Busy Week Ahead of Us! (I hope!)

I wish I had a really exciting "Olga Update", but no such luck!  I just wanted to post an update about where we are in the process and where we hope to be in the process a week from now.

I was speaking with our adoption agent last Friday about our Marriage License and how it was not notarized, but certified.  She was checking with the facilitator to make sure that would be sufficient.  Then she casually mentioned that the marriage license would need to be apostilled in the state it was issued.  That would be Missouri.  We live in Georgia.  With the luck we have had so far with government efficiency I was a little panicked.  I was prepared to drive to Missouri today so I could be in Jefferson City first thing Monday morning to hand deliver the license to be apostilled.  I called the Secretary of State's office in Missouri and they assured me that they can turn it around same day!  So off I ran to the UPS Store to overnight our license along with a pre-paid air bill for them to overnight the apostilled documents back to us.  I should have that back on Tuesday morning.

Next on the list is our I171-H approval letter from the USCIS.  Or, to be more precise, the lack of our I171-H approval letter from the USCIS.  We still do not have our biometrics (fingerprint) appointment letter which is needed before our very important I171-H approval letter is issued.  I was assured that the appointment letter was in the mail.  Tick-tock-tick-tock.  Our letter carrier is going to be lucky if I don't jump in her mail truck looking for the letter myself when she pulls up to our mailbox tomorrow.


In the meantime I will go to Atlanta on Tuesday or Wednesday to have all of our notarized documents (that we actually have!) apostilled.  At that point they will be ready to send to Ukraine.  I will then place all of the documents in an overnight envelope to send to another family who is traveling to the SDA on Saturday to hand deliver our *still* incomplete dossier to our facilitator.  Our hope is that they can be translated now even though they cannot be submitted to the SDA without the I171-H.  


The last thing to address is something I have been attempting to bury my head in the sand about.  I won't pretend I know all about the adoption laws from Olga's country and how they differ from other Eastern European countries.  But, here is what I do know.  Last week a draft of a law that would most likely suspend all international adoptions from where Olga is from passed.  It is something that they have been trying to pass for years, but it has never happened until now.  I have heard different things about how fast this *could* become law.  The update on the US Embassy website has the most bleak estimate.  If it passes a second reading it could be signed into law by the end of 2010.  Here is the post from the Embassy of the US:

PUBLIC ADOPTION NOTICE – NOVEMBER 3, 2010

November 3, 2010

The Ukraine legislature is in the process of voting on a bill that would suspend all intercountry adoptions from countries without bilateral agreements with Ukraine, including adoptions from the United States.  The bill passed a first reading and vote, but must still pass a second reading and be signed into law by the president.  The second reading could take place in the next few weeks.  If the bill passes the second reading, it may be signed into law as early as the end of 2010.  The draft bill appears to include suspension of all adoptions in progress.

The Department will post updates as information becomes available.

This notice is posted at the Department of State website athttp://adoption.state.gov/news/ukraine.html.

I really don't like ending a posting with bad news, so I will finish up here by saying OLGA ARRIVES FOR CHRISTMAS HOSTING IN 36 DAYS!!!!

Here is my list of how you can help:

1. PRAYERS!  The list is long this time-pray that we get our biometrics letter in the mail TOMORROW!  That our marriage license is back on Tuesday.  That all of our documents are SDA ready (no mistakes or issues).  That the family who is taking our dossier to Ukraine has a safe journey-and not just because they are taking our dossier!  And, of course, pray that whatever happens with the Ukraine adoption laws, that we are able to get Olga home by February, 2011.
2. Christmas Tree Fundraiser!   If you usually have a live tree for Christmas, consider ordering from Dutchman Tree Farms.  Click the following link, select "yes" for New Horizons for Children, and the select my name, Susan Langvin Pirkey, from the drop down list.  Dutchman Tree Farms Fundraiser  
3. Repost my blog!  Please share this blog with your Facebook friends, or e-mail it to anyone you think might enjoy reading my insanely long posts.  :)
4. Donate!  You can use the yellow "Donate" button at the upper right corner of this blog to donate directly to our adoption costs.

Thanks, and I will keep you all posted throughout the week.  I hope to have lots of good news to report all week long!

S~