The paperwork...., homestudies, dossiers, background checks...making it through the paper Options

[bibbo]

Dear Beth,

We are also working with Small Miracles. We are curious about the two trip process. How long was your first trip, and what did you do while in Guatemala? How long will the second trip be, and what will occur while you are there? We would enjoy hearing about the process from someone who is going through it. Any other pointers or tips you have to offer would be greatly appreciated.

Also, is the DNA testing conducted after the referral is made, after one accepts the referral, or prior to the referral being made to the prospective parent(s)?

Sincerely,

Kate

Sorry I never saw this message, and thuoght I should respond now if it's not too late. Guatemala does not require two trips, but I would recommend it if you can go. Taking two trips allows your child to come home with you as a citizen once he/she enters US soil. If there is only one trip my understanding is that you have to wait six months to apply and your child enters the country on a green card. Typically you are only able to spend 24-48 hours with your child on a first visit. You are supposed to stay at the hotel/hotel grounds and not travel with your child during that time. Our situation was a little different in that our son was being cared for in a group home that had a visiting parent suite where we were able to stay overnight for a couple days. What we did was travel to Guatemala City and spend the first tow days staying at the group home. Then we left and traveled through the country for six days. I'm not a big fan of Guatemala City itself (very loud, and not very pretty) but the country outside the city is unbelievably beautiful. We traveled through the highlands to a local market, toured Guatemala's first capital, Antigua and took a short flight to the Mayan ruins in Tikal. We also took in some nice sights in Guatemala City including a couple museums and the local zoo.

The second visit is the biggie! You recieve a date and time for your interview at the US Embassy (for us this involved a total of about 3 hours waiting and a couple times answering questions totaling 5 minutes max). You will want and need to plan to arrive the day before your Embassy appointment. The Embassy does not issue your child's visa until late afternoon on the day following your appointment and at that point the next realistic flights to the US are the following morning. That means you need to plan a second trip of 4 days/3 nights. My understanding is that if your appointment happens to fall on a Friday you will have to wait to recieve your visa on the following Monday. We took custody of our son within 3 hours of arriving in Guatemala. So lots of the time is spent being in shock, looking at your child in amazemnt, trying to figure out how in the world to feed, dress, diaper etc in a competent way and hoping you are up for all of it. It's amazing how soon everyone adjusts to each other. We were at a hotel with lots of other parents there for first visits and a couple for a Embassy date and it was great fun to compare notes, ooh and ahh over how adorable, sweet and special every one else's child was (then when you're back in your room you chuckle at your great fortune at having the most adorable, bright eyed, sweetest child of the entire bunch

I thinks some time frames have started to change a bit on adoption processing in Guatemala. When we started we were told that at most we would have 7 days advance notice of our Embassy date. Instead we had over 2 weeks. We found out that we recieved our PGN approval February 1st and our Embassy date was March 13th. We flew from home in Dallas to Miami and then to Guatemala City because we were able to arrive in Guatemala City earlier in the day. Coming back we flew directly to Dallas. I've been told that it's good to avoid Miami customs if you can.

As far as DNA testing, I think the timing depends on several factors. We accepted a referral in May and DNA test results were done by late July and we traveled in Auigust. If the birthmom is in a more remote area they may wait more time to plan the DNA testing at the same time as some interview and other paperwork requiremnets so she does not have to take two trips. Your agency can give you a better idea of what to expect.

Sorry again for the delayed reply, hope this is still of some help.

[salisba]

Dear Beth,

We are also working with Small Miracles. We are curious about the two trip process. How long was your first trip, and what did you do while in Guatemala? How long will the second trip be, and what will occur while you are there? We would enjoy hearing about the process from someone who is going through it. Any other pointers or tips you have to offer would be greatly appreciated.

Also, is the DNA testing conducted after the referral is made, after one accepts the referral, or prior to the referral being made to the prospective parent(s)?

Sincerely,

Kate

[bibbo]

We are waiting for our Embassy date to make our second trip to Guatemala and come home with our son. I would be happy to answer any questions about travel or paperwork. We have used Small Miracles and they have been very helpful on the paperwork part of the process. Feel free to email at bibbo30@aol.com. Good luck to everyone.

Beth

[Lysbeth]

Hello everyone. This is my first time doing this (adoption also). I have all my paperwork in one centralized area which is the piano bench. My husband and I have talked of the possibility of being able to bring home more that one. As far as having everything copied, I have a notarized copy of my home study from my agency. Also they said that they can give me a copy of whatever I need since 90% of my home study paperwork was not copied by me. Also, as far as getting doubles of birth certs. etc., there is a period of time (usually 1-1/2 years) that the papers are good for and expire as far as Guatemala is concerned. Hope that helps. We are adopting from Guatemala and have the home study done and just waiting for our drs. letter for our dossier then we are ready to wait..... I am so excited. Can't wait to start to get the room together once we get a referral. Please write with whatever.

