We reached a milestone in our adoption journey! As of a few days ago we have submitted all of our paperwork to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security! Once we receive their approval to adopt, we can officially let Bulgaria know of our intentions and send them our dossier (fancy name for packet of 1000 forms).
In my last post, I anticipated having the paperwork buttoned up by the end of January. As has happened many other times during this process, I wasn't aware of all of the steps. Here's the short list of what we have prepared for Bulgaria - this is separate from all of the home study documents that we provided in the Fall.
1. Passports
2. Marriage License (apostilled)
3. Divorce Decree (apostilled)
4. Original Home Study (notarized and apostilled)
5. Medical Letter for each of us, signed by our doctor (notarized and apostilled)
6. FBI Criminal Check (apostilled)
7. Parental Rights Letter (notarized and apostilled)
8. Power of Attorney (notarized and apostilled)
9. Ministry of Justice Application (notarized and apostilled)
10. Special Needs Checklist
11. Photos of our family and our home
12. I-800A Immigration approval from USCIS (apostilled)
An apostille is a method of certification whereby a document is sent to the state governing body and they verify the authenticity. So for example, we were married in South Carolina and I am providing an original marriage license. I had to send the license to the South Carolina government for them to attach a cover letter with gold seal verifying its authenticity. For anything notarized, I sent it to the state for them to verify that the notary is valid. It's a three step process for almost every document we have. And now I'm wondering how long you will keep reading if I keep discussing the process of an apostille.
Because of how hard we've worked, I do feel so accomplished being in the home stretch. Submitting our dossier to Bulgaria and knowing we are on the waiting list will be a reason to celebrate! We have been told to give the US government about 3 months to review everything and make a determination. We've been getting the question (and have been asking ourselves) what if the US government says no? I don't think they typically do that unless there is an issue with one of us as parents or as US citizens. We shall see. If, by June, we have everything to Bulgaria, I will be thrilled.
Otherwise, life goes on as normal. The kids pray for "Baby 3" every night before bed. Tonight Ellis was rearranging our refrigerator magnets and said he was putting one up high "so Baby 3 couldn't get to it." Oliver told him Baby 3 wouldn't be here for a few more days. I try to be as honest as I can with them, but grasping timelines is hard for a 3 and 4 year old.
Financially, we should have a longer runway to raise and save funds. We have enough to submit our forms to Bulgaria and won't have to pay the remainder until we receive a match with our child. We are hoping for 2021, but there's obviously no guarantee. We're still selling puzzles pieces (more info here), and we'll be opening up a fund to accept tax deductible donations. More info to come on that. I can also start applying for grants since our home study is complete, so life won't slow down anytime soon!
We continue to be so appreciative of the support, both emotionally and financially from all of you. You are an amazing group of friends and family, and Baby 3 will definitely feel the love!
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