September 18 - Mailed adoption application to our agency, Lifelink, via certified mail
October 10 - First meeting with Agency. Met with Lifelink's Regional Director in Moline for two hours to discuss our interest in adoption. THE PAPERCHASE BEGINS!! This includes:
A letter stating our intentions to the Chinese government to adopt an abandoned child
INS I-600A application and I-171H Approval to Adopt a Foreign Born Orphan
County-Level Certified Birth Certificates for both Mitch and Lisa
County-Level Certified Copy of our Marriage Certificate
Notarized Financial Statement Forms (one for agency and DCFS, one for Chinese govt)
Notarized Employment Letters for Mitch & Lisa, verifying employment and salary
Notarized letter from Tremont Police Dept. indicating no record of criminal history for either of us
Notarized Medical Forms (3) from Dr for both of us. Requires HIV test and physical.
Notarized Letter of Guardianship from the proposed guardians
Application for Foster Home License from DCFS (back up in case we both can't travel to China)
Completed Homestudy (compiled by caseworker after 4 face-to-face visits and a home visit)
After assembled, documents must State certified and authenticated by the Chinese Consulate.
October 15 - Mailed I-600A petition to adopt a foreign-born orphan to INS in Chicago.
October 23 - Lisa fingerprinted in Peoria for DCFS child abuse check
October 28 - Received INS receipt ... our I-600A was logged in on October 24. Notification to have fingerprinting done in Macomb at the McDonough County Sheriff's Office within 84 days.
October 30 - Mitch fingerprinted in Peoria for DCFS child abuse check
November 11 - Mitch & Lisa fingerprinted in Macomb for INS federal criminal records check
November 26 - Mitch & Lisa had a two-hour interview with our Peoria caseworker at her office
December 4 - Mitch and Lisa had individual interviews with our caseworker in Peoria
December 5 - Lisa's physical completed
December 9 - Mitch's physical completed (and the boys' physicals for the DCFS application)
December 10 - Caseworker conducted our home visit and interview with us and the boys
December 17 - Homestudy document completed by the social worker and ready to send to the INS, but still waiting on DCFS to issue clearance on our background checks and fingerprinting. Hope to have this resolved prior to Christmas.
December 19 - Social worker has been calling DCFS daily to try and find out why our background clearance is not moving, and hopes to have more news in a couple of days.
December 23 - Background clearances came in from DCFS, so our homestudy document is complete and being mailed to the agency's regional office in Moline. From there it will go to their home office in Bensenville for notarization, then on to the INS. With the holidays and so many stops, it will hopefully arrive at the INS the week of Jan 6.
December 26 - Contacted a document courier service about sending our dossier documents for State Certification and Chinese Consulate Authentication. Plan to have all docs except the INS 171-H approval and the homestudy delivered to her by Jan 6. She will take them through the process and get them back by Jan 13. We will pursue the 171 approval from the INS during this time after submission of the homestudy, and expedite the processing of those documents to have them back to the agency by their Jan 20 cut-off to send docs to China with their Jan 03 group.
(2003) January 2 - Sent 10 of 13 dossier docs to the courier. Homestudy still has not moved through the agency, so that will get to the INS later than we hoped. Agency says we should still be able to make the Jan cut-off.
January 3 - Document courier sent an e-mail that she has completed our doc certification with the IL Sec of State today, and delivered the docs to the Chinese Consulate for 5-day service ... a day earlier than planned. Docs will be ready for her to pick up next Fri Jan 10. No word on where the homestudy is today. Hoping for good news next week!
January 6 - No word yet on whether or not our home study has left the agency. Social worker found an addition error in one of the first few pages of the homestudy, so corrected pages (1-4) were sent to document courier today. Will use the original page 5, notarized by agency and sent to courier today.
January 7 - Courier received the notarized page of the homestudy, but corrected pages did not arrive.
January 8 - Corrected home study pages still not received by courier.
January 9 - Courier now has all pages of the home study and the agency license. She will take them to the Sec of State and Chinese Consulate on Jan 10 for pick up on Jan 17, and overnight them directly to the agency. Called the INS for a status report on our approval (171) form, and no progress yet. Was told to call again on Jan 16 for update.
January 13 - Received first batch of certified/authenticated docs from the courier. Made copies, put the dossier together (minus home study, 171 and agency license) and sent to Lifelink. If we can have the certified/authenticated 171 form from the INS to the agency by Jan 23, our dossier should go to China in Jan!!
January 15 - Trying very hard not to panic, but long story short ... agency guide gave an old address to send the dossier packet to, and I was notified today it has not arrived. UPS tracking shows it was delivered yesterday morning. Agency is in the process of going to the old address and trying to track it down. Hoping for good news on that front tonight.
January 15 - late evening - dossier package has been located in Rockford ... whew!
January 16 - Good news from the INS!! Our 171 approval form is being overnighted to me today, and we should be able to complete certification and authentication in time to be in the agency's Jan group! Yippee!!
January 17 - received the 171 and sent it to the courier. She'll pick up on Jan 22, and overnight directly to agency.
January 22 - final docs picked up by the courier and sent to agency overnight. We're in the Jan dossier group!
January 27 - dossier was express mailed to China today. Actual log-in date will follow soon.