ARC Russian Program Application ProcessTimeline
ARC Russian Program Application Process
Document
Collection, Translation, Notarization, Verification, Authentication and Submission
Travel, the Russian
Court Process, and your stay in Russia
ARC Russian Program Application:
This depends on the individual, but should not take more than 1-3 hours to gather the information, fill out the form and submit it to us. We will contact you immediately upon receiving your application. We will then review your application and have a licensed clinical social worker contact you within 5 business days of our receiving your application, to set up a convenient time for your home study visits.
ARC assists families at all different stages of the Russian adoption process. If you have already had a home study done, please contact us immediately, in order to determine what stage you are at and what the next step will be.
In order to adopt a child in Russia, you must comply with the laws and requirements of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, your state, Russia, and the region from which your child comes from within Russia.
INS requires that the prospective adoptive parents complete form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition. This form should be submitted to INS as soon as possible with the following documents and a check in the amount of $405, made payable to INS
Copies of the prospective family’s birth certificates, marriage certificates, and
divorce decrees.
Home study (This may be submitted to INS upon its completion, and does not need to be
completed before applying to INS.)
You should also include a separate check, made payable to INS for your fingerprint cards.
Fingerprint cards are required for each adult living in the house in which the child or
children will reside. (The fingerprinting service charges $25
pr/card, pr/adult)
Once INS receives your application and money they will send you a list of authorized fingerprint locations. You should go and get your fingerprints taken immediately.
INS takes approximately 3-4 months. ARC can begin assisting you with collecting the necessary documents and submitting your INS I-600A form as soon as we receive your completed ARC Program Application. In order to speed up the Russian adoption processing time, we will forward your home study to INS upon its completion. Thus, it is feasible to begin your approximate INS 3-4 month waiting period within 1-2 weeks of your applying to ARC’s Russian Adoption Program.
There are more INS forms and filling fees that you will encounter at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, which you will be assisted in completing.
Your independent licensed clinical social worker should be able to complete your home study in as little as 4-6 weeks. This is dependent upon your availability and timeliness in submitting your paperwork. A home study is a biographical history of the adoptive couple. The Michigan Department of Human Services puts out a specific format by which all licensed clinical social workers must abide. The state requires that specific topics be addressed and that specific supporting documents be submitted. In addition to the Michigan Department of Human Services, ARC meets with you to discuss the various issues associated with the Russian adoption process.
You will need to pay your social worker with a money order upon their arrival at your home. The average fee for a licensed clinical social worker is $1,000 plus mileage. This fee is set by the social worker and depends on your state of residence. You will be notified of the exact fee before they arrive.
We begin looking for the child or children you have identified in your application when you tell us you are ready, but not before your first visit with the social worker. We have individual children and sibling groups consisting of 2-4 children, waiting for you to adopt them! The age range of available children is from 8 months to 11 years. We do not separate siblings. You will be given video(s) of children to review, which meet your description in your application. Once you have selected a child or children, we will translate all medical information and the birth certificate(s) for the child or children. You should take the video and the translations to a physician to review. We highly recommend you choose a physician who is a Pediatrician and/or familiar with Russian medical information on Russian orphans. We know of a few physicians in Michigan who other families have used and that are familiar with the orphanages in the regions in Russia from which ARC refers children. Sometimes there is not a lot of medical information available or the information and/or video are ambiguous. When this is the case, we urge the families to have the physician conduct a teleconference with the orphanage’s physician or director. This is the best way to alleviate your or the physician’s possible medical concerns.
Once you and the physician you have chosen to review the documents have accepted the child or children, you should let us know immediately.
Russian Language Instruction/FREE:
This is highly recommended by ARC! One introductory class and a language tape are included in the program fee. We recommend that all family members take a weekly one-hour Russian Language class, for three months, prior to your leaving to Russia. An additional three months of instruction is also recommended upon your return to the states. Depending on the age of the child or children you are adopting, you are welcome and urged to bring your new family member(s) to the lessons.
ARC is unique in including a complimentary lesson and tape to it’s. We feel that it will make your child’s or children’s transition into this new and often frightening country much easier. We feel it is imperative that you be able to communicate and understand the response to the following phrases:
Imagine how wonderful it will feel when you meet your new child or children for the first time and you are able to great them with words they can understand J
Document Collection, Translation, Notarization, Verification, Authentication and Submission:
The majority of the documents needed for INS and Russia are the same, but we will provide you with a specific list and assist you in collecting the documents. Once you have received your INS approval you will need to have the documents apostiled at the state capital. We will then compile those documents and several pictures of your family and surroundings into a dossier package that we will send to our Russian counterparts. They will translate all the documents and submit them to the Russian court, which should arrange the court date for you to adopt your new child or children. The mail to Russia (we use DHL) takes 3-6 business days. It takes our Russian counterparts 2-3 days to translate and submit the dossier. The court has 20 days to make a decision, but typically only take 1-2 weeks. The court date has to be set within 60 days of the date the court receives the information, but they typically set the date within 2 weeks of reviewing the information. Thus, most families are traveling to complete the adoption within 4-6 weeks of giving us the dossier.
Travel, the Russian Court process, and your stay in Russia:
Once your court date is set we will assist you in getting your visas and with making your travel arrangements. Your stay in Russia depends on your court date and the U.S. Embassy, but should be approximately 7-10 days. Please let us know if you have a travel agency that you prefer to work with, otherwise we will use the Russian National Tourist Office in New York.
While in Russia, you may stay with a host family or in a vacant apartment or in a hotel. Hotels are not included in your program fee. It is not allowed in Russia to bring your prospective family member(s) into hotels. Therefore, most clients choose to stay in apartments.
Once you land in Russia you will be greeted by your driver and translator at the airport, who will have a sign with your name. Depending on your arrival time, you may go the orphanage that same day. Otherwise, you will be taken to your host family or apartment or hotel. An ARC Foreign Assistance Coordinator, who speaks fluent English, will be available to you at all times.
It is required that you stay in the Russian Region from which you are adopting, for three days, to visit with your prospective child or children. On the fourth day you will go to court to proceed with the adoption. It takes one day after your court date to process and translate the legal documents for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. You will then go to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to finalize things on the next business day.
While you are in Moscow your ARC Foreign Assistance Coordinator will assist you with getting your new family member(s) passport(s) ($300), visa(s) ($325), Doctors exam(s) ($95), and with filing the I-600 form at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. The passport(s) ($300), visa(s) ($325), Doctors exam(s) ($95) are not included in your foreign assistance fee, and will need to be paid in Russia at the prospective time.
You are at the finale stages of your quest. Once you return home with your child or children, we will assist you with the necessary paperwork and forms that need to be submitted to INS in order for your new family member(s) to gain United States citizenship.
Now that you are home, the Russian Government and your local State Government require post placement visits to be conducted for two years. A post placement visit is when a licensed clinical social worker comes to your home to assess how you and your new family member(s) are adjusting. The number of visits per year that are required depends on your State’s and Russia’s current laws. Typically you will be visited approximately four times the first year and two times the second year, by a licensed clinical social worker. You will be notified in advance of these visits and they will need to file a post placement evaluation with the state and ARC. We will forward your paperwork to Russia. The fee your social worker charges for this should not be more than $100-$200 plus mileage per visit. ARC charges $150 per/visit to translate, authenticate, ship, and keep records.
Finally, you will be able to relax and enjoy your new family!