Thank you all for your encouragement and positive comments. We haven't dropped off the face of the planet, we've just been incredibly busy.
We are pushing forward on the Ukrainian adoption front. We've been running around getting everything updated. Our HS updated interview has been completed and we are now waiting to get the referrals and background checks back (yes, we had to redo all these). Our state background checks should be back within a couple of weeks. Our medicals have been redone for the third time. And on top of all this, I've been incredibly busy with work so time has been in very short supply. Unfortunately, I'm now out of town for this week on business and will have Virginia try and get some of the other stuff done, if she can get the time off work. I think all the time consuming items are taken care of and just have the local quick stuff to do (ie. marriage license, house deed, my statement of earnings, etc.).
I'm hoping to catch up on some blogging this week in the evenings. I'm actually at a remote mine site that connects only by satellite so I'll see how much I can actually catch up on. Then we are on vacation for the next two weeks so there won't be much I can do, adoption wise for the next three weeks. I guess there is no real good timing for anything, but I'll get it when it can.
We didn't realize how much we need this vacation. We haven't vacationed for the last two years expecting to travel when we adopt. Now that vacation is imminent, we are so ready. It will feel good to just get away. Though there are things that will still need to be done, we can't do them while away so we are just going to hold tight and (try) not to worry about them while sunning (burning) on the beach.
So for now, not much new news; just pushing forward with Ukraine. I hope to have some (good) news to report on my next post.
The other couple who went through the same ordeal we did has been notified that they were submitted on June 4th. Our prayers are with them that it all goes well this time around.
Cheers all and thanks again,
Chris and Virginia
Showing posts with label pretravel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pretravel. Show all posts
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Decision making time - Venting
Well, I wish I had received better news than this. We have a June 4th submission date. Wait a minute, didn't I tell you all our dossier was submitted in February. Well, that's what was told to our agency and that's what we were told. Now, the facilitator comes back today and says we have a this new date.
OK, so what's that problem, we now have a date. Well, our entire dossier will have to be redone because the last updates were in January. This means that I need to get an updated HS done, physicals done again along with lab tests, everything re-notarized and apostilled.
So again I say, what's the problem. Nevada apostilles take 7-10 working days but I can get them expedited. I've spent over $1K getting documents expedited and nothing to show for it. I would have to spend at least another $600 to get these expedited and could cost more depending on how long everything else takes.
So, I think that this could be possible if I dropped everything else. I run my own business and this week is filled with critical timing for my clients so now I have a further dilema, loose my clients and pursue the adoption (no way to now pay for it) or look at other options. I no longer trust our facilitator to get the job done so that leaves me with finding another facilitator who could submit us this year. I could let him submit it then try and change facilitators, but the atmosphere in Ukraine, I feel, is rather hostile right now to IA. This adoption is at the top of our priority list, but we still have to be reasonable about our decisions.
So tonight, Virginia and I are going to look at the options and decide. We may choose another country and cut our losses here. My heart has been in Ukraine for several years now, why I don't understand. Though it is still there, we may end up going to a different country. We may stay the route and see if we can get a later submission date. No matter what way we go, we will have to redo our complete dossier.
We need to take some time and decide what is the best possible way to go. This will be a hard decision. :( It seems that all I've been doing lately is venting but there is an upside. Virginia's brother and family are going to Mexico in June for a vacation. It's a wonderful place on the Carribean side that we've been to before and love. They've been hounding us to come along and we've been in limbo since we didn't know when we would be traveling. Well, it's now decided; we need a vacation and time away so we are going. We get to hang with a wonderful family and this should rejuvenate us for whatever is coming next.
OK, so what's that problem, we now have a date. Well, our entire dossier will have to be redone because the last updates were in January. This means that I need to get an updated HS done, physicals done again along with lab tests, everything re-notarized and apostilled.
So again I say, what's the problem. Nevada apostilles take 7-10 working days but I can get them expedited. I've spent over $1K getting documents expedited and nothing to show for it. I would have to spend at least another $600 to get these expedited and could cost more depending on how long everything else takes.
So, I think that this could be possible if I dropped everything else. I run my own business and this week is filled with critical timing for my clients so now I have a further dilema, loose my clients and pursue the adoption (no way to now pay for it) or look at other options. I no longer trust our facilitator to get the job done so that leaves me with finding another facilitator who could submit us this year. I could let him submit it then try and change facilitators, but the atmosphere in Ukraine, I feel, is rather hostile right now to IA. This adoption is at the top of our priority list, but we still have to be reasonable about our decisions.
