Saturday, November 05, 2005

Daunting Dossier

Spent a good part of Saturday working on our China Dossier. We won't be able to complete it until we get our approval from immigration but my plan is to get everything else done and then pay top dollar to get the final form from immigration expedited through the authentication process. I'm prepared to hand carry that baby to Austin and Houston if I have to. I've created a spreadsheet to keep track of each document and where it is in the authtication process. If anyone cares, here are the documents that make up a China Dossier:

1. Letter of Intent - one page letter explaining why we want to adopt from China and that we will never abandon or abuse her.
2. Certified copy of our Marriage Certificate
3. Certified copies of our Birth Certificates
4. Medical forms from our doctors stating that we have been tested for every horrible disease and we are in good physical and mental condition. (Believe me, this dossier is testing my mental condition.)
5. Financial Statement listing our assets and liabilities
6. Letters from our employers stating our salary and that we are an "employee in good standing"
7. Completed homestudy
8. I-171H form from immigration approving us to bring the child into the country. (aka "The Golden Ticket")
9. Local Police clearances for both of us - Just in case something escapes the state clearance and the FBI fingerprints that are also done - Jeez.
10. Photocopies of Signed Passports
11.Extra passport photos
12. Set of 6 photos of us and our home.

With the exception of the homestudy and the I-171H, everything has been obtained and notarized. That was the easy part. Besides being notarized, everything also has to be authenticated by the Secretary of State and the Chinese Consulate. Depending on where the document was notarized, a county clerk authentication may also be needed. We have documents from Georgia, Mississippi and Texas so there are three authentication procedures that have to be navigated.

And to think that my definition of "paperwork" used to be an expense report and weekly status report. HA!!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My son and daughter-in-law are in the early stages of adopting in China. They started March 2007 and still don't have their golden ticket. I learned what that finally is from your blog. Thank you! All of their paperwork is done, but still waiting for the golden ticket. I'm told it will be 2 or more years from their LID, which will not be until next year! I'm not getting any younger, I'm 60 and still not a grandmother. I hope I live long enough to see it happen! Good Luck to you and your family.