THE WHAT
We are adopting from a Bulgarian orphanage. The process is long, tedious, and expensive. We went into the process knowing it would take time and money, but when you're actually in it in it, your patience and faith are definitely put to the test. Our trust in the Lord is the one thing keeping us focused and guided. Everything happens for His reason and in His time.
Before we started the process, we had no idea what it all entailed. We have shared the process with many people but it can still be quite confusing. Here's a quick overview of the steps we have gone/will go through before our baby girl is finally home.
Choosing, applying, being accepted, and signing a contract with an adoption agency: Our agency is wonderful! We chose Saint Mary International Adoptions in Charlotte, NC.
Completed!
1.
Home Study: Basically our life story in 25 pages combined with every document you can imagine (from birth certificates to FBI Clearances to the shot records for our cat and everything in between!) Also, a handful of interviews with our social worker and a home visit.
Completed!
2.
Approval from the US Government: We send in a stack of info along with our completed Home Study to the Department of Immigration- Hague Convention where they review our application. We had to go to a biometric screening at the USCIS in Charlotte. The government holds our application for approximately 75 days. We will then be notified of approval (fingers crossed) and move to the next step.
Completed!
3.
Apostilled Paperwork from North Carolina Government: It sounds kind of backwards to go from US approval to state approval, but after we get our US approval we send in another stack of info and our home study to Raleigh to get it apostilled, which seems to be like a more official form of notarizing a paper.
Completed!
4.
Dossier and Approval from Bulgaria: We then send our Dossier (a collection of required paperwork including our home study) to the Bulgarian government. They will review our application and file. Then we'll be notified if we have been approved to adopt in Bulgaria.
Completed!
5.
Wait for a Match: After we are approved, we will officially go into the Bulgarian registry. This allows agencies and orphanages to view our information and find the perfect match for us. Now while we have faith and know our little girl has already been picked out by God, there is no way to know His timing. This means we could be matched right away or 3 years from now. There's no way to know; we just wait for the call.
We're here now! Each year we will renew our paperwork to stay active in the registry. We begin renewal each August and it is due by the end of October. Each renewal cost almost $5000.
6.
Accepting a Match: Once a match is made, the Bulgarian government will send everything they can about the little girl. We'll get pictures, videos, medical reports, and any other information they may have about her. We'll have around 2 weeks to make our decision. Once we accept, the ball starts rolling. If we do not accept, we go back on the registry and wait for another match.
7.
First Trip to Bulgaria: Within a few weeks of accepting a match, we (Matthew and Megan) will travel to Bulgaria. We will spend about 5 days there. Everything is lined up through the embassy and we'll have a translator with us at all times. We'll stay near Sofia, the capitol of Bulgaria. We will drive out to the orphanage and meet our little girl. We will spend almost all of our time with her and she will even get to stay with us while we're there. This first visit is to allow us to meet her, her to meet us, and her caregivers and social workers to be sure we are a good fit. After the week is up, we come back home and wait some more.
8.
Court Proceedings: We will have a court-appointed official representing us in Bulgaria. The court proceedings take around 3 weeks. During this time all the required documents are created to make the adoption legal. While that is happening in Bulgaria, here in the US we are getting her paperwork together for her travel to US.
9.
Second (and Final) Trip to Bulgaria: After the adoption is finalized, we (Matthew and Megan) return to Bulgaria. We'll go to the orphanage and pick her up! We'll stay for about 5 days to make sure she has the necessary travel documents, her new birth certificate, and all the legal loose ends are tied. Then all 3 of us fly home! Once we're home, she is automatically a US Citizen, her adoption is legal here, and we are able to apply for her to have a Social Security Number.
10.
Post-Adoption Check Ins: We will have 3-4 visits from our social worker for post-adoption check ins. These will occur after the first month all the way until 2+ years after the finalization of the adoption. These documents will also be sent to Bulgaria for their records too.
11.
