Dossier Process - What is a dossier anyway?

At this point in our adoption process we are working on our dossier.  

(Pronounced: dô′sē-ā .  You can hear a pronunciation here on this webpage:  http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dossier )

A dossier is the set of documents which contain detailed information about our family.  The dossier is what will be sent to China to be translated into Chinese and then closely reviewed by the Chinese adoption officials.

As you may imagine, attention to details is of the utmost importance.  Not only do these documents represent our family, but the officials reviewing them can be real stickers on when documents are dated, signed and notarized.

Here is a short list of details we need to watch for:

• Without proper wording, some states will not complete the notary verification.

• We have to be sure the date on the document and the date of notarization match.  Many Chinese Consulates will reject documents if the date on the document is different than the date it is notarized.

• The Chinese Consulates will not accept any document with white out on it.

• We have to be sure the notary’s commission does not expire for at least 12-18 months from now.

There are four main steps to the dossier process before it can be sent to China.
Step One:

Gather, sign and notarize all the documents on the checklist below.

DOCUMENT CHECKLIST:

The following documents are required for your dossier and must be notarized, verified and authenticated:
_____1. Birth Certificate(s)
_____2. Marriage Certificate
_____3. Financial Statement (Form is enclosed)
_____4. Medical Form(s) (Form is enclosed)
_____5. Police Clearance Report(s) (Form is enclosed)
_____6. Letter of Employment(s)
_____7. I-800A, Approval Notice
_____8. Adoption Application Letter
_____9. Homestudy Report
_____10. Affidavit of Single Status (*Single applicants only. Forms are enclosed)

The following documents are required for your dossier and DO NOT need to be verified and authenticated:
_____11. Notarized Reference Letters (3)
_____12. Copies of Signed Passports
_____13. Passport Photos (Two (2) per applicant)
_____14. Six (6) Family Photos
_____15. Statement from Guardian (*Single applicants only)
_____16. Medical letter from a doctor (if required)
_____17. Psychological Evaluation (if required)
_____18. Divorce Decree (*Single applicants only, if required):
_____19. Death Certificate (*Single applicants only, if required):

What happens to the dossier once it is done?

Step Two:
Once our dossier is done, it will be sent to the Kansas Secretary of State's office where they will authenticate (verify and certify each one to make sure they are legit) each notary's signature.  

Step Three:
Once we get everything back from the KS Sec of State office, we will send it on to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.  We will have to hire a courier service to walk it into the consulate office one day and then go back and pick it up a few days later.  We have to hire a courier service because the Chinese Consulate does not accept these documents sent through the mail.  

Step Four:
Once all the documents are completed, then we will send them to our agency who will then send them to China where they will be translated and reviewed. 

There are a few mile stone acronyms which are commonly used during this time:

Once they receive our dossier and it is logged into their system, it is a milestone called DTC - Dossier to China.

Once the dossier is translated and logged into their system is is called LID - Logged In Date

As you can imagine, all of this takes time.  We still anticipate that we will travel sometime very late summer, but most likely fall 2016.

Thank you for all of your thoughts, prayers and support of our family during this adoption process.

Process updates and Thank You!

First we want to say “Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!”  We have never felt so loved and cared for as we do by this body of believers! You are an amazing church family and we could not do this without you!

Clothing drive update:

We received a total of 10,890 pounds of clothing and shoes which is awesome!  You guys really helped us rock that fundraiser.  The recycling company pays .15 a pound, so the net proceeds from that fundraiser will be $1,633.50.  This may not seem like a lot, but it is still way better than we’ve done with fundraiser garage sales in the past and it was a much better return on our investment of time and man power. Thank you to everyone who hauled clothes from all over, let us borrow garage space and trailers and supported us in any way.

Fundraising update:   

We just hit the $5,000 raised mark.   Praise the Lord!  We still have a long way to go, but God is faithful.  He has shown this to us over and over again.  Here is a very simplified breakdown of where the fundraising dollars have come from so far:

Walrod jewelry sales for 4 months = $300

EBC Fundraiser soup and chili feed = $2,140

Donations = $990

Clothing Drive Fundraiser = $1,633

Grant Total of $5,063 towards our goal of $45,000

Where are we in the process now?

Our home study was finally officially approved on January 20, 2016 after about a month of delays.  We just submitted our application to the US Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) to get their approval for this adoption.  This application is called the I 800A and once it reviewed, they will send us an appointment time to appear in person at the Kansas City office to be fingerprinted.  These finger prints will be screen by the FBI and is part of the intense background checks which are required for the adoption.  This documentation is part of what needs to be completed for our dossier to be sent to China. 

