What Does it Cost?

My wife and I discussed posting a list of our adoption expenses so that people can see the specifics, so here it is. Here are the minimum costs that we anticipate (* are paid to-date). I think I missed a few of the smaller fees for this and that, but this gives a pretty accurate picture.

$200 Application*
$2,050 Adoption processing*
$1,300 Homestudy, including post placement visits*
$25 Bank deposit verification*
$40 Police clearance*
$90 Background checks*
$220 for two passports*
$40 Passport photos*
$670 Orphan placement visa petition
$160 Fingerprinting
$5,500 for one OR $8,500 for two siblings: Ethiopia Processing
$400 Orphan visa, per child
$2,500 transportation for the child to/from Ethiopia
$2,500 transportation for parent to/from Ethiopia
$? other costs of staying in Ethiopia for two weeks.

That's roughly $16,000 to $19,000 depending on the number of children we adopt. So far we have spent about $4,000. We still have a ways to go. Lord willing, we'll make it. Most of these seem like very reasonable costs.