We have a ton going on in our adoption process, but none of it is that exciting. I am working like mad on our dossier paperwork. For those unfamiliar with the international adoption process, the dossier is comprised of all of our birth certificates, marriage license, employment verifications, physicals, vaccination records, budgets, passports and several other things that I am forgetting at the moment. After I get certified copies of these documents, then they have to go back to the secretary of the state they came from and they have to be authenticated. Then all the docs have to be sent to a US consulate...... oh and they can't be just any US consulate or the same US Consulate. Each state is in a different US Consulate region, so Ohio docs have to go to one US Consulate, Georgia docs to another, etc. And every place you send something charges a small fee (generally $15-$20) plus the cost for sending it certified, receipt requested and sending a return envelope, receipt requested. Plus for the Consulates, you have to pay for a courier because they can't be mailed. They have to be walked in, in person. Then after ALL that, they have to be notarized and approved by the state of GA before our agency then approves them, translates them and sends them to China. It is incredibly overwhelming, but it is what it is and I am trying to work through it all as quickly as possible. I understand now why they say the dossier process can take up to 4-6 months. After we get all our docs through this process, then we apply for our 1-800A, which is the application to adopt a child from a Convention Country. When that is received and processed, we get our invitation to go downtown ATL and be fingerprinted. WOW, did you get all that? I can't believe that it is starting to make sense to me. :)
The good news though is that we have had all of our home study appointments and our home study has been tentatively approved, pending the receipt of all the required documents that are part of the dossier.
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