Thursday, July 29, 2010

Vietnam update

The Department of State reports that Vietnam is implementing the Hague, effective in 2011. This will mean that there will not have to be a new Memorandum of Understanding. (Thank God!) It does mean that Vietnam is in for a LONG LONG road to proving that their system, as yet non-existent, complies with the Hague Convention standards (implied: to the US Dept of State) before adoptions can resume. There is a fundamental issue: there is no central authority as required by the Hague, with the power to do what the Hague requires, because the power of decision-making rests almost exclusively in local governments. Does anyone sense a back door political move to push Vietnam away from their communist political structure?

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Introducing....





Nikolas....We love you and miss you!

Friday, July 23, 2010

YAYYYYY!!!!

Today, our adoption was finalized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's official!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We won't be able to travel (apparently) until the beginning of September, nothing firm yet, in large part because so much of the government (& maybe our agency) goes on vacation in August. But we knew that.

We had been concerned that today might only be a preliminary appointment, and that we might get a "real" court date in early September, pushing our travel back until late Sept or early Oct.

Now, we can try to relax and enjoy the last bit of our time with just Tamaroo. Or work on making sure we have everything ready for Nikolas, and even start packing. Or some of both.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

News and ...

It started with the news on Thursday (the 15th) that our judge (apparently a strict one) has our paperwork and requested a letter stating that nothing had changed since our homestudy was completed. YAY!!! It's great news that the judge actually has possession. This came with some serious time pressure - our agency was to write the letter, notarize it, send it to us, we drive it to Raleigh and have it apostilled and return it to our agency so it could arrive in Bulgaria by the 19th. (but they could take it as late as the 23rd)
Yipes!!! and Okaaaaayyy... We're ready to spring into action - actually mostly drive a lot - adding in driving to pick up the form and suggested that we FedEx the document to Bulgaria. So... all we had to do was wait for a preliminary approval of the draft from our agency in Bulgaria and the ball would roll. Except it didn't come, and didn't come and Thursday afternoon turned into a ball of confusion and dread... Finally, at 11pm Bulgaria time, we find out that what "they" or the judge apparently really wants is an updated home study. WHAT THE ??!!?? This would mean submitting it to USCIS, waiting for a new approval letter, waiting for them to forward this back to the Embassy, etc. Not as paperwork heavy, but certainly at least a month, and potentially much longer. We got to spend the night pondering the possibilities and the ridiculousness of such a request, especially since NOTHING has changed and an update would raise eyebrows at every step of the process.
So.... Friday, cooler heads prevail, and we are back to a letter being acceptable - no solid news that the judge will find this acceptable, but... We expect to get the document today and will get it apostilled and FedEx'ed out Monday. (FedEx offers next flight courier service - just in case you ever need it - though it might be just as good to fly it there yourself!)
Working through the "buffers" of an additional agency, an entirely different language, and a 7 hour time difference makes "little" challenges into bigger ones, with the corresponding stresses. We still do not have an official court date.