancia y de la Adolescencia. Estos lineamientos trajeron consigo una norma de cumplimiento obligatorio para que las agencias exoneraran a los Colombianos del pago de gastos y costos relativos al tramite de adopción. Esto incluye a las familias de origen Colombiano residentes en los Estados Unidos. Como resultado de esta norma, actualmente ninguna agencia Estadounidense puede proveer los servicios de acompañamiento de estas familias para tramites de adopción. Previamente a estos lineamientos, las familias de origen Colombiano tenian la posibilidad de trabajar con CAII el programa de servicios total pagando la suma de $ 16.000 US por el valor del Programa; o escoger trabajar una parte del proceso con CAII y terminar la otra parte del proceso independientemente pagando asi, solo $ 9.000 US por el programa. Esta alternativa estara disponible para estas familias de origen Colombiano, una vez el ICBF libere la restriccion de no cobrarles.


GASTOS ADICIONALES ESTIMADOS EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS ( Pagadas a entidades Oficiales o a terceras personas ).

Solicitud. Las familias le cancelan a CAII la suma de $ 200 US para el estudio de la solicitud de adopción.

Estudio Social: $ 800 a $ 3.000 US. Este costo depende del Estado donde la

Familia viva y de la agencia que ellos utilicen. Las familias se ven obligadas a usar agencias de caracter privado ya que los estudios sociales de carácter oficial, generalmente no reunen los requisitos e información para adopción internacional, considerando que la meta del gobierno es ubicar a los ninos que ellos tienen en proteccion.

Evaluacion Sicologica: $ 500 a $ 1.600 US. Este gasto tambien depende del

Estado donde viva la familia y del sicologo que ellos usen.



Si la familia utiliza a CAII para el Estudio Social es costo es de $ 1,400 US. CAII

Avala los estudios sociales hechos por otras agencias y las evaluaciones sicologicas, sin costo alguna para la familia.

Autorización USCIS ( forma I-600A o I -800A ). Este es el permiso del Gobierno

De los Estados Unidos para que las familias puedan adoptar a un menor en el exterior y que ingrese a los Estados Unidos. El costo de esta solicitud es de $ 670 ( pagadera directamente a las autoridades de Inmigración ). Debido al largo tiempo de espera para una asignación en Colombia, la mayoria de familias deben volver a aplicar con un costo adicional de $ 670 US.

Gastos de tramites legales varios, tales como: Notarizaciones, Autenticaciones,

Apostillas, etc. Estos tramites pueden costarle a las familias entre $ 250 A $ 350 US.


GASTOS ADICIONALES ESTIMADOS PARA VIAJAR A COLOMBIA Y ESTADIA EN EL PAIS ( pagaderos a terceras personas o Entidades )

$ 1.500 a $ 2.400 Viaje de ida y regreso por pareja (cambio con la epoca del ano).
$ 200 a $ 300 US para tiquetes aereos en Colombia hacia Bogota.
$ 1.000 a $ 3.500 US Alojamineto para tres a siete semanas.
$ 80 a $ 460 para tramites de nuevo registro de los ninos y pasaporte.
$ 900 US Honorarios de Abogado para asistencia en tramite Judicial.
$ 500 US Honorarios de Interprete y transporte para tramites legales-administrativos de adopción en Colombia.
$ 85US Consulta Medica para Visa ante Embajada Americana por nino,
$ 400 US visa americana para nino(a) o ninos adoptados.

Alimentación y Turismo no esta incluido ya que esto depende mucho del lugar donde la familia esta llevando a cabo la adopción y del presupuesto de la familia.