Georgia Developments

I am excited for you. I have heard wonderful things about adopting from Georgia. We are currently in the process of deciding on an agency and are curious about who you are working with. The one agency I found was Adoption Pro. Are there others? How long have they said your wait will be? Any information you can share about your experience would be extrememly helpful. Thanks.

well, we want to go with AIAA [url]http://www.i-a-a.org/americans_for_international_aid.htm[/url] out of Michigan but they have just frozen their Georgia Program this week because they were just getting it started and weren't comfortable with some inconsistencies in communications with their contacts. We don't have to decide yet and are hoping they re-open the program. Also we are considering Carolina adoption agency [url]http://www.rainbowkids.com/cas.html[/url] because they have a program up and running. Russia has been delaying the travel visas from Tlibisi, Georgia to Moscow, where the US embassy is. Hopefully it will all work out because we've been told that refferals can come within in a few weeks of turning in a dossier and that we could travel within 2 to 3 months after refferal. So, the baby would only be a few months old! I HOPE that the snafoos in Georgia clean up because we REALLY want to adopt form there. Anyway, let me know if you find anything out also, ok? Good luck with your adoption!

We adopted a gorgeous little 2 mos. old girl from Georgia in July 2002 thru AAI and had a wonderful experience. We also started doing some research about Adoption Pros for our second child, only because they are saying the wait for referral is shorter, but so far we haven't been paricularly impressed by some of the things we've been hearing about AP. Our advice is to make sure you research agencies thoroughly before making a decision.

My husband and I used AdoptionPros out of Michigan and are extremely happy with their program, competence, and assistance throughout the process. Our process was 5 months from filing our paperwork to bringing home our son... and he is absolutely incredible! :) The agency worked as quickly as we did which was great and not so common in the field of adoption. The wait time for referrals is much less through AdoptionPros than through other agencies due to the fact that their Georgian program was started fairly recently. The wait time will change as their Georgian program becomes more popular so it's hard to say what the future will hold but compared to other agencies at this time the wait is minimal. If interested in finding out more please contact me at maryanns01@yahoo.com -Mary

My husband and I are looking into Georgian adoptions as well, and I wonder if anyone knows about the website . It's as follows: [url]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/repgeorgiaadopt/[/url] You click on 'join this group' and follow the instructions. They have been most helpful in answering questions and telling their adoption journeys. The most used adoption agencies are Carolina Adoption Services, AAI, Adoption Pros, Little Miracles, and one called RAFS- Russian Adoption something (you can look it up on Yahoo using RAFS). I am a bit concerned about the costs of Georgian adoption; they're all about 25K give or take a few thousand. But I am hearing that the younger a child is when adopted, the less problems there are with bonding, transitioning, etc. The people on the above website rave about their babies; how healthy they are and how well taken care of by the foster families, so I think the fees are fair considering the outcome.:)

The latest is that you are not going to have to travel to Moscow anymore.......everything will be processed at the embassy in Tbilisi.....CAS was a HUGE player in getting this resolved....and MANY parents.!! Anne mommy to a Ukrainian Angel.....and a Georgian Angel [url]www.anneyates.com[/url]

My wife and I just got back with my little girl Feb 28. We went with 1st Steps Int., and had an excellent experience. They are a small organization. The staff in Georgia were wonderful and bent over backwards for us. We stayed in the Sheraton Hotel, which I would suggest to anyone. It is a little expensive, but much more secure than other hotels. The cleaning/wait staff is wonderful. During dinner, the waitresses in the restaurant would take a spare moment and come over and take our baby off our hands for a few moments. They would then carry her around for a few minutes (always within eye shot) and talk to her (we later found out they spoke Russian, not Georgian). We rarely had to juggle the baby during a meal. Also, one day the baby was sleeping and the cleaning staff came in. When the cleaning staff entered, the baby woke up and started fussing a bit. Without a word the cleaning lady came over and picked up the baby and started rocking her and talking to her. The baby IMMEDIATELY quieted down. Nice staff. They also speak better english than most native-english speakers. The Sheraton also provides an internet connection free of charge for those staying there. A wonderful way to stay in touch with your family. The pool and hot tub were nice as well. A note on the Yahoo group: I spent a little time on that group. It tends to be dominated by Carolina employees that don't want you discussing anything about money or discuss details about your adoption. We had an excellent question about the amount of cash to take over ($5 k for us was more than enough) and were told by a Carolina employee (not the moderator) that questions about money were not to be asked on the group. I quit after that. Yes, as of May 1, the US Embassy in Tblisi should be able to process US immigrations (you would not have to travel to Russia). Small caveat: I said should because I have a contact in Moscow dealing with immigration and he said the Tblisi program had some significant hurdles to overcome if they wanted to make their May 1 deadline. They may be delayed. We shall see May 1. Good luck with the adoption. Dave

Hi everyone! It seems that CAS and Adoption Pros are the agencies for Georgia.....IS there anyone willing to share their exp with me? Thanks Susanne sms08852@yahoo.com

I am also looking at information on Georgia adoptions. I see that there are only a few agencies that are over there. I would like any feedback on the agencies. This is a big decision and I don't want to mess it up.

We are in the proces of adopting from Georgia too!! We are using AAI (adoption aid international) out of Walnut, CA. But we have also heard great things about CAS (Carolina Adoption Pros)

Hello I am new to posting and would also love to share talk with any of you to share your experiances with adopting from the Republic of Georgia. My husband and I are hoping to send off our dossier in the next couple of weeks. We are using AdoptionPros and they have been very helpful with all of my questions even responding on weekends. Please E-mail me with any questions you may have and tell me about your experiances at lou01117@aol.com

Does anyone know if there are toddlers in Georgia for adoption and what the new rules are? I hear that you won't be able to get a child under 6-8 months anymore from Georgia.

Hi everyone. I hope that your holiday was great. I have aquick question. Are adoptions still being done in Georgia? I saw a few weeks ago that there were problems in the country. Can anyone suggest an agency? We have completed a homestudy and gotten INS approval. Thanks again. Debbie joedebbiearredondo@yahoo.com