When God closes a door, He opens a window.....At least that's what Mark and I keep trying to remember this week. Masha was scheduled to arrive in Denver last Saturday night, and then fly home to us for a two week visit on Sunday. Unfortunately, due to some communication challenges, Masha and two other children were left off the visa list and were unable to travel.
We have learned that the kids knew much earlier than we did, and that they were told that their parents would be coming to Ukraine soon to bring them home...So the rug wasn't pulled out from under them. We were very comforted to know that this was only an issue of managing our own disappointment and not the kids'.
We also got the opportunity to speak briefly to a representative of Masha's orphanage on the phone a couple of days ago. While the conversation was short, it was very encouraging. She told us that Masha is healthy, happy, and can't wait for us to come for her. Masha has been receiving the packages that we've been sending, and she is doing great in school. We are encouraged by this news!
We also will have the opportunity to host the orphanage's Director and the woman we spoke with (a worker at the orphanage and also a translator for the group currently in Denver) for lunch next Tuesday in our home. The Director and translator are coming to Indiana for a couple of days to meet with the families that hosted children during last summer's program. It will give her a chance to meet us all first-hand, and to see the environments that the children she's cared for will soon call home. We hope she approves of us!!!
In the meantime, we wait. And wait. And wait. We are still waiting to hear that our dossier has been accepted by the Ukrainian adoption authority and to be granted an invitation to come to Ukraine to adopt Masha. Our dossier was submitted on or around 7 February, and the 20-day waiting period was up early last week. So far, our facilitators in Ukraine have not been able to get any information about our appointment, but parents in the group that had documents submitted in mid-January have begun to receive invitation letters. We watch the mail pretty closely these days!!!!
We appreciate all of your prayers and positive thoughts.....they mean the world to us, as do all of you!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
The One Sure Thing
So we're learning that the only sure thing in a Ukrainian adoption is that nothing is a sure thing!
In the past couple of weeks, we have seen some major changes to our expectations. At the time of our last posting, we knew that our dossier was in the hands of our facilitator in Ukraine, but that there were some roadblocks at the SDA (the Ukrainian Adoption Ministry). We had no idea when our dossier would be submitted, and we feared that it might be summer before we would be invited to travel to Ukraine for the adoption. Given the uncertainty, we leaped at the chance to include Masha in a hosting program this March.
Shortly after this, we learned that one of the families in our group whose dossier was submitted in mid-January had received an invitation to travel to Ukraine in late March! This was great news, but we were afraid to pin our hopes on the timing for just one family...each family's situation is very different from the next. Furthermore, we still had no idea when our dossier would be submitted.
About a week ago, we learned that our facilitator submitted our dossier at the SDA on 7 February. Although the SDA has 4 weeks to review our documents, register our dossier, and provide a travel date, it appears that they just might be moving a little faster. We are now hoping to hear from the SDA in the next couple of weeks, and thinking we might be invited to travel in late April or early May.
Of course, this led us to rethink Masha's upcoming trip. The kids should be returning to Ukraine the first week of April. It didn't seem to make much sense to put her through some 80 hours of travel time, if we're likely to be travelling just a few weeks after. It's like, "Bye-bye, sweetheart! See you next week!!"
After much prayerful consideration, we were about 95% sure we wanted to cancel when we received another email this past Friday. Our facilitators had made some additional inquiries and found that dropping Masha from the list for the March hosting program might not be looked upon favorably by the authorities at the SDA. Of course, this is another topic altogether that I might someday attempt to explain (if I ever figure it out myself). In the end, we have accepted that our facilitators have a much better grasp on the politics at play than we do. If they recommend green-lighting Masha's trip, then we had better listen.
Bottom line: We get to see Masha in four weeks!!
We still don't know for sure about the timing of our trip to Ukraine for the actual adoption, but we suspect/hope/pray that it will be soon after she goes back. It sure can't be soon enough for us!
In the past couple of weeks, we have seen some major changes to our expectations. At the time of our last posting, we knew that our dossier was in the hands of our facilitator in Ukraine, but that there were some roadblocks at the SDA (the Ukrainian Adoption Ministry). We had no idea when our dossier would be submitted, and we feared that it might be summer before we would be invited to travel to Ukraine for the adoption. Given the uncertainty, we leaped at the chance to include Masha in a hosting program this March.
