Where To Start


It’s time to start the work.

You can call, fax, or e-mail us. We will happily discuss your situation and help you determine the best course of action for you and your family. If you decide to adopt internationally with Angels’ Haven, you simply begin with an application with us. From there, the homestudy process will begin.

For families who reside within our licensed jurisdictions, Angels’ Haven Outreach can provide the homestudy assessment for you. Families living outside of our licensed areas, will want to contact a licensed international adoption agency in your home state. See our homestudy page to get full details on the necessary documents for this stage.

At the same time, you will need to begin the immigration process. You may call the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services forms line 800.870.3676 and request forms: I-600A, I-600 & I-864, you can download them as well. You can start filling these forms out during the homestudy stage. Please note that here is a filing fee with each application.

You need to file the I-600A, along with Certified Birth Certificates, Certified Marriage Certificate, and Homestudy (if completed),with your local USCIS office to initiate the process. You will file the other forms (I600 & I864) at a later date. You can be waiting up to eight weeks for approval from our government. The approval is called the I-171H Form. This is a formal letter from the US Department Of Homeland Security approving you to adopt.

You will also need to get finger printed. The UCSCIS will notify you in writing the time and location where you must go to be fingerprinted.

Even if you have not yet decided on a particular agency or country, you may want to begin the homestudy and immigration process.

After the homestudy is complete and you have turned in your I600A form with USCIS, you can start on the dossier. A dossier is your life story. It contains many of the same documents that you needed to collect for your homestudy. This is why we suggest you obtain multiple copies. Not all countries require the same documents. Once you know what country you are going to adopt from, we will provide you a detailed list of what documents you will need to collect. Once you collect everything from the list and you receive your approval ( I-171H Form), your dossier is complete!


Waiting Children

Angels’ Haven Outreach desires every child to find a family to love and nurture them. Unfortunately, many children are waiting. In an effort to give these waiting children every opportunity, AHO when allowed by the child’s native country, may place their photos on the internet. It is our policy to protect the child’s confidentiality and therefore the child’s legal name is never given, nor the location of the child. AHO only provides general information regarding the children over the internet. AHO also has a listing in the office of children who are waiting, but whose country will not allow them to be photolisted. If you think you might be interested, please contact the office for further information about these children.


International Adoption Time Frame

Each adoption represents a child’s life, a life with its own unique situation. We must keep in mind that some tragic event has taken place in this child’s life that created the need for an adoptive family. Just as the circumstances vary, so will the adoption process. No two adoptions are the same; therefore we can only give an average time frame.

Most families will receive a referral within 4 to 9 months from the submission and approval of their paperwork. The international process typically takes approximately nine months.

International Adoption Cost

There are many steps along the way and many hands working together to bring a child from the other side of the world and safely home. For most families, by the time you have paid for everything from A to Z (the CIS, home study, document authentication’s, legal processing fees, airline and in country lodging) it typically costs the average family between $15,000 and $30,000. We take our non-profit seriously, and do our best to keep the fees as low as possible.

International Adoption - Travel

Several of the countries that we work with may require one, or both parents to travel. AHO has people that will meet you at the airport and hold your hand the entire time you are abroad. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to learn to appreciate your child’s motherland.