How Much Does a Colombian Adoption Cost?

Adopting costs money. It just does. It seems weird to talk about it but in reality it's a very big part of the process. $25,000 certainly isn't pocket change, even for a couple that can't have their own kids and would do anything to have a child.

This information isn't so much for our family that's keeping tabs on us (unless you're interested in this part) but more for those that stumble on this blog that are also interested in adopting from Colombia. We had a very hard time finding information on how much a Colombian adoption costs so hopefully we can help others by making this information available.

$100 - Agency's Application Fee (2007-05-24)
$700 - Agency's Approval Fee [Adoption Agreement Fee] (2007-06-05)
$600 - First 1/2 of Home Study Fee (2007-06-05)
$300 - First 1/2 of Post Adoption Report Fees [3 at $200 each] (2007-06-05)
$12 - State certified copy of marriage license (2007-06-07)
$38 - State certified copy of birth certificates [1 each for passport*, 1 each for ICBF] (2007-06-07)
$51.51 - Photos [for home study, dossier, passports*] (2007-06-07)
$314 - US Passport Application Fees [expedited, $157 per adult]* (2007-06-07)
$20 - SRS Child Abuse or Neglect Check [$10 per adult] (2007-06-14)
$60 - State Bureau of Investigation Certified Clearance Letters [$30 per adult] (2007-06-19)
$450 - Psychological Evaluation [$225 per adult] (2007-06-19)
$38 - State Bureau of Investigation Clearance Letters [$19 per adult, including money order fees] (2007-06-22)
$30 - Agency Commitment Letter to ICBF Apostilling Fee [Secretary of State] (2007-07-13)
$600 - Second 1/2 of Home Study Fee (2007-07-20)
$300 - Second 1/2 of Post Adoption Report Fees [3 at $200 each] (2007-07-20)
$545 - I-600A Filing Fee [USCIS / Dept. of Homeland Security] (2007-07-20)
$140 - I-600A Fingerprinting Fee [$70 per adult] (2007-07-20)
$97.50 - Apostilling Fees [13 docs, $7.50 per document, Secretary of State] (2007-08-24)
$5.00 - Apostilling Fees [1 doc, $5 per document, Secretary of State] (2007-08-24)
$750 - Dossier Translation Fee (2007-08-24)
$14 - Copies of Dossier (2007-08-24)
$64.47 - Postage [Thanks to our "tiny snafu"] (2007-08-24)
$5,175 - Agency's Colombia Program Fee (2007-09-27)
$7.50 - Apostilling Fee [1 doc, Secretary of State, Updated information to ICBF] (2008-03-20)
$37.05 - FBI Clearance Letters [2nd set, $19 per adult, including money order fees] (2008-08-21)
$40.55 - Postage [2nd set of FBI Clearance Letters] (2008-08-21)
$1.17 - Postage [Agency's Post-Adoption Agreement form] (2008-08-23)
$10 - Agency Commitment Letter to ICBF Apostilling Fee [Secretary of State] (2008-08-25)
$500 - Agency's Refinalization Fee [Refundable, to guarantee State adoption finalization] (2008-08-25)
$15 - Apostilling Fees [2 docs, $7.50 per document, Secretary of State] (2008-08-26)
$1616.60 - Flight to Bogota, Colombia [Round Trip, 2 adults, American Airlines] (2008-08-27)
$935.70 - Flight Home from Bogota, Colombia [One Way, 1 child, American Airlines] (2008-08-27)
$15 - Apostilling Fees [2 docs, $7.50 per document, Secretary of State] (2008-08-28)
$10 - Copies of Colombian Visa application (2008-08-28)
$44.99 - Postage [Colombian Visa application] (2008-08-28)
$10 - Fingerprinting Fee [Reprinting needed due to FBI rejection] (2008-09-05)
$79.83 - Postage [Tim's 2nd FBI Clearance Letter attempt] (2008-09-05)
$960 - Translation / In-Country Fees (2008-09-10)
$15 - Apostilling Fees [2 docs, $7.50 per document, Secretary of State] (2008-09-10)
$20.71 - Postage [Documentation sent to agency for translation] (2008-09-10)
$10 - Copies of documents to take to Colombia (2008-09-18)
$67.08 - Rental car [Avis, for trip from home to airport] (2008-19-20)
$2.35 - Turnpike fee [for trip from home to airport] (2008-19-20)
$256.63 - Flight from Bogotá to Montería, 2 adults (2008-09-20) {COP}
$125.31 - B&B in Bogotá [El Refugio, 1 night, 2 adults] (2008-09-21) {COP}
$30.69 - Taxis in Bogotá [first visit] (2008-09-20 to 2008-09-21) {COP}
$5.12 - Copies of Sentencia [10 copies] (2008-10-03) {COP}
$4.61 - Passport photos [12 copies] (2008-10-04) {COP}
$25.58 - New birth certificate [10 certified copies] (2008-10-06) {COP}
$66.54 - Passport for Elkin [4 different charges] (2008-10-07) {COP}
$0.21 - Copies of Elkin's passport (2008-10-07) {COP}
$0.41 - Copies of receipts for passport charges [4 pages, 1 copy each] (2008-10-07) {COP}
$1,512.87 - Attorney's fee (2008-10-07) {COP}
$114.57 - Taxis in Montería [official trips, few trips to Exito] (2008-09-21 to 2008-10-08) {COP}
$3001.00 - Hotel in Montería [Hotel Sinú, 17 nights, $176.53 per night] (2008-09-21 to 2008-10-08) {COP}
$104.40 - Laundry [2 small laundry services at Hotel Sinú (very expensive!)] (2008-09-21 to 2008-10-08) {COP}
$443.54 - Flight from Montería to Bogotá [2 adults & 1 child] (2008-10-08) {COP}
$291.53 - Interpreter's Fee (2008-10-08) {COP}
$73.14 - Embassy Dr. visit (2008-10-08) {COP}
$3.07 - US Visa photos [2 copies] (2008-10-08) {COP}
$400 - US Visa fee for Elkin [US Embassy in Bogotá] (2008-10-09)
$666.59 - Flight change [flight cost difference plus fees, 1 child] (2008-10-09)
$121.30 - Foreign Transaction Fee [one of our CCs charged this fee separately] (2008-10-09)
$659.59 - Flight change [flight cost difference plus fees, 2 adults] (2008-10-11)
$375.93 - B&B in Bogotá [El Refugio, 3 nights, $125.31 per night] (2008-10-11) {COP}
$78.77 - Taxis in Bogotá [second visit] (2008-10-08 to 2008-10-11) {COP}
$800.00 - Meals/Snacks in Colombia [approximate amount] (2008-09-21 to 2008-10-18) {COP}
$100.74 - Rental car [Avis, for evening in Miami, FL] (2008-10-11 to 2008-10-12)
$145.77 - Hotel in Miami [La Quinta, Miami FL, 1 night] (2008-10-12)
$27.13 - Foreign Transaction Fee [one of our CCs charged this fee separately] (2008-11-07)
$14.00 - State Adoption Finalization [court fee] (2008-11-24)
$106.00 - Post Adoption Report Fee [1st Post Adopt Report] (2008-12-11)
$7.50 - Apostilling Fees [1 doc (1st Post Adopt Report), $7.50 per document, Secretary of State] (2008-12-29)
$2.71 - Postage [1st Post Adopt Report sent to agency for translation] (2008-12-29)
$12.00 - State Birth Certificate Filing Fee (2009-01-18)
$19.00 - Certified State Birth Certificate Copy [2 copies] (2009-01-18)
$106.00 - Post Adoption Report Fee [2nd Post Adopt Report] (2009-03-26)
$7.50 - Apostilling Fees [1 doc (2nd Post Adopt Report), $7.50 per document, Secretary of State] (2009-04-06)
$2.71 - Postage [2nd Post Adopt Report sent to agency for translation] (2009-04-06)
$162.22 - Post Adoption Report Fee [3rd Post Adopt Report] (2009-09-24)
$7.50 - Apostilling Fees [1 doc (3rd Post Adopt Report), $7.50 per document, Secretary of State] (2009-10-02)
$2.71 - Postage [3rd Post Adopt Report sent to agency for translation] (2009-10-02)
$300.00 - Post Adoption Report Fee [4th (Final) Post Adopt Report] (2010-06-07)
$4.04 - Postage [4th Post Adopt Report sent to state for Apostilling (which was free)] (2010-07-10)
$130.00 - Mileage Fee for Post Adoption Report [4th Post Adopt] (2010-07-16)
$5.38 - Postage [4th Post Adopt Report sent to agency for translation] (2010-07-31)
$9.20 - Rental Car Gas Fee for Post Adoption Report [4th Post Adopt] (2010-08-26)
$21.97 - Rental Car Fee for Post Adoption Report [4th Post Adopt] (2010-10-16)
_____________