Shortly after this, we learned that one of the families in our group whose dossier was submitted in mid-January had received an invitation to travel to Ukraine in late March! This was great news, but we were afraid to pin our hopes on the timing for just one family...each family's situation is very different from the next. Furthermore, we still had no idea when our dossier would be submitted.
About a week ago, we learned that our facilitator submitted our dossier at the SDA on 7 February. Although the SDA has 4 weeks to review our documents, register our dossier, and provide a travel date, it appears that they just might be moving a little faster. We are now hoping to hear from the SDA in the next couple of weeks, and thinking we might be invited to travel in late April or early May.
Of course, this led us to rethink Masha's upcoming trip. The kids should be returning to Ukraine the first week of April. It didn't seem to make much sense to put her through some 80 hours of travel time, if we're likely to be travelling just a few weeks after. It's like, "Bye-bye, sweetheart! See you next week!!"
After much prayerful consideration, we were about 95% sure we wanted to cancel when we received another email this past Friday. Our facilitators had made some additional inquiries and found that dropping Masha from the list for the March hosting program might not be looked upon favorably by the authorities at the SDA. Of course, this is another topic altogether that I might someday attempt to explain (if I ever figure it out myself). In the end, we have accepted that our facilitators have a much better grasp on the politics at play than we do. If they recommend green-lighting Masha's trip, then we had better listen.
Bottom line: We get to see Masha in four weeks!!
We still don't know for sure about the timing of our trip to Ukraine for the actual adoption, but we suspect/hope/pray that it will be soon after she goes back. It sure can't be soon enough for us!
Friday, February 02, 2007
Countdown!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some of you may have heard the good news by now; a couple of weeks ago, we learned that Masha had an opportunity to come back to America for a couple of weeks in late March for another hosting program. Since we are still very uncertain about when we might be able to travel to Ukraine, we leapt at the opportunity to bring her here, even for a short time.
The tentative date for her arrival is 17 March, and I've added a countdown clock at the top. We will be very busy planning her visit, and we're getting crazy excited to see her again!!! We won't have a day camp this time, but I suspect that we'll still find plenty to keep us all busy during her stay, including a lot of English lessons, games, and trips to the YMCA pool! In addition, one of her friends from the program last summer is also coming back, so I'm certain that we'll be doing a lot together too.
The rest of the kids participating in this spring's program are headed to Colorado for a great US experience!! As of today, there are still some kids that are unmatched with host families; anyone in the Denver area interested in hosting can find information here.
The tentative date for her arrival is 17 March, and I've added a countdown clock at the top. We will be very busy planning her visit, and we're getting crazy excited to see her again!!! We won't have a day camp this time, but I suspect that we'll still find plenty to keep us all busy during her stay, including a lot of English lessons, games, and trips to the YMCA pool! In addition, one of her friends from the program last summer is also coming back, so I'm certain that we'll be doing a lot together too.
The rest of the kids participating in this spring's program are headed to Colorado for a great US experience!! As of today, there are still some kids that are unmatched with host families; anyone in the Denver area interested in hosting can find information here.
What's in a name????
You guys are full of questions! In particular, a number of you have asked about the name Masha, and why we sometimes call her Mariya, but more often Masha. I wish there was a really clever story behind it (maybe you all can help us invent one??), but really, the answer is pretty simple. Just as many names in the English language have common nicknames, so do many names in Russian. Where an American named Robert might go by Bob or Bobby, a Russian (or Ukranian) named Mariya is often called Masha. Not all names have a nickname, but many do…and just as in English, some are straightforward, and some make no sense at all!!
When adopting from overseas, many parents change their children's names when they bring them back to America. For most, it's a matter of practicality; some of these names are very difficult to spell and pronounce, and would likely cause great difficulty for the kids in school. When older children are adopted, many want to change their name as a "fresh start."
We think that Mariya is a beautiful name, and since it's pronounced "Maria," it's a common enough English name that she wouldn't have any real problems. Further, "Mary" is a name common to my family, so we aren't in a hurry to change her name. We will talk to her about it, however, and if she wants to change her name when she comes to America, we will consider it. If she chooses to not change it, we will introduce her as Mariya, but will probably still call her Masha at home (just like my parents still often call me Chris - and don't ANYONE else get any ideas!!!).
