Home Study Approved
We received word that our home study has been officially approved by our agency. The next step is to prepare our official dossier for India. This will include most of the forms from the "paper chase" phase as well as additional reference letters, forms from India, our home study and certified and authenticated documents.
We are offically on the waiting list! The last family who received a referral waited for sixteen months from this point. This could or could not be the case wtih us. It all just depends.
I have composed letters to the secretaries of the states of Texas, California and the US State Department. Since we have documents from the US State Department and the states of California and Texas, we must get our documents certified and authenticated by their respective secretaries. It sounds complicated, but it has been a matter of writing letters and sending documents with money orders. Our agency has provided explicit instructions and the addresses of the various government offices.
Our social worker told us the US State Department and the state of Texas certificates should clear in a couple of weeks. California takes considerably longer. While we are waiting on these forms, we have more financial forms to get notarized as well as powers of attorney and "bonds", which are Indian legal forms in which we promise to care for one of India's children.
Our agency also advised us to get numerous vaccinations for our trip, some of which require three shots at two month intervals. We are going to start on those next week.
Once we accept a referral, our dossier will be sent to India. It will take four to seven months for our papers to clear India's court system. At that point we will be able to travel to pick up our new addition!
While we are nearing the end of our paperwork responsibilities, the wait is far from over. We are one step closer though!
We are offically on the waiting list! The last family who received a referral waited for sixteen months from this point. This could or could not be the case wtih us. It all just depends.
I have composed letters to the secretaries of the states of Texas, California and the US State Department. Since we have documents from the US State Department and the states of California and Texas, we must get our documents certified and authenticated by their respective secretaries. It sounds complicated, but it has been a matter of writing letters and sending documents with money orders. Our agency has provided explicit instructions and the addresses of the various government offices.
Our social worker told us the US State Department and the state of Texas certificates should clear in a couple of weeks. California takes considerably longer. While we are waiting on these forms, we have more financial forms to get notarized as well as powers of attorney and "bonds", which are Indian legal forms in which we promise to care for one of India's children.
Our agency also advised us to get numerous vaccinations for our trip, some of which require three shots at two month intervals. We are going to start on those next week.
Once we accept a referral, our dossier will be sent to India. It will take four to seven months for our papers to clear India's court system. At that point we will be able to travel to pick up our new addition!
While we are nearing the end of our paperwork responsibilities, the wait is far from over. We are one step closer though!
posted by Mom to brown eyed kids | 4:00 PM
1 Comments:
Exciting, exciting, exciting!
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