CHILDREN:
Boys and girls, from infants to school age,as well as siblings groups, are looking to be adopted.
PARENT REQUIREMENTS:
- Married couples and single women may adopt.
- Generally, applicants should be under 50 years of age, unless special circumstances apply.
- Must be US citizens.
- No arrests or convictions of any kind. Must have NO criminal record.
- Must be in good health.
- It is acceptable to have children already at home.
HOMESTUDY:
Kazakhstan has no special requirements for homestudies. If you already have a homestudy agency in mind, we will work with them to make sure your homestudy is done properly. If you don't have a homestudy agency selected yet, we will assist you with finding one.
REFERRAL TIME:
You should receive a refferal within 8 to 12 months after your documents are registred in the country.
PROCESS:
Kazakhstan has a fairly straight forward adoption process for American parents. After your Dossier is compiled and translated here, at World Links, it will be forwarded to the Consulate General of Kazakhstan in New York for approval. Next step is submitting your documents to to the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan, where it will be registered. Then your documents are transferred to a region, from which you will be adopting, and regional autorities will, in turn, issue an invitation to travel to Kazakhstan.
When you travel to Kazakhstan, you will be presented with a referral and appropriate paperwork to meet with the child. It is your decision to accept or reject that referral. If you choose to accept the referral, you will need to stay with the child for a bonding period of 14 days. At which point you submit your documents to the judicial authorities of the region.
Depending on the region of the country, court could be scheduled immediately, or 30 days after your registration with the judicial authorities. You may choose to travel home for that time instead of staying in the country and come back later, for the hearing. You MUST be preset at the hearing. Court decision is in effect after 15 days, after which you will have a copy of the court decree, adoption certificate, birth certificate and passport.
After you have the appropriate documents, and your child's passport is registered with the consular authorities in Astana (capitol of Kazakhstan), our coordinator will schedule an appointment with the US Embassy to obtain a visa for your child.
It takes, on average, about 3 days to get a visa for your child from the US Embassy to Kazakhstan, at which point you can travel home.
POST ADOPTION REPORTS
Kazakhstan requires post adoption reports to be submitted annualy at the anniverasy of the court decison, until your child turns 18 years of age.
ADOPTION PROVISIONS:
Adoptions from Kazakhstan by American families are final.
ASSOCIATED EXPENSES:
Homestudy fees:
Homestudy fee is $1500, document expertise fee is $500.
If your Homestudy is prepared by another agency World Links charges $350 review fee.
Adoption expenses in the United States:
| Apostillization of your documents | Depends on state; ranges from FREE to $25 per document. |
| USCIS approval | $670, plus $80 per every household member over the age of 18 for fingerprinting. |
| FBI clearances | $18 per every household member over the age of 18 |
| State criminal clearance | Depends on state |
| Sexual abuse clearances | Depends on state |
| Medical exam | Your medical practitioner's standard fees. |
| Child's immigration visa | US Embassy charges $400 per visa |
| Child Medical (this is a requirement of the US Embassy) | US Embassy approved clinic chargers about $125 per child for evaluation, varies with age |
| Kazakhstani Consulate Legalization Fee | Kazakhstani Consulate charges $180 per dossier for legalization |
| Visa to Kazakhstan | Kazakhstani Consulate charges $60 per visa per person |
Foreign country program expenses:
International Program Fee of $19,600.00
Expenses incurred in care of the child:
This category applies if you request extra care for your prospective child.
Translation and document expenses:
Dossier translation is $650.00
Contributions to child welfare service programs in the child's country of origin
You are not required to make donations to child welfare programs, to orphanages or other institutions. You may do so if you choose and your donations will be greatly appreciated.
Fees for Post Placement and Post Adoption reports:
Post Adoption Report processing fee is $250 per report. Post Adoption Report preparation fee is charged by your homestudy agency.
Third Party Fees
You may incur driver and translator fees if you require transportation and escort services beyond those directly required for your adoption. Driver fee is $15.00 per hour and translator fee is $15.00 per hour.Travel and accommodations expenses:
World Links bases these estimates on the average amounts associated with the minimal required travel and accommodations, and can not account for personal taste and preferences of airlines, hotels, meals, and entertainment.
Airfare to Kazakhstan is approximately $1,200.00 per person round trip.
Accommodations in Kazakhstan for the course of your stay averages between $3,000.00 and $4,500.00
Agency Fee:
Agency Fee is $6,400.00 for all programs.
Estimated total cost of your adoption from Kazakhstan is around $35,000.00 to $37,000.00 depending on your choice of airfare and accommodations.