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When we first inquired of Olga at Alaska International, we still had a very bad taste in our mouths from a disastrous adoption attempt in Russia a few months before with another agency. From this experience, we now knew all the right questions to ask, and knew the answers we wanted to hear. Olga patiently walked us through what seemed like the maze of variables and uncertainties, and in the end, answering all our questions - convincing us that we were in the best possible hands.
When we decided that AIA was the best available agency for our needs, we traveled to Russia already knowing what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised at how very professional the staff was, making a psychologically difficult trip very stress-free. In the end, we had not one surprise, with our paperwork being handled smoothly every step of the way. The importance of this point cannot be overstated. We have not heard of even one person that has ever had a problem with paperwork when they used AIA - and that is remarkable indeed.
Our advice to anyone considering adoption is to ask many relevant questions. Then, ask others what questions you should have answered. If you do not get the answers that seem right to you, find an agency that will give you those answers. There is too much at stake for mistakes to happen, or for things to be left to chance. We found AIA to be an agency that answered all our questions and fulfilled our expectations in every way, with no disappointments whatsoever. That is saying a lot in this "business". Confidently, you likely will not find a more knowledgeable or accommodating group when going into Russia.
We would highly and unreservedly recommend AIA to anyone considering adopting from Russia.
We have no regrets - on the contrary, are absolutely delighted with our little boy Micah; he is everything we could ever have hope or dreamed for, and we have Olga and her colleagues at AIA to thank for that. |
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Our adoption process began in January of 2003 and ended in early July 2003
with 14-month old Samuel as the new member of our family. Natalia, from
Alaska International Adoptions, lead us through the process with an obvious
compassion for the Russian children her agency represents. Through the
piles of paperwork and requirements, she dealt with us patiently and
professionally.
Once we were in Russia, we appreciated AIA?s professionalism even more since all the details of the trip were in order and came off very smoothly. We would recommend AIA to anyone pursuing Russian adoption. We left our three
children at home with Grandma, so a speedy and uneventful trip was important
to us.
Our new son is a blessing to us. He has adapted well and is a healthy, strong boy. He gives lots of hugs and kisses and has quickly attached to my husband and me. Our three older birth children think he is wonderful.
We had the pleasure of visiting his orphanage in Magadan several times during our adoption trip to get a sense of his environment and how we might best help him with the transition to our family. The workers at The Children?s House seemed commited to helping in any way they could to make the change easier for Samuel. They had obviously done as much as they could
for the children with what little they have. Samuel has had physical and developmental evaluations here in the U.S. and is right on track in all areas except language, but is gaining fast.
Kipp and Ann
ann@cvinternet.net
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We recently worked with Alaska International Adoptions to adopt a five-year old girl and a six-year boy (sibling pair) from Magadan. Our children have been with us for almost three months and are healthy, bright and happy.
Our experience working with our Magadan program coordinator Natalia Kokaurova was excellent. Natalia is reliable, honest, and ethical, and genuinely cares about finding homes for children in Russian orphanages who need families. We were very pleased with how smoothly the adoption process went in our case. Once we had accepted the referral, everything went like clockwork. Natalia always returned my calls promptly and was very generous with her time. It was somewhat difficult getting medical information from the Russian authorities about one of our children and she did everything possible to ensure we had what we needed in order to make an informed decision. We also genuinely enjoyed getting to know Natalia on a personal level.
Zoya Vladimirovna, AIA's facilitator in Magadan, is also very reliable and competent, and we enjoyed the time we spent working with her. Our visit to Magadan to pick up the children and attend the court hearing went smoothly. Zoya arranged for us to stay in a small apartment in a private hotel, so we had privacy and plenty of space during the days we were waiting to leave Magadan, but at the same time had a hotel-like support system with a restaurant down the hall, laundry service, and a place outside where we could play with the children. Zoya did a great job of arranging the court hearing, assisting us at the hearing, and ensuring we were everywhere we needed to be on time and had all the documents needed to ensure the children would be issued immigrant visas in Moscow and that they received their passports.
Finally, Michael and Phillip, our Moscow coordinators, did a fine job at arranging for medical examinations and embassy interviews on the same day, despite our children's history of TB exposure, as well as coordinating VIP service at Sheremetievo Airport on the day we departed for New York.
It was a genuine pleasure for us to work with Alaska International Adoptions. We would be happy to share our experiences with any prospective adoptive parents interested in working with AIA. |
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We were referred to AIA through friends in Alaska that adopted 2 beautiful children from Magadan. After meeting Natalia and learning about the process we decided that this was the right choice for our family. In October 2004 after 14 months of paperwork and waiting we completed the adoption of our 2 3-year-old boys Jack and Anthony from Sakhalin Island.
Natalia worked very hard to help find "our children" . She made sure our adoption was completed quickly and that our travel to Russia would go as smooth as possible. She spent endless hours on the phone with us as well as hundreds of emails back and forth. I have asked her numerous times if she ever sleeps. Natalia did an excellent job of informing us of exactly what to expect. There were no hidden costs and no surprises.
The amount of travel was extraordinary. We went from Alaska to Seattle to Los Angeles to South Korea and finally to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The journey to get there was 36 hours.
The coordinators in Sakhalin were wonderful. We were Larisa's first family so everything was new for both of us. She did a great job with the help of Olga, our translator for court and our documents. They were both very efficient and professional. We did have a tough judge who asked lots of questions we were unprepared for but we did our best to answer them on the spot. After court, all of our documents were prepared and we were on our way to Moscow. In the airport Larisa gave our boys Russian Fairytale books that they absolutely love and we will always treasure the memory.
Our boys did great on the 10 hour flight from Yuzhno to Moscow. We were prepared for the worst and were pleasantly surprised. They were so amazed by the plane and the excitement.
In Moscow, Michael and Philip made sure that all of our paperwork was in order to have the boys visa's processed. We arrived in Moscow on Saturday; saw the doctor on Sunday, Monday we went to the Embassy and Tuesday after 15 hours of flying we were finally home.
We will never forget the day we went to the baby home to pick up our boys after the court decision was final. When we dressed them to leave they looked so excited yet scared of the unknown. They do not seem like they have ever looked back. We were a bit nervous to adopt toddlers and not babies but we could not be happier. These 2 boys are so loving, happy and smart. They show absolutely no signs of attachment issues or developmental delays. They are learning English at an astounding rate and will be starting Pre School in a few months.
International Adoption is a long and tedious journey but the end result is so worth every bit of anguish and hard work. We cannot thank AIA and Natalia enough for helping us to complete our family and blessing us with our sons.
Please feel free to contact us at rjrecine@alaska.com
Rob and Jenn Recine
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