For the past 5 years about 300 children a year were adopted from Colombia. Here is what the JCICS says about adopting from Colombia:

Colombian law allows for adoptions by a married man and woman and common law spouses of more than three years. Single men and women are eligible to adopt children over the age of seven years only and on a case-by-case basis. In practice, newborns are assigned to younger couples, and older children are assigned to older couples.

Both parents are required to be 25 years of age and capable physically, emotionally to adopt. The economic requirement can be met by only one of the parents. Both parents are required to appear before the judge in Colombia. Only one parent is required to appear before a consular officer.

The process can take anywhere from 18 to 30 months, with people wishing to adopt older children and sibling groups taking less time, and people wishing to adopt infants and very young children taking a longer time.

Fees run from $12 to $20 thousand dollars, although I'm unsure if that includes travel costs or not.

The basic procedure is similar to most international adoptions: homestudy, form I-600A, and dossier preparation. The State Department has an excellent and thorough explanation of the process here.

The time in country runs about 3-4 weeks, although one parent can leave after 2 weeks.

It is recommended that parents adopt from Colombia through an agency, although I know one family that adopted through private attorneys. A list of agencies that work in Colombia can be found here.


Here's what the Children's Hope International website says about adopting from Colombia:

Colombia is a fascinating country where adoptive families come and go without difficulty. Colombia has a long history of adoption. They have had a very organized central authority in Bogotá for many years, known as the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) which processes the government adoptions and oversees the licensing of private orphanages. Children aged 1 through early teens are available for adoption. There are many sibling groups available, as well as special needs children. Many children are abandoned by single parents who simply cannot afford to feed them, or who must work to survive and cannot afford child care while they work. Others come from families where they have been neglected or mistreated and their parent's parental rights have been taken away from them. All of them need a permanent family.

If you have completed and adoption or are in the process of adopting from Colombia, please give me some feedback. Why did you choose Colombia? How was your experience? Would you do it again? What are the pros/cons of adopting from Colombia?