Effective January 1, 2026
World Links invoices adoption fees in phases, so you pay for each service at the time it is being delivered. Fees for services that have already been provided are not refunded. If you have paid for a service that World Links has not delivered, we return the funds you are entitled to within sixty (60) days of your written request. This meets 22 CFR 96.40(h), the federal regulation that governs fees at Hague-accredited adoption agencies, which requires the return of any funds owed within 60 days of the completion of services. Your adoption services contract includes the Refund Policy (22 CFR 96.40(d)).
What is refundable and what is not
- Fees paid for services already rendered are not refundable.
- Tax-deductible gifts to World Links are never refundable.
- A refund is issued only when you have prepaid for a service that has not been rendered.
- The MFAMG fee is not refundable once World Links has paid it to CEAS, the accrediting entity that oversees Hague-accredited agencies. It appears on your fee schedule as the MFAMG fee.
If you move to another state
If you move out of state after prepaying your post-adoption reports, you may choose another agency to complete them, and World Links can forward the prepaid amount to that agency. Ask your program coordinator to arrange the transfer. This does not apply in states where World Links is licensed: choosing another agency there does not earn a credit or refund.
If you switch to another World Links program
If you switch to another World Links program after paying fees, we waive the application fee for the new program and apply a credit toward it. The credit is larger when you switch in order to be matched with a waiting child. Pass-through fees are not credited. These are amounts World Links collects and pays to others on your behalf, such as the foreign program fee and the MFAMG fee. Your program coordinator will give you the exact figure in writing before you decide.
If donations or grants helped pay your fees
Refunds are limited to fees you paid personally.
If individuals donated toward your adoption, your refund is capped at the amount you paid directly.
If you received a grant, the grant amount is not refundable to you.
If a grant covered all of your fees and left a credit on your account, we contact the grant organization before releasing anything. The money goes back to the grantor or comes to you for travel and other adoption expenses, as set out in your grant agreement.
If you have a credit after placement
A credit left on your account after placement is released after the post-placement and post-adoption costs are paid. Those costs include the mileage and translation we estimate for the reports still to come. Post-adoption reports continue for years after placement, on the schedule set by the country of adoption, so the credit can stay on your account until the last report is complete. If another provider is completing your post-adoption reports, we confirm with that provider that the report fees have been prepaid before releasing the credit.
How to request a refund
- Ask your program coordinator for the refund request form, complete it, and mail it to the address on the form.
- The Executive Team reviews the request against your fee schedule, your payment records, and your file, confirms that it meets this policy, and issues a decision within 30 days of receiving your form.
- Once the Executive Team approves the refund, it is recorded in your file and Accounting mails a check within 30 days of approval.
The same steps apply if your only refund is a post-adoption report deposit that came to World Links through a transfer from another agency.
Questions about this policy: email hello@wliaa.org or call (570) 344-8890.