Where Things Stand

I've been reading other adoption blogs and everyone has neat little timelines for the sequencing of events. Since I rushed to get my dossier in to my agency and then to Ethiopia to be translated, mine is not so linear.

But here is where things are:

1. My court date is June 11th. This is in an Ethiopian court and I do not have to be there. If my case passes, in the eyes of Ethiopian law, she will be formally mine. (WOW!!)

2. If the court case passes, my embassy date is either July 15th or 29th. I do have to be there then and appear before the U.S. Embassy. This is when I will bring her home. I then have to formally adopt her here in the U.S. When we return, she will be a legal resident but the adoption needs to take place so she is a citizen.

3. Since my schedule is wacky, my original dossier itself is actually in D.C. now getting authenticated. I'm using a courier my agency recommended and they told me everything should be finalized by today or tomorrow. He did say that he's never seen a line as long as he did yesterday at the Ethiopian embassy. The original, authenticated dossier will then go directly to Ethiopia.

4. Did you know Ethiopia is now the #1 country for international adoptions (or #2 -- the reports vary)? The wait for Chinese adoptions is 5 years plus and so many other countries have closed.

5. I have an appointment on June 14th with the Department of Homeland Security to have my biometrics taken. This is part of my application to name an orphan as an immediate relative. It also costs around $800. Ouch.

6. If you're ever going to adopt, let me recommend first being employed by Pearson. The HR team is incredibly helpful and their benefits package is very generous. I swear, once this is final, I am writing a thank you note to Marjorie Scardino, CEO of Pearson. And how cool is it that our CEO is a woman?



Will keep you posted!



Julie