Sorry for the lack of posts lately! You will be glad to know you haven't missed anything, but stay tuned...
Hopefully I'll have more to post tomorrow :)
Monday, May 4, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Almost Waiting
We have been fingerprinted a total of 3 times now! Well, actually I've been printed 4 times because one of the cards came back unreadable after 5 weeks of waiting for clearance. This time (Monday) at the USCIS office we were fingerprinted digitally, which was really quite fascinating and hopefully will result in better prints. Although several of my fingers had to be redone numerous times.
Besides getting our fingerprints on Monday we went to the Secretary of State to have 14 of our documents authenticated. Authenticated means that the Secretary of State acknowledges that the notary who notarized the document is indeed a notary with an active commission. Wouldn't you know it, 4 of the documents had problems! The notaries had written their commission expiration wrong. All I can say is it's a good thing we did a trial run before we are in a hurry to get things done. We will go back to get the remaining documents authenticated once we receive the I-171H.
I don't have an accurate time estimate to receive the I-171H (immigration approval), but I'd like to say it should be around a month, give or take a bit. In the meantime we are busy tying up loose ends with our dossier. It's mostly complete. Besides the I-171H, we have to finish writing our letter to the Ethiopian officials stating why we want to adopt a child from Ethiopia. Every time I start this letter my mind goes blank and I have no idea where to even start. I have started writing this letter so many times. It is such an important thing and I don't want to mess it up. I've had since July to think about it and now it's really the last piece we need to finish.
Besides getting our fingerprints on Monday we went to the Secretary of State to have 14 of our documents authenticated. Authenticated means that the Secretary of State acknowledges that the notary who notarized the document is indeed a notary with an active commission. Wouldn't you know it, 4 of the documents had problems! The notaries had written their commission expiration wrong. All I can say is it's a good thing we did a trial run before we are in a hurry to get things done. We will go back to get the remaining documents authenticated once we receive the I-171H.
I don't have an accurate time estimate to receive the I-171H (immigration approval), but I'd like to say it should be around a month, give or take a bit. In the meantime we are busy tying up loose ends with our dossier. It's mostly complete. Besides the I-171H, we have to finish writing our letter to the Ethiopian officials stating why we want to adopt a child from Ethiopia. Every time I start this letter my mind goes blank and I have no idea where to even start. I have started writing this letter so many times. It is such an important thing and I don't want to mess it up. I've had since July to think about it and now it's really the last piece we need to finish.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Fingerprint Appointment
Wow that was quick. We just received our immigration fingerprinting appointment! It's only two weeks away! This may move faster than I thought...
Sunday, March 15, 2009
What's next?
I've been asked by several people what comes next. We are currently waiting on our immigration approval (the I-171H) which should take three months or so. Our homestudy had to be corrected and resubmitted to immigration last week so that set us back once again. We are now waiting to get our fingerprinting appointment with USCIS. Hopefully we won't have any more setbacks in obtaining our approval.
After we receive the I-171H we will take all of our dossier documents to the Secretary of State to be authenticated. Our completed dossier will then be rushed to Gladney and from there it will be sent on to the U.S. Dept of State to be authenticated and then to the Ethiopia Embassy for the final authentication. From the Embassy it will be forwarded to Ethiopia. Finally at this point we will be put on a waiting list for a referral of a child. Any questions?
After we receive the I-171H we will take all of our dossier documents to the Secretary of State to be authenticated. Our completed dossier will then be rushed to Gladney and from there it will be sent on to the U.S. Dept of State to be authenticated and then to the Ethiopia Embassy for the final authentication. From the Embassy it will be forwarded to Ethiopia. Finally at this point we will be put on a waiting list for a referral of a child. Any questions?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Progress!
We are now officially Gladney approved! After what seems like forever, things are finally moving along. Homestudy done, I-600A complete, and Gladney approved!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Immigration Approval Here We Come!
