Philippines

Bay Area Adoption Services (BAAS) is an agency recognized and accredited by the Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Intercountry Adoption Board (ICAB), a branch of the DSWD. We are proud to be one of four California agencies approved by the Intercountry Adoptions Board to complete International adoptions in the Philippines.

BAY AREA ADOPTION SERVICES has been assisting families adopt from the Philippines for over 20 years. The Philippines is a unique program because families can adopt orphan or relative children if the relative minors meet the criteria of eligibility set by ICAB and USCIS.* Bay Area Adoption Services assists in all the necessary steps for completing an adoption from the Philippines. This includes: assisting with procedures, conducting the homestudy (which is mandatory both for USCIS and the Philippines government), providing families with a liaison agency that will represent them in the Philippines and act as a central point of contact for all matters pertaining to the adoption. BAAS will also conduct post placement visits as well as assist families finalizing their adoption after they return home with the child.
* Relative cases are reviewed on a case by case basis. BAAS will only work with those families who satisfy the USCIS definition of an orphan eligible for adoption and immigration.

Types of CHILDREN

The children available for adoption have either been abandoned, parents' rights have been relinquished, or may have some medical condition that the biological parents are unable to afford. The children reside in public or private facilities. Characteristics of available children include:

• Children with special needs *(see below)
• Older children, generally from 3 to 8 years of age
• At this time, all new applicants must be open to a child who is 3 years old or older and cannot specify female only
  

SPECIAL NEEDS

• Older children (usually boys or girls age 6 to 15 years old)
• Sibling groups of 3 or more
• Children with minor correctable health conditions (i.e., cleft lip, cleft palate, vision problems fixed with the use of eyeglasses, etc.)
• Children with major medical/physical problems
• Children with major developmental/neurological delay/handicap
  

REQUIREMENTS

• Must live within the BAAS licensing area of northern California. Please read additional Legal Requirements.
• The Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB) has decided to lift the moratorium for single applicants. However, ICAB will only consider single applicants who will be accepting children from 6 years old and above of either gender with minor correctable medical conditions or negative background.
• Couples must be married a minimum of 3 years prior to starting the adoption. Couples must be married at least 5 years if this is a second marriage for either prospective parent.
• No more than 1 divorce is allowed per person.
• Couples must be at least 27 years old. The prospective adoptive parents must be at least 16 years older but no more than 47 years older than the child to be adopted.
• Couples must be under 55 years old to adopt.

TIME INVOLVED

Families typically receive referrals within 18 - 24 months after the dossier is approved by the Philippines. Families usually travel about 5 - 8 months after the acceptance of their referral. Families will be in the Philippines for approximately 5 days.

IN THE PHILIPPINES

When traveling to the Philippines, both parents are expected to travel to pick up the child. Upon receiving your itinerary, ICAB will provide a schedule for you to follow while you are in the Philippines.

FEES INVOLVED

The Philippine adoptions are finalized in the US, and are therefore “Intercountry adoptions”. The following is a general estimate of the costs involved:

BAAS FEE: - $7,500
Fees Include:

• Registration & Pre-adopt class
• Homestudy
• Paperwork assistance, including dossier preparation and CIS filing
• Overseas program consultation
• 4 post placement visits
• Assistance in finalizing the adoption and obtaining a California birth certificate for the child and all post-adoption paperwork.

LIAISON AGENCY FEE- $3000-$4000

• Assistance in obtaining the documents required to file an orphan petition in the United States (i.e., child study report, birth certificate, placement proposal).
• Present families dossier to ICAB
• Secure the child’s travel documents
• Notify families when they can travel as well as prepare the travel itinerary.

ICAB FEE- $3,200

• Includes Application fee ($200)
• Includes child care support fund ($1000)
• Pre travel expenses for the child
• Additional Incidental fees to be determined upon placement

MISCELLANEOUS FEES- $1000-$2000

• USCIS filing fee
• Procurement of documents (i.e., birth & marriage certificates, etc.)
• Psychological Evaluations (required by the Philippines)
• Photocopying of documents
• Notary fees
• Certification & Authentication of official documents
• Court filing fees

INTERNAL TRAVEL IN THE PHILIPPINES- $1,000
(Approximately $100 per person per day)

• Includes hotel accommodation,
• Food, various expenses
• Internal travel during full stay in the Philippines. Airfare to the Philippines is additional.

AIRFARE TO THE PHILIPPINES (VARIES)
Approximately $ 900.00 per person roundtrip. This varies depending on dates, airlines, and departing location.

TOTAL COSTS

Generally speaking, the entire cost of completing an adoption in the Philippines is approximately $15,000-$19,000, including the BAAS fee, the Liaison agency fee (including all adoption processing in the Philippines) and travel.

• Please note that this information is subject to change without notice as changes occur in government/country regulations and/or adoption procedures. For the latest information, please call BAAS directly.