It Hasn't Even Occurred to Me...

It hasn't occurred to me that there are actually those people that don't know the steps in which adoptive parents go through. I know those wonderful people that surround me on a daily basis have heard me mention, "Step 7" or " Step 9" but they truly don't know what I'm talking about. For those wonderful people or even for us Adoptive Parents that totally freak out when told what step they are on..and who runs to look up exactly what that step means, I've decided to just put it out there for all to see:

The following is an outline of what occurs once your acceptance paperwork arrives in Vietnam.
Steps 2-6 will happen after your dossier has been logged in with the DIA.
2. After receiving the acceptance papers, the Dillon staff (in Vietnam) will send a letter to the DIA (Department of International Adoptions) in Hanoi. The letter explains your desire to adopt a child from Vietnam. This process can take about 10 business days or longer for the letter to be sent and received.
3. The DIA will then send a letter to the local justice department of the province in which the child you were referred is residing. The letter explains that your family is desiring to adopt the child that you have been matched with. This process can take about 10 business days or longer for the letter to be sent and received.
4. Once the local justice receives the letter from the DIA, they will then send a letter to the center (orphanage) telling them which child your family is desiring to adopt. This process can take about 10 business days or longer for the letter to be sent and received.
5. Once the letter is received by the center (orphanage), the center then has to respond with a letter back to the local justice stating that yes, this child is available for adoption. This process can take about 10 business days or longer for the letter to be sent and received.
6. Once the local justice receives the letter, the local justice department will then send a letter to the DIA that yes, this child is available for adoption. This process can take about 10 business days for the letter to be sent and received. When the DIA receives the letter from the local justice department, the DIA will then send our staff in Vietnam a letter requesting them to send your acceptance papers of the child that you have been referred. This process can take about 10 business days for the letter to be sent and received. Step 6 can take about 4 weeks or longer to complete.
7. Dillon staff will send the acceptance papers to Hanoi. This process can take about 10 business days or longer for the acceptance papers to be sent and received.
8. Once the DIA receives the acceptance papers from the Dillon staff, the DIA will then send a letter to the local justice department asking them to start compiling the legal docs (child's dossier). This process can take 30-45 business days or longer to complete.
9. After the child's dossier has been compiled, the center will send the legal documents to the local justice department. Once the local justice department receives the dossier, they will then review the dossier. After they have completed the review process, they will then forward the legal documents to the DIA. The review process can take 1 week or longer.
10. The DIA will review the child's legal documents and your family's dossier. After the DIA has completed the review process, they will send the child's legal documents and the family's dossier back to the local justice department. The review process can take 1 week or longer.
Steps 11-12 happen concurrently with Steps 13-14.
11. Once the child's dossier has been returned to the local justice department, the local justice department will then forward a copy of the completed child's dossier to our staff in Ho Chi Minh City. At this time, our staff will submit your family's I-600 (immigration) paperwork and the child's dossier to the Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City for pre-approval. This process can take up to 60 business days to complete.
12. If the child that has been referred to your family was relinquished (brought to the orphanage) by his/her birth family, then the Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City will require a DNA test to determine a parental relationship between the child and birth mother. The time frame for this process is unknown, but we are estimating approximately 1-2 months to complete, if not longer.
13. The local justice department will then review the family's dossier. Once they have reviewed the family's dossier, they will then send the family's dossier and the child's legal documents to the people's committee. The Dillon Vietnam staff will at this time also submit the commitment form and power of attorney forms that you signed at the time of acceptance. The review process can take 1 week or longer.
14. The people's committee will then review your family's dossier and the child's legal documents. Once they have completed the review process, the chairman of the People's Committee will give an approval (decision). After the approval of the chairman, the child's legal documents and your family's dossier are sent back to the local justice department for your GNR (Giving and Receiving) date to be issued. This process can take 1 week or longer.
Families should have approximately two weeks notice before travel.
The process and timeframes outlined in the above steps can change without notice.

Sheeesh, that made my fingers cramp!

Ok, So I thought that this week would be the week I was told that my I-600 would be submitted. Wrong! As far as I know, I'm still hangin out on Step 9. It was relayed to me via another Lam Dong mother, that sometimes people get hung up waiting, because 'the powers that be' are trying to get those older children processed through. I'm all for that! Get those angels home already with there mama's and daddy's! Tanner is still on the babyish side. But I'm telling ya, I'm praying that our time is soon! SOON, I tell ya!

Be Well and Blessed!