So tonight, Virginia and I are going to look at the options and decide. We may choose another country and cut our losses here. My heart has been in Ukraine for several years now, why I don't understand. Though it is still there, we may end up going to a different country. We may stay the route and see if we can get a later submission date. No matter what way we go, we will have to redo our complete dossier.
We need to take some time and decide what is the best possible way to go. This will be a hard decision. :( It seems that all I've been doing lately is venting but there is an upside. Virginia's brother and family are going to Mexico in June for a vacation. It's a wonderful place on the Carribean side that we've been to before and love. They've been hounding us to come along and we've been in limbo since we didn't know when we would be traveling. Well, it's now decided; we need a vacation and time away so we are going. We get to hang with a wonderful family and this should rejuvenate us for whatever is coming next.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Nothing New
All quiet on the Eastern front. I checked in with our agency this week and they have nothing new. There are a few couples that have had their dossiers submitted around the same time and we are all still waiting for word. What's kinda funny here is that we're not stressing over this wait. We're both quite content to wait a short while for the appointment date. Things are crazy over there right now so waiting till things settle a bit might be for the good. Who knows?
We had a wonderful visit with Virginia's brother and family. Bill and Laura drove their 5 kids down from Portland, OR. over the Easter break. Bill had to go back to work so we let them borrow our Mustang and we used their urban assault vehicle (mini van) for the week. What a difference in driving between the two. They're great kids (4 girls and 1 boy) which made for a wonderful week of play for me and more work for Virginia (she enjoyed the visit too). The 11 hour drive back to Portland was uneventful except for a stomach bug that was going around the kids. I've come to realize that I have a stomach of steel since I had to wash out parts of the van during the trip.
We had a wonderful visit with Virginia's brother and family. Bill and Laura drove their 5 kids down from Portland, OR. over the Easter break. Bill had to go back to work so we let them borrow our Mustang and we used their urban assault vehicle (mini van) for the week. What a difference in driving between the two. They're great kids (4 girls and 1 boy) which made for a wonderful week of play for me and more work for Virginia (she enjoyed the visit too). The 11 hour drive back to Portland was uneventful except for a stomach bug that was going around the kids. I've come to realize that I have a stomach of steel since I had to wash out parts of the van during the trip.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Timeline & Problems
I've been watching the Ukraine adoption drama unfold for some time. Once I saw the SDA (Ukraine agency responsible for international adoptions) accepting new dossiers again in Dec '06, we decided to move forward with our adoption journey. We spent a bit of time on the Internet researching agencies and facilitators. We contacted a few and decided the best answer for us was an assisted independent adoption.
Once we decided on an agency and probable facilitator, it was time to get into action. It was now time to find out what all this "dossier" stuff was. From the list, it appeared the home study would take the longest. Unfortunately, my business had me traveling through March into April; so we applied April 10th for the home study. Two years ago, there were numerous agencies in Northern Nevada that did home studies; now only Washoe County performed these in our area. Our packet arrived and we started collecting all the required paperwork. We completed it in early June and was scheduled for the in-home interviews in July. Timing was still not a problem since they said the home study could be completed in about a month (early August). This didn't happen since it seems the background check got lost in the process. The home study wasn't delivered to the USCIS until September 4. A whole month was lost, OUCH!!
Going back in time just a little, we knew that we could submit our application for the I-600A to the USCIS (formerly the INS) before the HS (home study) was completed. The background check for the USCIS could take several weeks so we submitted our application on June 27th. We were hoping that the fingerprints for the background check would be taken while we waited for the HS; no such luck. I was informed by my agency that Ukraine's quota was filling up and we needed to speed the paperwork up and try and get it in by the end of Sept. I went to our local USCIS office to expedite our application. After filing paperwork explaining our situation, they let us get our fingerprints for the background check on the following Wednesday (12th) without an appointment.
On Monday (17th), Virginia contacted the FBI fingerprinting/background section and spoke to a real person. This person confirmed that the fingerprints were received on the 12th and the background check was returned to the USCIS on the 12th (same day). From what I've read, the FBI gives priority to adoption and arrest checks. Tuesday, I was in the USCIS office trying to find out what the holdup was. The front counter agents were always courteous and helpful, though I know they were tired of seeing my face 1-2 times a week. One of the ladies looked up our background checks and printed them out. She explained that our folder would be adjudicated which could take 2-3 days. After two more visits to the local office with no status change, I was notified by mail that there was a problem with the HS. It took over a week for me to receive the letter; more time lost. Time is running out and I'm not getting much cooperation from the USCIS.