Finally an update! Our homestudy has been approved and sent off to USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). That means our countdown to immigration approval begins. I stated in my second post that it could take up to six months; however, upon my most recent visit to the USCIS website I found out it is currently taking three months or less for processing times!! Yipee!!! Finally some good news. Now that the homestudy is finished, Gladney will look at our whole file and decide if we are officially approved to adopt through them. What a long process...
Speaking of long processes, in their monthly teleconference, Gladney stated the average wait for a referral is now 6.5 months, the timeframe to receive a court date is 1-3 months after referral, and then 12 weeks until the actual court date. Hopefully we will be on the waitlist for a referral in early June.
Speaking of long processes, in their monthly teleconference, Gladney stated the average wait for a referral is now 6.5 months, the timeframe to receive a court date is 1-3 months after referral, and then 12 weeks until the actual court date. Hopefully we will be on the waitlist for a referral in early June.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
AHOPE
AHOPE for Children is an organization that serves HIV positive orphans in Ethiopia. They have two children's homes in Addis Ababa that care for children that do not have family to care for them. Many of these children are now finding permanent homes through adoption. AHOPE also has a community outreach program that makes it possible for orphans to stay with their extended relatives and in their own communities by providing medical care, food, education, and more. Since we are adopting from Ethiopia, this issue is very close to our hearts. A t-shirt has been designed to bring awareness to this orphan crisis. Please join us. Your $10 donation for a shirt can feed a child at AHOPE for a week! The following is a post from the AHOPE blog:
There’s a movement growing. Everyday in the Western world someone’s eyes are opened to the orphan crisis that’s ravaging the developing countries. The problem seems so large and we seem so insignificant. We can make a difference though. By raising awareness we foster a community and as a community we can provide. We’re asking you to help us in creating that community.
World AIDS Orphan Day is May 7th. The AHOPE Store has developed a t-shirt to commemorate this day and the community of supporters that are growing year after year. Please join us in raising awareness. It’s simple. Order our newest t-shirt from the AHOPE Store for a $10 donation. (All proceeds go towards care of the children served by AHOPE.) Wear your shirt as often as possible, and especially on World AIDS Orphan Day. It will serve as a reminder to your community. It may even create a dialogue. That dialogue could open someone’s eyes. You might inspire them to do more, give more. We are asking you to join us in creating a community that is committed to orphan care.
After seeing what one little t-shirt can do you might be inspired yourself. If that’s the case be sure to check out the World AIDS Orphan Day website. Here you can find further information on this grassroots campaign and how to organize an event in your area. The campaign was founded by FXB International in 2002 and continues to grow year after year.
The new t-shirts images, designed by 13-year-old Isaiah, are shown below:
To order your shirt, please visit www.ahopestore.org. For orders of 20 or more please contact Marissa Baker at store@ahopeforchildren.org. Thank you very much for your support of AHOPE!
There’s a movement growing. Everyday in the Western world someone’s eyes are opened to the orphan crisis that’s ravaging the developing countries. The problem seems so large and we seem so insignificant. We can make a difference though. By raising awareness we foster a community and as a community we can provide. We’re asking you to help us in creating that community.
World AIDS Orphan Day is May 7th. The AHOPE Store has developed a t-shirt to commemorate this day and the community of supporters that are growing year after year. Please join us in raising awareness. It’s simple. Order our newest t-shirt from the AHOPE Store for a $10 donation. (All proceeds go towards care of the children served by AHOPE.) Wear your shirt as often as possible, and especially on World AIDS Orphan Day. It will serve as a reminder to your community. It may even create a dialogue. That dialogue could open someone’s eyes. You might inspire them to do more, give more. We are asking you to join us in creating a community that is committed to orphan care.
After seeing what one little t-shirt can do you might be inspired yourself. If that’s the case be sure to check out the World AIDS Orphan Day website. Here you can find further information on this grassroots campaign and how to organize an event in your area. The campaign was founded by FXB International in 2002 and continues to grow year after year.
The new t-shirts images, designed by 13-year-old Isaiah, are shown below:
To order your shirt, please visit www.ahopestore.org. For orders of 20 or more please contact Marissa Baker at store@ahopeforchildren.org. Thank you very much for your support of AHOPE!
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