Almost there

We received the las group of documents we sent to be apostilled in NY and MA in the mail today. Everything looks set and we are just waiting for the immigration fingerprints to come back in the mail!!!

We did a call in session the other day with the Russia program team at our agency and learned we had just made it under the wire with getting our Massachusetts documents apostilled - apparently the secretary of state for Massachusetts is changing the process for photcopied documents but since ours were already apostilled we are okay!!!

Hopefully our fingerprints will come back soon and we will have everything finalized and ready to go by the middle of September!!!

Moving towards the light....

Friday we got the last 9 documents we needed from WHFC - can I get a WOOHOO :-)!! We made the copies for the 5 that need to be apostilled in Massachusetts and those are being FEDEX tomorrow!!! We had to sign 4 and get them notarized and county sealed in NY and those are on the way to Albany for the apostille - WOOHOO!!! Friday was a great day to bring the mail in.... we got all our WHFC documents AND we also got our Immigration fingerprint appointment .... Tuesday, August 26th!!! (can I get another WOOHOO :-)!!!

The light at the end of the tunnel is finally there .... it's faint but hopefully it will get brighter and we will have our paperwork completed in the next few weeks and then FINGERS CROSSED we have done everything right the first time and get approved!!!

Update on Russia

If you are like us - you have been watching the news and the latest events in Russia wondering how this might affect our adoption. We got the below information from WHFC today - fingers crossed the situation between Russia and Georgia doesn't explode and become an issue for us.

Dear Russia Program Families,

The recent new reports regarding Russian and Georgian troops fighting over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia have led several WHFC families to inquire if this will impact their adoption from Russia. At this point in time, we have no reason to believe that the political situation in South Ossetia will directly impact international adoptions from Russia. You can read more about the situation at http://news.bbc.couk/2/hi/europe/7549736.stm.

Our representatives have not reported any new concerns about travel in their regions. WHFC currently has families in Russia and families preparing to travel to Russia this week. Families are always encouraged to check the US State Department travel advisories at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1006.html. Please feel free to contact the Russia Program Team directly if you additional questions or concerns.

Paper Chase ... part 2

We have collected all the documents for our dossier that we are responsible for! They have all been notarized and sent to Albany,NY for the apostille. We are still waiting on the "official" copy of our homestudy and a few documents from WHFC. Once these arrive we will sign, notarize, and apostille them to complete the dossier. Our last step will be getting fingerprinted for Customs and Immigration Services - we are hoping that our appointment time is sent soon!