We are very excited & thankful that we are making progress in the Haitian Government with our adoption of Jimmy & Johnny. A few weeks ago we found out that our need for a dispensation (extra step of approval because we have a biological child) has been approved and we are now exiting IBESR (Haitian Social services) & are onto the final steps of bringing our boys home. We have been told that timeline will take approximately 4-6 months. That is great news but we are praying for much sooner!!! It is rather difficult for me to explain the process and timeline of adopting from Haiti; I found an outline of the process we have gone through thus far. We are onto Step 3!!!!!! Can't wait for all of you to meet our sweet boys!
Thank you for your prayers & support,
Joe, Jen, JoJo, Joey, Jada, Jimmy, Johnny & Judy
STEP ONE – DOSSIER PREPARATION
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Complete your home study
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File your I-600A with U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services. When you file your I-600A, you will also
schedule an appointment to be fingerprinted at the nearest USCIS office.
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Compile your dossier
according to the provided list and samples. Please make sure any notaries you
use follow your state’s notary requirements exactly. For an explanation of what
must be included on a notary statement, contact your state’s Secretary of State
office.
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Have all documents certified
by your state’s Secretary of State office. They will put a one-page cover sheet
on each document certifying that the notary is legal.
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Send a copy of your dossier
to the Children of the World office to have Lynde Langdon look over it before
it is translated into French.
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Have your dossier translated
into French, including the certification letters from the Secretary of State.
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Send portions of your dossier
to the Haitian consulate in Chicago to have them authenticated.
When
your dossier is complete, each document required should have the following:
Notarized original in English, certification letter in English, French
translation of original and certification letter. The Haitian consulate will
put an authentication stamp on the documents that require authentication.
Once
your dossier is received, you will be matched with a child and receive a
referral letter. You may decline a referral; if you do so, another attempt to
match you with a child will be made. You must sign the referral letter and
return it before your dossier will be submitted in Haiti.
STEP TWO – HAITIAN ADOPTION
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Travel to Haiti to appear in
court, deliver your dossier and file your I-600 at the U.S. Embassy. You must
have an approved I-171H from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services before
travel.
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Dossier completion on the
child: Our Haitian attorney compiles the necessary paperwork for your child to
begin the adoption process.
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First legalization: The
courts must give the attorney approval to pursue the adoption.
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IBESR: The Institut du Bien
Etre Social et de Recherches, the Haitian social services agency, must approve
the adoption. If you do not meet the requirements of Haitian law, IBESR must
receive a Presidential Dispensation before it can approve your adoption. This
can take a year or longer.
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Courts/Parquet: The Haitian courts approve the
adoption and issue the final adoption decree. There are a series of legalizations and hearings before the
adoption decree can be issued.
STEP THREE – IMMIGRATION
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Haitian attorney applies for a Haitian Passport for the child
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Haitian attorney takes child’s birthparents to the Embassy for
interview with U.S. immigration officials.
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After the passport is received, attorney delivers the dossier to
the U.S. Embassy and the child must go for medical appointments with an Embassy-approved
physician.
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U.S. Embassy schedules a visa appointment for your child.
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Travel to Haiti to complete visa appointment and bring your child
home!
