Timeline & Payments

One of the questions that families often ask is “How long does a home study take?”

This timeline will help give you an estimate of how long it takes most families to complete the paperwork and for the process of the home study.

Please remember this is only an estimate. We cannot predict changes that may occur beyond our control or the amount of time a family takes to complete their portion of the home study requirements or documents.

The actual visit in your home and face to face interviews are often thought of as the home study. However, that is, in fact, about 25% of the home study process. It is important to remember that a home study is an investigation of your family to determine your fitness to parent an adopted child. It may help you to gain a better understanding of it just to know that USCIS terms it as a family assessment. Small World adoption professionals will assess your family after extensive investigation and issue their professional opinion of your fitness to parent an adopted child in a narrative document commonly known as a home study.

PROCESS		TIME
Application and Dossier Preparation
Application & Fee – Family		1 week
Application – Agency Review		1 week
Provisional Approval – Agency Director		2 Days
Home Study Contract & Fees		1 Day
Home Study Paperwork		2-3 weeks
Background Investigation		1 month
Home visit and face to face interviews		2 days
Agency organization of data and writing the study		1 week
Total Time for the Home Study		2-3 MONTHS

Fees and Costs table is located in the Services Agreement (contract) and country specific fees and costs are on each country page of our website under the menu item of adoption. Please review them on our home page.

Amendments to a home study – An amendment is an administrative correction or alteration to the body of a home study which does not require a reevaluation of the family and does not change the date of approval of the assessment. Fee -$0- Free.

Addendum to a home study is an administrative addition or supplement of information to the assessment which does not require a reevaluation of the family and does not change the date of approval of the assessment. Fee – -$0- Free

Application Fee

Payment must accompany submission of application

Home Study Fee

Payment must be submitted at the time of receipt of the provisional approval. The home study packet and work will not begin until the home study fee is paid

Post Adoption Fee

Payment must be submitted along with the home study fee and varies from program to program.

Agency Fee

Payment must be submitted with the signed Services Agreement and completed home study. No further work may be performed toward the adoption until the contract and agency fee are received by Small World.

Dossier Translation & Registration Fee

Payment must be submitted along with the completed dossier.

Foreign Program Fee

Typically payment must be submitted with acceptance of a match or invitation to travel to the foreign country for the purpose of completing the adoption. However, some countries require these payments in increments beginning at the time the dossier is submitted to the foreign government and at various points during the foreign process. In such cases Small World collects the total amount at the time of dossier submission to the foreign government and wires it to the foreign country according to their system.