Last 2 Documents sent for Authentication.

Adoption paperwork feels like riding a teeter-totter some days.

Lunch yesterday found us rejoicing because we received the re-notarized letter in the mail and learned by E-mail that our home study was finalized last week and sent on to the Secretary of State.

We'd received the corrected background-check letter earlier.

We worked to collect the needed documents and make copies needed to send in our I-600a form to the  US government.

This form, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, " is used by a U.S. citizen who plans to adopt a foreign-born child and enables USCIS to adjudicate the application that relates to the qualifications of the applicant(s) as prospective adoptive parent(s)."

Even though we do not know who our children will be this is the first step in the process of getting them US citizenship and immigration paperwork. For this part of the process we will need appointments for fingerprint checks again-likely once we return to Haiti at the Embassy.

The depressing/panic minutes came when preparing the redone letter to send off again for authentication at the Secretary of State office. Noticed for the first time [did not notice before we sent it the first time or when we asked the letter to be re-done] that it listed my name in it's short form, Kris Thede.

Every other document lists my legal name so we seriously thought that we may need to have the letter printed and notarized for a third time but thankfully a call to our agency reassured us that should not be a problem.

After the trip to the post office Cory spent hours scanning documents so that they could be sent electronically to a college professor who will be translating them into French.  We only lack the one that just went for authorization so she should be able to work on most this weekend.

Next week we will start the process of making copies of the 'dossier'. Not sure that the whole dossier will be translated and then legalized before our return to Haiti but doing our best. Thank you for the prayers.

Prayer Requests:

• Authentication of last letter in IN.
• Authentication of home study in CA.
• Correct and timely translation of all needed documents.
• Processing of I-600a. Good dates for fingerprint appointment.
• Keeping the copies [4 each] and documents organized. 

Authentications and translation.

We now have the missing documents and they already sport their pretty gold seals of authentication. 

We received the re-done letter back from Michigan State's Office of the Great Seal, correcting my mistake on August 8th.

We received our background check results in the mail last week. However my letter listed Cory's birthday as mine. A follow up e-mail assured us that the the correction will be rapidly made and mailed to us.

One of the authentications returned to us with a list of items that the notary neglected to put on the letter. We are working to get this letter re-notarized and then will need to send it back to the Secretary of State for the needed authentication.

Waiting on one more reference letter to return from authentication. 

Additional copies of our home study need to be authenticated in CA before translation/legalization.

E-mail inquiries and correspondence last week helped us to locate a translator for our documents that will make up our dossier that will go to Haiti. We sent the documents that we already have so that the translation can start in hopes that we will have everything translated by the first part of September. 

Prayer Requests: 

• Re-Notarization and authentication of one letter.
• That we receive Kris's background-check letter and the last reference letter.
• Finalization and authentication of our home study in CA.
• Timely translation of all needed documents.

Fingerprints and the OFFICE OF THE GREAT SEAL

First full day in Michigan,  Cory and I traveled to Lansing today to complete our background checks and authenticate most of our Michigan notarized documents.

Found out that my ring finger contains a double whorl, rather hard to get a clear print but after 6 try's we had 2 that would work.

Two copies each of two new documents notarized...but noticed at the Office of the Great Seal that while we corrected one mistake we missed the second one...in my tired state I grabbed the older letters not the new corrected one.

So tomorrow we will sign the newer letter in front of the notary and sent it off by mail to be authenticated. Also plan to send off one letter to Pennsylvania for similar treatment.

 Now 14 pretty gold seals proudly shine on our pile of documents that were signed in Michigan.

We also called our agency today asking about one missing document. We need to work on getting the needed document rewritten, notarized and authenticated as soon as we can.

The fingerprints should be here in 7-10 working days [off the record maybe in 5]

Home study corrections being worked on while we wait for the background check results.

Next week we start to investigate people to translate the documents that will comprise the dossier that travels to Haiti into French.

Prayers:

• No problems with running our background checks. That the fingerprints were done good enough. 
• That the remaining needed documents can be processed in a rapid fashion and sent back to us.
• Home study
• The missing paperwork
• The out of State authentication of the notaries and the last one for Michigan.
• That we find someone to translate and maybe also get the documents legalized.
• That nothing would get lost or delayed in the mail.