$25,158.49 Grand Total

There will be other costs too that are hard to calculate like gas running adoption related errands, having to catch dinner out, etc. There are other times you'll spend money too even though we wouldn't consider them "costs" per se - like gifts for family back home, gifts for those that help you out in Colombia, clothes for the child bought in Colombia (if needed), donations to an agency in Colombia, Colombian things for your child when he or she is older, Colombian knickknacks for your home, etc.

Keep in mind that some costs can vary depending on your situation. From what we can tell so far, here are the main reasons that your costs might be different than ours:

1) the chosen agency
2) the organization that conducts the home study program - if your agency doesn't have a local office you will probably do your home study with another agency which may increase the cost
3) the time it takes from application to coming home with your new child - if it takes a long time, you could be faced with several necessary updates to paperwork, which can continue to add expense and of course if you find yourself having to stay in Colombia longer than expected, that will obviously add expense as well.
4) the city in Colombia that you stay in - there can be drastic differences in hotel and taxi prices from city to city
4) the fact that most fees will go up - for example, I know that after we adopted in 2007-2010, the I-600A filing fee, passport fees, most post-adopt fees, and postage rates have all gone up

* We're considering passport fees as part of the cost of an adoption because neither of us needed one until now.

{COP} - All these costs were paid in cash or CC in Colombian Pesos. These are USD totals based on current exchange rate and include fees charged by our credit and debit cards for withdrawing cash or charging out of the US so these costs are sure to vary for you. For us, it averaged to $0.51145 USD per 1000 COP (1 USD = 1955 COP including all our fees).