Primary Provider Services – Nigeria
Please thoroughly read this notice from the Department of State regarding adoption in Nigeria.
If you have any reason to believe there was fraud involved in your adoption case, we will be unable to serve as the Primary Provider.
Families that have not completed an adoption are asked to contact an agency that offers placing services to identify and adopt a child from Nigeria. You may still act on your own behalf in your own adoption case if permitted under the laws of the state in which you reside and the laws of Nigeria. Although you do not need accreditation or approval to act on your own behalf, your actions need to comply with applicable law, and you will still need to work with an accredited agency or approved person to act as the primary provider in your case.
A primary provider helps to ensure that non-Convention adoption services are provided reflecting the same standards of practice and ethical conduct as in Convention cases. The Department strongly recommends working with an accredited or approved adoption service provider that will act as primary provider from the outset of each intercountry adoption case. Proceeding with your intercountry adoption case without an accredited or approved primary provider may delay or impede the completion of the case and may increase the overall cost of the case. Read the full State Department Universal Accreditation Act of 2012
ACI as your Primary Provider – Nigeria
Adoption Center of Illinois (registered as Family Resource Center) may be able to serve as the Primary Provider for your international adoption in the cases of parent-initiated and relative adoptions. ACI has been Hague-accredited since 2008. This accreditation allows us to act as an accredited Adoption Service Provider (ASP) for international adoptions.
We do not have a Nigeria adoption program. Our services support families that have finalized a parent-identified or relative adoption and require the services of a Primary Provider to oversee the home study and immigration process.
Immigration Process
The immigration process to bring your adopted child to the US from Nigeria is not a quick process. It will require work, patience and good attention to detail. If you choose our agency as your Primary Provider, we will work with you and support you through the process. We cannot, however, guarantee that a visa for your child will be issued. The ultimate decision is made by the US Consulate in Lagos. It is important for you to be aware of all of the information posted on the State Department Intercountry Adoption page for Nigeria and the US Consulate in Lagos.
After your I600 application is reviewed, the next step is for the U.S. Embassy in Lagos to conduct the I-604 Determination on Child for Adoption (commonly referred to as an orphan determination). For adoptions from Nigeria, this process can be lengthy:
Due to adoption fraud and child buying concerns, the U.S. Consulate completes the Form I-604, Determination on Child for Adoption, commonly referred to as the orphan determination, to verify the authenticity of the information provided in the adoption decree and with the Form I-600 petition. As a result, investigations and the in-country visa application and approval process can cause adoption processing in Lagos to take up to six months to complete.
– Excerpt from US Consulate Lagos website
International Home Study
In addition to requiring a Primary Provider, families must also work with a qualified Home Study Agency. Illinois residents may utilize ACI’s Primary Provider services and our International Home Study Services. These two services are independent and separate from one another and require separate fees.
Our non-Illinois families will also need an adoption agency in their state to complete the international home study. ACI can support you in finding a qualified agency in your area.
Fees
The fee for ACI’s Primary Provider Service for the adoption of ONE child is $6,450. This includes a $815 Monitoring and Oversight (M&O) fee paid directly to CEAS, the accrediting entity. Families who adopt more than one child will pay an additional $1,100 fee per child which includes the CEAS fee.
Next Steps
Please review all of the following documents:
- Documents for Primary Provider Checklist: To serve as PP, it is essential we have all the available information about your process in Nigeria and the child being adopted. Additionally, copies of all receipts and fee documentation must be sent to our agency. If you have not saved receipts, you will be asked to recall all money spent, with fee description, amount and approximate date. If you are still in communication with the party that was paid, please ask for a receipt.
- Agreement: SAMPLE ONLY. Do not complete.
After reviewing all of the above information, please email Jane Turner jturner@adoptillinois.org and Pam Brown pbrown@adoptillinois.org with the following information:
- Have you previously submitted an I600A or I600 application to immigration?
- What date was your adoption finalized?
- Is the child from an orphanage or a relative?
- If relative, what happened to both child’s biological parents?
- How old is the child (date of birth)?
- Tell us about your child’s health
- Were one or both adoptive parents present in court for the foster order or final adoption proceeding?
- What state in Nigeria did the adoption occur? Note: we cannot work with adoptions originating in Lagos.
- Have you identified an agency in your state that will conduct the International Home Study?
- Do you have any information about or reason to believe your adoption was completed fraudulently?
- Your contact information (full names and phone numbers)
Once we receive your answers to the questions above, we will notify you if we are able to proceed to the next step of reviewing your documents.
Document Review
We will request a $250 per child (non-refundable fee) and you will need to email clear scanned copies of ALL your adoption documents, preferably in PDF format. Documents for Primary Provider Checklist linked above. If your documents appear to be in good order, we will then ask you to submit an application for our Primary Provider Services and pay the Phase 1 fee.
NOTE: If the document review stage has not progressed within 12 months from date of first contact due to lack of communication or not submitting required documentation, we will close your file. You can then restart the process at any time with newly scanned documentation and an additional $250 review fee per child.