When adopting from overseas, many parents change their children's names when they bring them back to America. For most, it's a matter of practicality; some of these names are very difficult to spell and pronounce, and would likely cause great difficulty for the kids in school. When older children are adopted, many want to change their name as a "fresh start."
We think that Mariya is a beautiful name, and since it's pronounced "Maria," it's a common enough English name that she wouldn't have any real problems. Further, "Mary" is a name common to my family, so we aren't in a hurry to change her name. We will talk to her about it, however, and if she wants to change her name when she comes to America, we will consider it. If she chooses to not change it, we will introduce her as Mariya, but will probably still call her Masha at home (just like my parents still often call me Chris - and don't ANYONE else get any ideas!!!).
Monday, January 01, 2007
The Foreign Adoption Process
People often hear about celebrities adopting foreign children, and it seems like they swoop into a country, see a child, take them home, and that’s that...There is actually much more to the story than that, despite media portrayals.
For those who have never experienced adoption firsthand, it seems like an infinite stream of papers and approvals and corrections and re-approvals. Each new document feels like a new obstacle, but it helps to understand that many of these requirements are intended to protect the children.
The Homestudy
(Began 30 August, completed 23 September)
Any adoption, domestic or foreign, requires that a social worker licensed by your home state conduct an evaluation of prospective parents and their home environment. When we first heard this, we envisioned some underpaid, miserable, pinched-nosed person whose primary goal in life was to keep us away from out child.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. While one of their roles is to weed out the psychos, their real job is to talk with us, understand our motivation to adopt, and to make sure we have realistic expectations of the process and of the challenges with being an adoptive parent. In short, they are in place to partner with us to ensure that the adoption is successful.
One of the first decision that prospective adoptive parents make is to select the homestudy agency. Each agency does things a little differently within the confines of the requirements from the state, the US government, and the government of the country from which you adopt. Several factors went into our choice, including turnaround time and cost, but our main decision was based on the recommendation of the organizers of the hosting program.
Once we selected our agency, we received a pretty hefty packet of forms to complete and documents to provide them in order to complete the report. We had to write an autobiography AND complete a 10-page questionnaire, as well as provide financial information, medical forms, birth certificates, etc. This batch of forms and information was only for our agency’s use in preparing the final report.
We were very happy with our social worker, Vicki Allen. She was very quick, thorough, and so kind and helpful to us. Even though she’s based in Indianapolis, she arranged a trip to Fort Wayne just for us (we did reimburse her mileage in addition to the homestudy fee). I would recommend her to anyone needing an Indiana homestudy!
USCIS Approval
(Began 1 September, Submitted 23 September, Fingerprinting 9 November, Approval received 30 December)
The next step in the process was submission of an I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, to the United Stated Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Services, or INS). Seems that the creation of the Department of Homeland Security prompted a renaming of this department!
So….we hopped online, downloaded the form, filled it out incorrectly, had it corrected by our facilitator, sent it in with a nice little check and a thousand supplemental documents (at least they accepted photocopies!), got it back asking for certified check or money order, corrected that, sent it in again, and then waited. After about three weeks, we received a letter in the mail, kindly inviting us to appear at the Indianapolis office of CIS to get fingerprinted by Homeland Security for an FBI background check.
After fingerprinting, we waited and waited and waited and waited. When I finally lost patience and called to followup, I learned that the woman at CIS who process all the adoption applications had a family emergency and took off to the Phillipenes for a couple of weeks right before the holidays. She approved our application the day after she returned, and we got it in the mail just before the New Year’s holiday!
The Dossier
(began collecting docs 15 September, Documents sent for translation 28 December, Submission to Ukraine pending)
Once our homestudy was completed, we set to the task of collecting all the other documents required by the Ukranian government to apply to adopt a Ukranian citizen. These documents are collectively known as the Dossier.
We had to complete a form requesting the adoption of a generic child, and another requesting the specific adoption of Masha. We had to commit to maintain Masha’s Ukranian citizenship until her 18th birthday, and to submit regular post-placement reports so they can feel confident that she’s safe and doing well.