The HS was fixed and resubmitted very quickly. Our SW with the county sympathized with us and did what she could to expedite the HS. I visited the local office again and requested to pick up the I-171H when completed in person to help speed the process. I was denied the request as it's not their normal procedure. It was time to kick up the pressure a notch or two. We contacted our Congressman's office and requested help in this matter. They contacted the local USCIS office on Monday morning; I received a call Monday afternoon that my I-171H was completed and I could pick it up on Tuesday morning.
Note: Thank you Amy for the Congressman's information and may God speed your journey to Guatemala for your daughter :).
I already had all the docs back from the agency so I could get them apostilled ASAP. After picking up my I-171H, I drove to Carson City to have the docs apostilled. Well, I couldn't afford a same day expedite on the docs so I opted for a 24 hr. expedite. I sent the docs via DHL which takes 3 days. Well, I had missed a single doc in the original dossier, so off to Carson City again to repeat the process. This time I did a 4 hr expedite. Once again, the workers pitied my poor soul and got it back to me within an hour. Back to Reno and on to DHL again. This doc only took 2 days (1.5 days actual time) to get delivered; that's service.
Note on Nevada apostille expedite fees. If you don't need expediting (7-10 business days), the cost is $20 for each document. A 24hr expedite is $75 for each different notary of which I had 7 plus the apostille fee of $20 for each doc. See how fast this adds up. The 4 hr. expedite is $125, 2 hr. expedite is $500 and a 1 hr. expedite is, hold on, $1000. Now, I've read plenty of posts about whether the additional costs to expedite docs in Ukraine are fees or bribes. Does it really matter when the results are the same. For me to expedite my files, I took precedence over the normal processing of apostilles which I paid dearly for. The lesson here is not to get yourself into a situation where you have to expedite docs. If you do, then expect to pay for the privilege of faster processing. Just a reality check here.
Once we decided on an agency and probable facilitator, it was time to get into action. It was now time to find out what all this "dossier" stuff was. From the list, it appeared the home study would take the longest. Unfortunately, my business had me traveling through March into April; so we applied April 10th for the home study. Two years ago, there were numerous agencies in Northern Nevada that did home studies; now only Washoe County performed these in our area. Our packet arrived and we started collecting all the required paperwork. We completed it in early June and was scheduled for the in-home interviews in July. Timing was still not a problem since they said the home study could be completed in about a month (early August). This didn't happen since it seems the background check got lost in the process. The home study wasn't delivered to the USCIS until September 4. A whole month was lost, OUCH!!
Going back in time just a little, we knew that we could submit our application for the I-600A to the USCIS (formerly the INS) before the HS (home study) was completed. The background check for the USCIS could take several weeks so we submitted our application on June 27th. We were hoping that the fingerprints for the background check would be taken while we waited for the HS; no such luck. I was informed by my agency that Ukraine's quota was filling up and we needed to speed the paperwork up and try and get it in by the end of Sept. I went to our local USCIS office to expedite our application. After filing paperwork explaining our situation, they let us get our fingerprints for the background check on the following Wednesday (12th) without an appointment.
On Monday (17th), Virginia contacted the FBI fingerprinting/background section and spoke to a real person. This person confirmed that the fingerprints were received on the 12th and the background check was returned to the USCIS on the 12th (same day). From what I've read, the FBI gives priority to adoption and arrest checks. Tuesday, I was in the USCIS office trying to find out what the holdup was. The front counter agents were always courteous and helpful, though I know they were tired of seeing my face 1-2 times a week. One of the ladies looked up our background checks and printed them out. She explained that our folder would be adjudicated which could take 2-3 days. After two more visits to the local office with no status change, I was notified by mail that there was a problem with the HS. It took over a week for me to receive the letter; more time lost. Time is running out and I'm not getting much cooperation from the USCIS.
The HS was fixed and resubmitted very quickly. Our SW with the county sympathized with us and did what she could to expedite the HS. I visited the local office again and requested to pick up the I-171H when completed in person to help speed the process. I was denied the request as it's not their normal procedure. It was time to kick up the pressure a notch or two. We contacted our Congressman's office and requested help in this matter. They contacted the local USCIS office on Monday morning; I received a call Monday afternoon that my I-171H was completed and I could pick it up on Tuesday morning.
