Russia Trip Sample Itinerary

We are still waiting to hear from our agency that the Russian government is ready for us to come.

This weekend we attended the agency’s annual picnic. Last year we were there enjoying all the kids running around, and thought for sure that we would attend this year again, but with our child. Well, we were half right.

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To give you some idea of our future trips to Russia. Here is how it might happen, but it varies greatly case by case. We are told that we will be led through every step in the process by our agency’s Russian facilitator.

Day 1 – Leave Phoenix for Moscow (e.g., a 5 hour flight to New York, then a 10 hour flight to Moscow)

Day 2 – Arrive in Moscow and leave for Bryansk on the night train

Day 3 – Meet with the Ministry of Education official to view photos and info about the child

Day 4 – Travel to the orphanage to visit with the child, the orphanage director and the resident doctor

Day 5 – Tell the Ministry that we accept the child and then file additional paperwork requesting a court date

Day 6 – Return to Moscow and back to Phoenix

The request for a court date goes through the channels in Russia, then after 2 to 16 weeks we make our second trip.

Day 1 – Leave Phoenix for Moscow

Day 2 – Arrive in Moscow and leave for Bryansk on the night train (7 hours)

Day 3 – Go to the orphanage to visit the child

Day 4 – Court date with a regional judge in Bryansk

Day 5-14 – 10-day waiting period before the adoption decree become final. The child remains in the orphanage. We may have the opportunity to visit daily.

Day 15 – Take our child from the orphanage and obtain an amended Russian birth certificate and passport

Day 16 – Return to Moscow

Day 17 – Take our child for a pre-visa physical

Day 18 – Take our child to the US Embassy to obtain the visa

Day 19 – Return to Phoenix with our child

Here is a description from the "Russian Adoption Handbook" of the flight home, “Imagine being taken from the only home you know, surrounded by people you don’t know, speaking a language you don’t know, and then being placed in a flying machine, which you may never have seen. Add to this mix that you are hungry, sleepy, not feeling well and generally cranky. This is your child. It might also be you.” And, though we will not likely be traveling with others adopting parents from our agency, the plane may be filled with them.