We also had to provide a pile of additional documentation such as a new report from each of our doctors (including new checkups and blood work), and copies of their medical licenses, certified copies of our marriage license, and a collection of family photos.
Once all these documents were collected, we had to have all of them apostilled, which is a certification process by the secretary of state, to authenticate that each notary that signed off on each of our documents was, in fact, registered as a notary. Then they attach another sheet of paper and a seal to each individual document, doubling the size of the pack!
During this phase, we discovered that one of our notaries had not signed her name exactly as it appeared in the notary register (and they were very particular about this tiny detail...SORRY and THANKS, Lori!!), and that another one had actually expired prior to the date she notarized our documents (the bank had gotten her a stamp with the incorrect expiration date). This resulted in another round of corrections and re-certifications. We finally got the last of the documents back in the mail on the 27th. We then made copies of the whole mess of paperwork (total of about 75 pages), and sent it off to Kiev on the 28th. It’s supposed to arrive there on Wednesday of this week, and we’ll be watching it closely!
The final document for our dossier, the approval from CIS, will be copied, notarized, and apostilled this week, and we should be able to send that to catch up with the rest of our package next week. Hopefully, our Dossier will be submitted to the Ukrainian adoption authority in late January or early February.
Once Ukraine accepts the dossier, it’s another waiting game—this time for an appointment to travel to Ukraine. They have a LOT of dossiers coming in, as they’ve not been accepting any new packages as they restructure their internal agency for children’s protective services. They opened up again in mid-December, and we have no idea at all how long the wait for an appointment will be. We have been told not to expect anything earlier than May, but we’re still praying for God to work on the situation and make things move along a little faster!!!
Unlike Russia, Ukraine only requires one trip, but it’s a long one. We will have to travel to the capital, Kiev, where were will receive our official “referral” to go to her city to meet with the orphanage, see Masha (finally!!), and go through the legal proceedings to adopt her in Ukraine. This should take a couple of weeks, and then there is a mandatory 10-day waiting period before the adoption is final and we can take her back to Kiev. There, we meet with the folks at the American embassy, process the final paperwork and come on back home!! We’ve been told to plan about a month in Ukraine, thought it could be longer.
Note: This entry is a description of the process to adopt an orphan from Ukraine as we understand it today. Processes for different countries vary widely and change often, and this should not be taken as advice or guidance to take the place of someone who actually knows what they are doing! If you are considering adoption, either domestic or international, please seek the advice of appropriate agencies, facilitators, attorneys, AND parents who have already been there! Every one of them will have valuable information to share…..
For those who have never experienced adoption firsthand, it seems like an infinite stream of papers and approvals and corrections and re-approvals. Each new document feels like a new obstacle, but it helps to understand that many of these requirements are intended to protect the children.
The Homestudy
(Began 30 August, completed 23 September)
Any adoption, domestic or foreign, requires that a social worker licensed by your home state conduct an evaluation of prospective parents and their home environment. When we first heard this, we envisioned some underpaid, miserable, pinched-nosed person whose primary goal in life was to keep us away from out child.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. While one of their roles is to weed out the psychos, their real job is to talk with us, understand our motivation to adopt, and to make sure we have realistic expectations of the process and of the challenges with being an adoptive parent. In short, they are in place to partner with us to ensure that the adoption is successful.
One of the first decision that prospective adoptive parents make is to select the homestudy agency. Each agency does things a little differently within the confines of the requirements from the state, the US government, and the government of the country from which you adopt. Several factors went into our choice, including turnaround time and cost, but our main decision was based on the recommendation of the organizers of the hosting program.
Once we selected our agency, we received a pretty hefty packet of forms to complete and documents to provide them in order to complete the report. We had to write an autobiography AND complete a 10-page questionnaire, as well as provide financial information, medical forms, birth certificates, etc. This batch of forms and information was only for our agency’s use in preparing the final report.
We were very happy with our social worker, Vicki Allen. She was very quick, thorough, and so kind and helpful to us. Even though she’s based in Indianapolis, she arranged a trip to Fort Wayne just for us (we did reimburse her mileage in addition to the homestudy fee). I would recommend her to anyone needing an Indiana homestudy!
