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?

Introducing....

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

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.

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.

not exactly progress, but we'll take it!

We heard today that our paperwork should make it out of the MOJ next week, moving on to the court. YAY! no serious hurdles! We should hear from them within 2 weeks at least when our case will be "heard" in court and (hopefully not!) if they want any additional documentation. That will be it for the adoption itself!! There will remain "little" details: new birth certificate with our names, doctor's appointment as part of his US Visa, and then the final interview (this time with us!) at the Embassy. And, of course, the flight back with a ~4 year old who knows little English, has little exposure to cars, let alone airports and planes, etc...

It's broken!

The stalemate between USCIS and the Department of State about who should "give" and allow the paperwork to proceed is finally over. Actually, the USCIS officer says that USCIS will make a correction soon, and that we will get an updated form in the mail.

GIANT WHOOOOSSHHH!

So we should be in the slide to home soon, relatively speaking. The last check points for our paperwork will be: a stop at the Ministry of Justice in Bulgaria for a couple of signatures (about a month) and a trip to the courts there. For the latter, they have 2 weeks to set a date for the hearing on our case. That hearing cannot fall in August because the government pretty well closes down. We should travel 3-4 weeks after the court date - we are guessing September, though we hope to know the time line in July. And, of course, the Embassy gets one last stab at what they call an "ineligibility review" when we are in Bulgaria and finally meet them face-to-face for the final visa interview. We probably need to begin the tongue restraint training now!

Ineligibility review - are you kidding me???!!!??? It's honest, but wow... The threat from these horrible terrorist-in-training preschoolers must be enormous!

Living for Monday...

Friday came and went with no news about our case. All emails and phones calls were done with no reply. So we will wait out another weekend and see what happens on Monday.

We did hear some good news on Thursday. The Article 5 letter was released by the US Embassy. So we are moving forward. YAY!!!!
After reviewing the visa application, the consular officer sends the Convention country’s Central Authority notification – called an Article 5 Letter – that you are a suitable adoptive parent and that the child will be able to enter and reside permanently in the United States. (The Central Authority is the entity designated by each Convention member country to serve as the central point of contact for Convention adoptions. For the United States, the Central Authority is the Department of State.) This was pulled from http://adoption.state.gov/visas/hague.html

We were worried that the Embassy was holding our case until our I797c was updated. Thank goodness they released it. We should be finished with the US side of things except for the visa interview at the end. The Article 5 has to get translated and legalized before it is turned over to the MOJ. The MOJ starts the Bulgarian side of approval. We are hoping that it will be at the MOJ in about 2 weeks. please please get there..
Our dream of picking Nikolas up before his birthday is not going to happen. There are NO court dates scheduled for the month of August. NONE!! The courts go on vacation.

Happy Weekend!!