The First Gate . . . Open! {#14}

WE GOT IT!!! 

That’s right, we got our pre-approval!  We made the official announcement to our families and then on Facebook last Friday after we got the good (amazing, awesome, fantastic) news.  I planned to get it onto here sooner than this, but Hubby’s birthday weekend followed by the busy start to the week followed by a flu bug took pretty much all of my energy.  But I’m mended and ready to start MOUNTAINS of paperwork.  And I couldn’t be happier!

Before I answer some of the questions that I’ve been fielding about where we go from here, let me just say . . . when God calls you to a path, follow it!  We were strongly encouraged to consider other options back in May and told that the odds were not in our favor.  We stepped out in faith that the Lord was calling us in a clear direction, and we needed to follow it until it ran its full (and not necessarily easy) course.  Already, His hand has been clearly seen in this process.  Funds available in the exact (and I mean, to the penny!) amount that we needed exactly when we needed them and a waiver that seemed insurmountable literally becoming non-relevant are only two (albeit the biggest) ways that we’ve felt the blessing of Heaven.

So now, the nitty-gritty.  Below is a brief summary of the adoption process from now until completion. [Time frames are of course estimates, although China is one of the smoothest international adoptions to complete.]

1. Dossier/Home Study
This part of the process takes approx. 2-4 months.

Now that we have pre-approval, we are beginning concurrently the dossier process (through our adoption agency, AAC) and the home study (through our California-based Hague-accredited agency). [Often, the adoption agency and the home study agency are the same, if the adoption agency is licensed in the state where you live . . . ours is not.]

Dossier: paperwork documenting just about every aspect of our lives up to this point.

Home Study: more paperwork (sometimes the same paperwork) along with home visits and training classes that Hubby and I will be required to complete.

2. Immigration Approval   
This part of the process takes approx. 12-14 weeks.

We will file our I-800a with the USCIS for immigration purposes.  Then we get fingerprinted!  This approves us as a family to adopt.

All documents are certified and authenticated . . . and the dossier heads to China!

3. Child Match

We already did this part!  This is “usually” when this happens, although a waiting child who is not "LID only" can be matched at any time in the process.

4. Child Assignment
This part of the process takes approx. 2-4 months.

CCCWA (China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption) reviews and processes our dossier and issues our LOA (Letter of Acceptance aka. Letter Seeking Confirmation).  We then sign a bunch more paperwork to “officially” match us with our child.  This is when we can post pictures and other details online!

We also begin to tentatively plan our trip to China!

5. Immigration Approval Part 2
This part of the process takes approx. 2-4 weeks.

This approves our specific child.

6. National Visa Center Process
This part of the process takes approx. 2-3 weeks.

Our government paperwork heads over to China.

7. U.S. Consulate Process
This part of the process takes approx. 2 weeks.

The U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China, will process the paperwork and hand it off to the CCCWA.

8. Invitation to Travel and Planning
This part of the process takes approx. 2-3 weeks

The CCCWA processes the remaining paperwork and then issues our TA!  Woo-hoo!  Travel plans are solidified as a Consulate Appointment is made. 

9. Travel and Completion of Adoption
This part of the process takes approx. 2 weeks.

We head to China!!!  I will fill in more details about this trip in a future blog.

After we come home, we will have to finalize the adoption in a U.S. court and have post-adoption visits at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 5 years.  Rather like baby well-visits!

Back of our van Friday evening.