What a great way to end the week: Five more U.S. adoption agencies have been accredited by the Russian government. The July 19 round of accreditations also included one agency each in Israel, Spain and France.

The American agencies are Pittsburgh-based Adopt-A-Child, Adoption Associates in Jennison, Mich., European Adoption Consultants of Strongsville, Ohio, Rhode Island-based Gift... more

You know I've been pretty tough on USCIS about its fee increases and the technology problems that cause our adoption fingerprints to expire. But now, some of you will have a reason to cheer the technology at the agency.

On July 5, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as the agency is formally known, launched a test of a Web-based information management tool... more

Recently, somebody I know asked me if I would talk to somebody they knew about adopting an older child from Russia, a child this person had found on an adoption photolisting site.

I hesitated.

Not because I don't like talking about adoption. I love talking about adoption from Russia and I will talk with anyone about it anytime. Heck, I write the equivalent of a book about it every month on this Web site.

Not because the person was considering an older child. The younger of my two sons was nearly five when he came home from... more

Now that larger numbers of people are going to be traveling again, I thought I'd better circle back to the practical stuff. I've given you my tips for trip one and my thoughts on what to do when you meet your child for the first time. Your second trip will have its own challenges, though, so I thought it might help to pass on what I did then as well.

First up: How... more

I wrote last week that eight American agencies had been accredited by the Russian government to handle adoptions. I was wrong--and right.

Let me explain.

As you can now see at the top of the Web site for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, seven agencies were accredited. They are Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Charlotte, Children's Home Society & Family Services, ... more

One of the readers of the Russia Adoption Blog recently took me to task for saying that a good agency collects the bulk of its fees for an adoption near the end of the process. Why shouldn't an adoption agency be treated like any other professional services firm, this poster wondered? Why shouldn't it be paid ongoing fees?

In many ways, an adoption agency should be treated like any other professional services firm. You should thoroughly check their references and get a written fee agreement before you commit to work with them, just as you... more

Here in the United States, we've all been doing a bit of Fourth of July celebrating today. But some folks in Maryland and Virginia have been doing a bit more celebrating than others. They are the people at Cradle of Hope Adoption Center and, today, it became the first American agency to be re-accredited under Russia's new rules. Congratulations to all of you and to the families you serve.

And now, could the other big shoe please drop?

OK, I don’t mean to seem greedy, or steal any of Cradle of Hope's justly deserved... more

Here's the flip side to the camp-to-adopt story I told you about this morning: summer camps for Russian children--sometimes orphans--held in Russia and staffed, at least in part, by American volunteers.

Adoption Ark, based in Buffalo Grove, Ill., just wrapped up its fifth annual summer camp in Russia. It took 120 children, ages 6 to 16, from nine orphanages in the Ivanovo region to a three-week camp in the nearby town of Kleshevka. No, they didn't get to experience life... more

Summertime used to be filled with news of Russian orphans coming to the United States for summer camp programs that brought them into contact with prospective adoptive parents.

Not this year. Thanks to the uncertainty surrounding the re-accreditation of their adoption programs, all the stalwarts of the camp-to-adopt movement have put their programs on hiatus this summer. I've found only one camp-to-adopt program for kids from Russia that is running now, and I'll tell you more about that in a minute.

For some, the break will be permanent:... more

You might remember that, about a month ago, I told you there were going to be some changes in the way the U.S. Embassy in Moscow processes visas for the children we adopt. Changes that add more time--at least 24 hours--to your wait in Moscow. Changes that add another night of hotel costs in what is the world's most expensive city for expatriate living.

Those changes... more