Note: Thank you Amy for the Congressman's information and may God speed your journey to Guatemala for your daughter :).
I already had all the docs back from the agency so I could get them apostilled ASAP. After picking up my I-171H, I drove to Carson City to have the docs apostilled. Well, I couldn't afford a same day expedite on the docs so I opted for a 24 hr. expedite. I sent the docs via DHL which takes 3 days. Well, I had missed a single doc in the original dossier, so off to Carson City again to repeat the process. This time I did a 4 hr expedite. Once again, the workers pitied my poor soul and got it back to me within an hour. Back to Reno and on to DHL again. This doc only took 2 days (1.5 days actual time) to get delivered; that's service.
Note on Nevada apostille expedite fees. If you don't need expediting (7-10 business days), the cost is $20 for each document. A 24hr expedite is $75 for each different notary of which I had 7 plus the apostille fee of $20 for each doc. See how fast this adds up. The 4 hr. expedite is $125, 2 hr. expedite is $500 and a 1 hr. expedite is, hold on, $1000. Now, I've read plenty of posts about whether the additional costs to expedite docs in Ukraine are fees or bribes. Does it really matter when the results are the same. For me to expedite my files, I took precedence over the normal processing of apostilles which I paid dearly for. The lesson here is not to get yourself into a situation where you have to expedite docs. If you do, then expect to pay for the privilege of faster processing. Just a reality check here.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Costs
Costs will vary widely depending on who you use and what services are available in your area. I will not list costs for the agency and facilitator. Not only do these change with time and services provided, but it also varies between agencies and facilitators. This post will not be all inclusive but should give you an idea as to the general costs which depended upon our situation.
Home study conducted by Washoe County Child Protection Services. They were the only game in town. $3600 - Ouch!! The highest I've seen other than ours was $2000.
I-600A $755 which included fingerprints for 3 people.
Physicals and Lab Work were mostly covered by insurance (we got a break). $70
State Background Check $150 (for 3 people)
Apostille Docs $400 ($20 for each doc with a notary)
Expedite fee for apostilling docs (24hr) $570 (Time was critical)
DHL shipping (3 day) of docs $98 x 2 shippments = $196 total
Let's not forget the misc costs such as redecorating the rooms, travel to chase down docs, time off for appointments and doc chasing. Our costs for here are nearly over unless we need to redo some of the docs.
Costs still needing to be paid:
-Travel to and from Ukraine -- about 3-4 thousand
-Facilitator
-Living expenses in Ukraine -- don't have a clue
-Bills while we are gone and not earning any money -- way too much but we need a roof when we get back
Home study conducted by Washoe County Child Protection Services. They were the only game in town. $3600 - Ouch!! The highest I've seen other than ours was $2000.
I-600A $755 which included fingerprints for 3 people.
Physicals and Lab Work were mostly covered by insurance (we got a break). $70
State Background Check $150 (for 3 people)
Apostille Docs $400 ($20 for each doc with a notary)
Expedite fee for apostilling docs (24hr) $570 (Time was critical)
DHL shipping (3 day) of docs $98 x 2 shippments = $196 total
Let's not forget the misc costs such as redecorating the rooms, travel to chase down docs, time off for appointments and doc chasing. Our costs for here are nearly over unless we need to redo some of the docs.
Costs still needing to be paid:
-Travel to and from Ukraine -- about 3-4 thousand
-Facilitator
-Living expenses in Ukraine -- don't have a clue
-Bills while we are gone and not earning any money -- way too much but we need a roof when we get back
Monday, October 22, 2007
Preamble
Hopefully a short blurb on how we got to where we are.
We've been looking into adoption for quite some time. In 2001, we tried a local adoption which did not go through (county/state switching roles, lost paperwork, etc.). When we decided to go international,
There is a timeline along the right side which will lay out the events since we started this journey. We didn’t rush in the initial stages because we didn’t want to travel before September (due to SDA closures). The wait for our I-171H is what pushed our timeline beyond September.
We decided to go independent but use an agency (About A Child) for the dossier prep and overall help in getting this journey completed. We had some issues with the Home Study and other documents that has made this money well spent. The only agency conducting home studies located near us was Washoe County Child Protection Services (gov’t org). I’ve yet to see any HS cost as much as ours, but we didn’t have much of an option.
I want to thank many individuals who’ve donated their time and energy into helping with our adoption journey. Unfortunately, the open internet is not a good place to put up a lot of names so I’ll find another way to acknowledge them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)