USCIS Approval
(Began 1 September, Submitted 23 September, Fingerprinting 9 November, Approval received 30 December)
The next step in the process was submission of an I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, to the United Stated Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly Immigration and Naturalization Services, or INS). Seems that the creation of the Department of Homeland Security prompted a renaming of this department!
So….we hopped online, downloaded the form, filled it out incorrectly, had it corrected by our facilitator, sent it in with a nice little check and a thousand supplemental documents (at least they accepted photocopies!), got it back asking for certified check or money order, corrected that, sent it in again, and then waited. After about three weeks, we received a letter in the mail, kindly inviting us to appear at the Indianapolis office of CIS to get fingerprinted by Homeland Security for an FBI background check.
After fingerprinting, we waited and waited and waited and waited. When I finally lost patience and called to followup, I learned that the woman at CIS who process all the adoption applications had a family emergency and took off to the Phillipenes for a couple of weeks right before the holidays. She approved our application the day after she returned, and we got it in the mail just before the New Year’s holiday!
The Dossier
(began collecting docs 15 September, Documents sent for translation 28 December, Submission to Ukraine pending)
Once our homestudy was completed, we set to the task of collecting all the other documents required by the Ukranian government to apply to adopt a Ukranian citizen. These documents are collectively known as the Dossier.
We had to complete a form requesting the adoption of a generic child, and another requesting the specific adoption of Masha. We had to commit to maintain Masha’s Ukranian citizenship until her 18th birthday, and to submit regular post-placement reports so they can feel confident that she’s safe and doing well.
We also had to provide a pile of additional documentation such as a new report from each of our doctors (including new checkups and blood work), and copies of their medical licenses, certified copies of our marriage license, and a collection of family photos.
Once all these documents were collected, we had to have all of them apostilled, which is a certification process by the secretary of state, to authenticate that each notary that signed off on each of our documents was, in fact, registered as a notary. Then they attach another sheet of paper and a seal to each individual document, doubling the size of the pack!
During this phase, we discovered that one of our notaries had not signed her name exactly as it appeared in the notary register (and they were very particular about this tiny detail...SORRY and THANKS, Lori!!), and that another one had actually expired prior to the date she notarized our documents (the bank had gotten her a stamp with the incorrect expiration date). This resulted in another round of corrections and re-certifications. We finally got the last of the documents back in the mail on the 27th. We then made copies of the whole mess of paperwork (total of about 75 pages), and sent it off to Kiev on the 28th. It’s supposed to arrive there on Wednesday of this week, and we’ll be watching it closely!
The final document for our dossier, the approval from CIS, will be copied, notarized, and apostilled this week, and we should be able to send that to catch up with the rest of our package next week. Hopefully, our Dossier will be submitted to the Ukrainian adoption authority in late January or early February.
Once Ukraine accepts the dossier, it’s another waiting game—this time for an appointment to travel to Ukraine. They have a LOT of dossiers coming in, as they’ve not been accepting any new packages as they restructure their internal agency for children’s protective services. They opened up again in mid-December, and we have no idea at all how long the wait for an appointment will be. We have been told not to expect anything earlier than May, but we’re still praying for God to work on the situation and make things move along a little faster!!!
Unlike Russia, Ukraine only requires one trip, but it’s a long one. We will have to travel to the capital, Kiev, where were will receive our official “referral” to go to her city to meet with the orphanage, see Masha (finally!!), and go through the legal proceedings to adopt her in Ukraine. This should take a couple of weeks, and then there is a mandatory 10-day waiting period before the adoption is final and we can take her back to Kiev. There, we meet with the folks at the American embassy, process the final paperwork and come on back home!! We’ve been told to plan about a month in Ukraine, thought it could be longer.
Note: This entry is a description of the process to adopt an orphan from Ukraine as we understand it today. Processes for different countries vary widely and change often, and this should not be taken as advice or guidance to take the place of someone who actually knows what they are doing! If you are considering adoption, either domestic or international, please seek the advice of appropriate agencies, facilitators, attorneys, AND parents who have already been there! Every one of them will have valuable information to share…..
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