Craig and I traveled to Charlotte, this morning, to be fingerprinted by the federal government. The fingerprinting is for a form called the I-171H and is submitted to the USCIS (United States Citizenship Immigration Services). The approval of this form allows families to bring a child born overseas into the United States and is a required step for a child to gain US citizenship. However, Russia will allow families to submit the dossier before receiving the USCIS approval.
The initial dossier was suppose to be delivered to our adoption agency today. So, hopefully, we will hear something positive on that end very soon. As for now, we have done all that we can do and will wait to hear if the dossier is approved and able to send to Russia. Then, we will begin some more document gathering and paperwork!
We really appreciate the prayers on behalf of our family.
Blessings,
Kim
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Apostilling complete!
We thought we would give you an update on the adoption process. As you can already see, we only post when we have a "news-worthy" event! A couple of weeks ago, we sent off our initial dossier (formal paperwork for Russia) to be apostilled (stamped with a special seal) by the NC Secretary of State. All the documents were apostilled except for two forms. We had sent these items with the attachments recommended by our adoption agency, but nevertheless, they could not be accepted. Instead, they were returned with us with corrected sample attachments. We re-submitted the documents and they were apostilled and in our hands by the end of this past week. (As a side note, our adoption agency said that rules vary so much for each state that it is difficult to maintain the correct templates for each document and country. They plan to develop a "tips" sheet for prospective adoptive parents that will help them if faced with issues such as these.)
Tomorrow, we will be sending the initial dossier to our family coordinator, who will look over the documents, hopefully approve them, and then they will be forwarded to Russia where they will be registered. Once registered, the "normal" wait time for a referral is 6-9 months. Of course, as believers, we know that the Lord is in control of time, so we will just sit back and wait to hear from Him.
In the meantime, we will continue to do paperwork and collect documents for the "court dossier" which will be used in Russia. The paperwork, literally, will never end! Even after we make our 1st visit to Russia, to see the boys, there will be documents to be collected and submitted for the particular region in which the boys reside. Anyway, the sending of the initial dossier is just one more step in the process, but it is significant in that it is necessary to receive the referral...so, we are very excited to have this one "under our belt!"
As always, thank you for praying for our family as we anxiously await to be united with our boys in Russia!
Love and blessings,
Kim, Craig, Taylor, and Leah
Tomorrow, we will be sending the initial dossier to our family coordinator, who will look over the documents, hopefully approve them, and then they will be forwarded to Russia where they will be registered. Once registered, the "normal" wait time for a referral is 6-9 months. Of course, as believers, we know that the Lord is in control of time, so we will just sit back and wait to hear from Him.
In the meantime, we will continue to do paperwork and collect documents for the "court dossier" which will be used in Russia. The paperwork, literally, will never end! Even after we make our 1st visit to Russia, to see the boys, there will be documents to be collected and submitted for the particular region in which the boys reside. Anyway, the sending of the initial dossier is just one more step in the process, but it is significant in that it is necessary to receive the referral...so, we are very excited to have this one "under our belt!"
As always, thank you for praying for our family as we anxiously await to be united with our boys in Russia!
Love and blessings,
Kim, Craig, Taylor, and Leah
Friday, March 4, 2011
Step by Step!
Well, adoption is a process...a slow one at that! As the days go by, we are making some baby steps. This past Monday, we mailed off the I600-A application. In order to adopt internationally, each family must be approved through the United States Citizenship Immigration Services (USCIS). The approval allows families to bring a child born overseas into the United States and is a required step for a child to gain US citizenship. Also, yesterday, we were able to get our additional documents notarized. Notarization is necessary before sending everything off to be apostilled. An apostille certifies the aunthenticity of a signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted, and identifies the seal/stamp which the document bears. We will send the documents to Raleigh to the Secretary of State office which will apostille the documents.
There are a few papers in our Home Study that have to be re-done or another original still to be sent by our social worker. We are waiting on these items. Too, we have to let our family coordinator at America World Adoption look over our notarized forms to make sure they are okay before sending all the information to Raleigh. Hopefully, this will all come together sometime next week.
We really appreciate your continued prayers. We trust the Lord's timing in all aspects of the adoption.
Blessings,
Kim, Craig, Taylor, and Leah
There are a few papers in our Home Study that have to be re-done or another original still to be sent by our social worker. We are waiting on these items. Too, we have to let our family coordinator at America World Adoption look over our notarized forms to make sure they are okay before sending all the information to Raleigh. Hopefully, this will all come together sometime next week.
We really appreciate your continued prayers. We trust the Lord's timing in all aspects of the adoption.
Blessings,
Kim, Craig, Taylor, and Leah
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