Now a little bit about how to approach this entire process:
If you develop an understanding of which parts of the process take the longest, and therefore which should be started first, it makes this easier, and the completion time should be faster. It's also important to understand which documents are dependent upon other documents, that is, which documents are on the "critical path". For example, you cannot complete your dossier without the I-171H form, which cannot be completed without a homestudy, which cannot be completed without the Child Abuse Check (at least in Connecticut). So, in this example, the Child Abuse Check has the potential to delay the entire process.
IMPORTANT:Beginning in 1998, there is an extra wrinkle thrown in, as China is putting a 6 month expiration on the notarial validity for many documents in your dossier including marriage certificates, financial statements, letters of good health and police checks. But before you get too upset, be aware that the way the CCAA is calculating the 6 months should result in this affecting very few families. Click here for an explanation of how this is calculated to help determine if you will be affected.
OK, here are some things to look out for:
If you were born, married, divorced, or had a spouse who died in another state, or another country, get started on those documents early. These documents must be certified by the state (or country) where the event took place. That can be very difficult and time consuming. Do your research to find out how to get them certified in that particular state. Laura Morrison, The Stork's Assistant, is an excellent resource for this kind of information.
As mentioned above, get the I-600A documents right away, fill them out, and get those into the INS ASAP.
As soon as you pick out your homestudy agency, ask them about the slowest part of the homestudy, and start that right away. As mentioned before, the Child Abuse Check seems to be taking that title regularly.
Learn to love writing cover letters. Write cover letters for everything you send. Include your name, address, phone and e-mail address. The three most important rules of cover letters are BE NICE, BE NICE, BE NICE. Not only will it help you in your adoption, it will help smooth the way for others who come along behind you.
So, be nice and include a big "thank you" to whomever you are writing for helping you with such an incredibly important event. List very specifically what is included in the package your are sending. Click here to see a couple of sample cover letters.
For anything you send that has multiple documents in it, be sure to include either in the body of the cover letter, or separately, a detailed document list. Click here to see a sample document list.
In very large letters, on any envelopes you send, print "Important Adoption Documents Enclosed".
Use overnight delivery services for important documents. Yes, it's more expensive (about $10 a shot), but you can track their progress either by phone, or online, and it's much more reassuring than trusting the last 4 months of your life's work to regular mail. We suggest that you think seriously about overnighting all of the following:
Of course, if you do any of the above in person, obviously, you don't have to overnight anything.
Well, that's about it for now. Good luck.
Just remind yourself why you're doing this, and you'll see any amount of frustration will be ultimately worth it.