Parenting After Adoption

As I recently shared with you, we have been in the process of adopting two children in Haiti since July 2005 — just three months before Lucas’ adoption was completed. Yesterday we received news that the files of one of our children, Rhett (6) and Claudia (5), have been submitted to the Ministry of Interior. This is awesome news!

What it means to be submitted to the Ministry of Interior (MOI) is that the child’s file has been submitted — along with our file — so that she can receive approval to obtain her Haitian passport. Last time I checked, there are 2-3 officials who must review the files and sign paperwork approving the passports, which includes a lengthy form and interview with one of the orphanage directors or their assistant asking information already included in our file. Nobody has been able to ascertain why that interview is even necessary, let alone the form.

Once the approval is received, the files are then submitted for printing. Once the passport is printed, the adoption facilitators in Haiti obtain the file once again to prepare it for the next major step in the process.

For adopters who are U.S. citizens, this requires that the the first parent(s) attend an interview with a Department of Homeland Security official. If all is in order, the approval is given for the child to receive his U.S. Visa. Since both my husband and I met and spent time with Rhett and Claudia before their adoptions were final, we will receive an IR-3 Visa, which means they will be full U.S. Citizens once they pass through U.S. Immigration on our way home.

The other Visa option is an IR-4 Visa. Once the child passes through U.S. Immigration, she becomes a permanent resident of the United States. The parents then apply for the Certificate of Citizenship after re-adopting following their state’s laws. With an IR-3 Visa, the Certificate of Citizenship is mailed 4-6 weeks after passing through immigration.

For a recap of what we still have left in our adoption process:

1. Interview & Passport Approval (1-4 months)
2. Passport Printing (1-3 months)
3. DHS Interview & Visa Approval (1-3 weeks)
4. Visa Printing (1-5 days)
5. Travel

Our timeline during Lucas’ adoption:

1. DHS Interview & Approval - August 2005
2. Apply for passport - August 2005
3. Application rejected - September 2005
4. Re-apply for passport - October 2005
5. Passport printed - October 2005
6. Apply for Visa - October 2005
7. Visa Printed - October 2005
8. Home - November 2, 2005

As you can see, things have changed and the process has lengthened. We do not know what to expect. Our children could be ready to travel by Christmas or they could be ready some in late spring or early summer next year. After a friend spent over 2 years trying to get her children home in a Haitian adoption, I said that I could never survive such a long adoption process. Apparently I can.

© Copyright 2007 Becky Wilson. All Rights Reserved.

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