Cindi

Hi Cindi ! Wow Congratulations on getting this far ! We are almost at the end of our home study process. Hey are you working with SMI. Can you tell me a little more about the dossier process and what documents you needed I feel kind of nervous thinking I will miss something. Any who we are planning to adopt a little boy! Hope you can stay in touch during each others journey. Good Luck & God Bless You. Hope to her from you soon Lstgo413@hotmail.com.

[guatbaby1]

Hello everyone. This is my first time doing this (adoption also). I have all my paperwork in one centralized area which is the piano bench. My husband and I have talked of the possibility of being able to bring home more that one. As far as having everything copied, I have a notarized copy of my home study from my agency. Also they said that they can give me a copy of whatever I need since 90% of my home study paperwork was not copied by me. Also, as far as getting doubles of birth certs. etc., there is a period of time (usually 1-1/2 years) that the papers are good for and expire as far as Guatemala is concerned. Hope that helps. We are adopting from Guatemala and have the home study done and just waiting for our drs. letter for our dossier then we are ready to wait..... I am so excited. Can't wait to start to get the room together once we get a referral. Please write with whatever.

Cindi

[Lysbeth]

I thought of the duplicate paperwork AFTER I had sent everything! I will remember the second time around!
Tracy

Hi, Tracy

My name is Lysbeth I am aslo in the process of adopting from Guatemala i just finished my home study! I am so excited since you are way head of the game can you give me some advice on the Dossier what documents did you need etc... I am also working with Small Miracles. Congratulations on your new baby and good luck on your trip.
My personal e-mail is lstgo413@hotmail.com. Would love to hear from you. [size="4"][/size]

[Lysbeth]

[quote name='Tracy' date='Jan 12 2007, 09:31 AM' post='50']
AS there really isn't a place to post this, I guess here is fine
I just found out that I can visit Guatemala to visit my baby girl, Alexandra. I would love to chat with anyone who has already made the trip. The big yahoo boards is filled with so many different agencies that I can't get a handle on what to expect. My agency, Small Miracles, is helpful, but... well you know how it is.
any hints our there?
Tracy

DOB: 8-27-06
Referral 9-19-06
DNA match 1-9-07


GOOD LUCK ON YOUR TRIP !

[Lysbeth]

I remembered some sage advice from an adoptive family at our very first information session on international adoption - before you begin, get a "crate" file (or some other portable file) because you will want everything in one place. Also, make duplicates of everything that you submit (including multiples of all those pesky notarized documents like marriage and birth certificates). In that family's particular situation, the "duplication" paid off as they discovered that the child they initially accepted had a sibling. Due to their organization, they were able to quickly submit a second application and bring both children home at the same time! In our case, having all of our information centralized and copies of our initial application on hand made our second adoption from Korea so much easier.

[Tracy]

AS there really isn't a place to post this, I guess here is fine
I just found out that I can visit Guatemala to visit my baby girl, Alexandra. I would love to chat with anyone who has already made the trip. The big yahoo boards is filled with so many different agencies that I can't get a handle on what to expect. My agency, Small Miracles, is helpful, but... well you know how it is.
any hints our there?
Tracy

DOB: 8-27-06
Referral 9-19-06
DNA match 1-9-07

[Tracy]

I thought of the duplicate paperwork AFTER I had sent everything! I will remember the second time around!
Tracy

[AJR]

Paperwork is a big part of the adoption process, and can be very time consuming, overwhelming, and requiring a lot of organization to keep everything straight. Share you experiences of the adoption process, and strategies for making it through the paperwork with your sanity and humor intact!

I remembered some sage advice from an adoptive family at our very first information session on international adoption - before you begin, get a "crate" file (or some other portable file) because you will want everything in one place. Also, make duplicates of everything that you submit (including multiples of all those pesky notarized documents like marriage and birth certificates). In that family's particular situation, the "duplication" paid off as they discovered that the child they initially accepted had a sibling. Due to their organization, they were able to quickly submit a second application and bring both children home at the same time! In our case, having all of our information centralized and copies of our initial application on hand made our second adoption from Korea so much easier.

[jenn@cradle.org]

Paperwork is a big part of the adoption process, and can be very time consuming, overwhelming, and requiring a lot of organization to keep everything straight. Share you experiences of the adoption process, and strategies for making it through the paperwork with your sanity and humor intact!