Processes

To allow everyone to better understand how this process works, I'll attempt an explanation of the paperwork to this point.

After signing, notarizing, paying and returning our contract to our agency, we received an acceptance letter and instructions to find a home study agency (a list was provided). We contacted a home study agency in Danville, Kentucky. Our social worker (home study) sent us an application, we returned it with a fee, requested a lot of paperwork and set up a meeting with her (Afternoon off work #1). She interviewed us in her office and set up a meeting with us at our house for a Monday evening. She came into our house interviewed us individually, and then together and then did a brief (1 minute) tour of the house. She wrote up here findings (a six page document that is our life's history; all but ready for A and E's Biography show).

Documents required for Home Study and Dossier:

Home study agency's license

Home Study Report

Copy of birth certificate-wife

Copy of birth certificate-husband

Copy of marriage license

Copy of Federal and State tax returns-past 3 years

Statement from bank stating how long you have been a customer, that you are in good standing and the current balance in savings and/or checking accounts

Letter from employers stating job title, length of employment, salary and probability of continued employment

Three letters of recommendation

Copy of city water bill

Medical forms for each adoptive parent

State Police criminal check

Child/Spouse abuse registry check

Residential History Form (citing all residences for past 10 years)

Local Police Clearance

FBI Clearance

All of the above as well as a few more forms and the final copy of the Home Study Report must all be individually notarized. We then take the notarized documents to the county clerk in the county in which the notary was registered for certification. Upon certification, I take the certified and notarized documents to the Kentucky Secretary of State's office to be Apostilled (stating that both the county certification and the notary are valid).

After this is done, AND we receive our approval (I-71H) from immigration, our dossier (the above documents) is sent to be translated into Russian (not the official language of Kazakhstan which is Kazakh, but the official business language of Kazakhstan; who knew?)

Once that happens, it's sent to the Kazakhstan Embassy in New York, New York (the city so nice, they named it twice) for approval by the Kazakh Embassy. Then it's off to Astana, KZ to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval. Then on to the Ministry of Education who will send us a letter of invitation to travel to Kazakhstan (we'll have a couple of weeks to pack, get the proper Kazakh Visa's for our passport) and we'll leave for a couple of months and go pick up our child.

We've heard it over and over again, but you never believe this stuff when its not you. This is all God's time and it all happens at his pace. It's different for everyone. Another oft told truth is the feeling that you aren't waiting to adopt a child, you are waiting to get the child that is already yours, but just waiting far away to come home. We aren't (contrary to some perceptions) going to rescue a child, we are traveling to pick up OUR child.