Continuing to feel really sappy . . .I can't help it! The leaves are starting to turn here and I realized that (MAYBE) when I see them again we will have our DAUGHTER home with us!
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Our home study is complete and was sent off to USCIS (Immigration) this week. That is the last piece of paperwork the government needs to approve our application to adopt internationally. The form we will receive is called the I171 and it is an important part of our dossier. We also received letters from our employer and Apostilled marriage licenses this week. I had some bloodwork done as well. The medical part seems complicated because we have to have some blood tests, then the doctor has to fill out the paperwork and we have to have it notarized in the office.
As anyone who has been through adoption will tell you, you can't expect a completely smooth process. We did hit a couple of glitches this week. I also sent my birth certificate to Indiana to get Apostilled and it was returned with a note attached explaining that they don't Apostille birth certificates issued by COUNTIES, only the STATE. My mother nicely picked up a stack of birth certificates for me this summer, yet they cannot be Apostilled. So, I had to request STATE birth certificates through vitalcheck.com. After all was said and done (express mail, birth certificates, and other mystery fees), we paid $43.45 for 2 Apostilled Indiana STATE birth certificates. I would have never seem this one coming, but as I wrote, not a huge deal. We received our letter from our mortgage company, but have to re-request that because the notary's license expires at the end of January. Ideally, they want any notary's license to be good for at least a year after s/he signs the document. This is tough to request - to have something notarized by someone whose notary does not expire for a year. And I realized that I need MORE bloodwork done for the medical exam. I have been to the doctor once a week for the last month or so. I think her nurse is getting tired of my messages!
One of the last pieces
Tomorrow I am going to the bank to get the reference letter from them. That is one of the last pieces of paper I have to request. Everything else is in the works.
So, we continue to eat that elephant one bite at a time . . . one bite.
3 comments:
Congrats! You are getting there. Its never easy. But worth it!
You are doing great!!! The longest thing for us was waiting on the I-171H. Our passports took 4 months. I thought that would hold us up, but we got our passports sooner than we did our I-171H. That was a LONG 5 weeks to wait when EVERYTHIGN else is done, and then you worry that your medical stuff will expire, etc.
I had a hard time with the mortgage letter. My mortgage company wouldn't say what I need it too, so I had a friend who owns a mortgage company write it for me.
We also had to find new doctors, as our doctor's licenses expired January 2008. That was a pain, but we got lucky and found a really nice Dr. who started new in the same office and his license expired Jan 2009. :) He also was an adoptive dad from China, so that was nice.
So, it's all turned in now, as we got our coveted i-171h last week after a LONG 5 WEEKS of waiting for it once our home study was turned in.
So, now we wait. :)
and find things to keep us busy in the meantime.
Hang in there- you'll get there! I remember it seemed like NO ONE wanted me to actually complete that dossier. It took our mortgage company three tries (and over a month and a half of time wasted) to get it right!
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