What is a dossier?

In a nutshell, the dossier is our life story and more.  It contains our home study, letters of reference, medical info, income verification and all of the USCIS clearances.  So our next big step is to get all of the USCIS documentation and clearances, then submit our dossier to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.  This probably will not take place until March 2016.

We still have at least 6-8 more months to go!  Thank you for your continued prayers.  

Fundraising Update

I finally had time to sit down and calculate all of the totals from fundraisers and donations.  We just hit the $5,000 mark!  Praise the Lord!

Here is a very simplified break down of where it came from:

Walrod jewelry sales over the course of 4 months = $400
EBC November Fundraiser Meal = $2,100
Donations = $990
Clothing drive fundraiser = $1,600

Grand Total = $5,090 raised to date!! 
towards the end goal of $45,000

Thank you all so very much!!  

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions:

How long will this process take?  International adoption is usually a very long, complicated and expensive process.  Our best guess (based on what we know right now) is that we hope to travel to China to adopt the children in late summer or fall of 2016.

How many children are you adopting? Two  (we have three biological children and we have adopted internationally three times)

How old are the children?

We pre-approved to adopt a boy age 3 and girl age 4.

Are the children related?

They are not biologically related that we know of.  However, they are originally from the same city. 

Why does adoption cost so much?  The short answer is that everything about the adoption process is intended to help reduce child abuse and trafficking.  Since these travesties are on the rise worldwide, more and more rules, regulations and systems have been put in place to help reduce the risk.  All of these things require the involvement of professionals on both sides of the ocean.  We have a complete list of all our expenses and it is available for anyone who is interested.  We aim to be completely transparent about the fundraisers and expenses.

What are their special needs?

This is generally private information but we can share some details to help you understand their needs a little better.  The girl has some issues with her eyes and language development.  We actually have more questions about her needs at this time.  We will not know the extent of her needs until she is home and examined by a team of specialist. 

The little boy actually has a brain malformation.  His condition is most commonly misdiagnosed as Asperger’s syndrome.  We also will not know a whole lot more until he is home.  

January Clothing and Shoe Drive Fundraiser

In January, I was able to find a semi-local recycling company to work with us for a clothing and shoe drive fundraiser.  We had so many people, friends, family, community members and folks we did not know get really excited about this fundraiser. With everyone's help, we rocked the socks off of this fundraiser!

So many of you have been excited to hear how we did.  The recycling company had to make three trips because we had so much stuff!  Drum roll .... the total weight was 10,890 pounds.  

The pay out per pound is better than we've ever done with other garage sale fundraisers.  It was work, but not nearly as exhausting and time consuming as the garage sales.

Besides, I don't think we can do anymore garage sale fundraisers ...at least not just our family.  My two main "pack mules" for the last adoption in 2008 are no longer available.  One retired from that job (Paul) and the other one (Landon) joined the military. He decided the military was easier than working for his mother! :)

We honestly have been so overwhelmed at how excited and vested so many people have become in not only this fundraiser, but our adoption process as a whole.

Thank you ALL from the bottom of our hearts.  We could never have done this without you.  I cannot mention all of your names here, but you know who you are.  Please know that we love and appreciate each and every one of you!

AND YES, We plan to have another clothing and shoe drive in April so start saving your stuff and tell all your friends.

Home Study Approval!

January 20, 2016 is when our home study was finally approved.  Praise the Lord!  He is GOOD and HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!

Now what is next?

Well along with running a family, a business, fundraisers, church involvement etc. etc. it is now time to start working on our Dossier.  This is the set of documents that will represent us in China.

The biggie for this set of documents is to fill out the I 800A, which is what we file with the USCIS, (US Citizen and Immigration Service). This will cost $975 which is for the application fee and three sets of finger printing.  Anyone 18 or older residing in the home must be finger printed.  Since our 19 year still lives at home and attends KU, he has to be finger printed with Paul and me.

These finger prints are then put through and cross checked with the FBI database.  This helps the officials make sure adoptive parents have a clean criminal record.

There is always a big question mark as to how long this part of the process could take.

They could send us a notice with an appointment time in a week or two or six plus weeks.  Obviously the longer they take to process the application, the longer we have to wait.

Once we get this clearance and the documentation to prove it, this info will go along with our dossier to the Sec of State office in Topeka for authentication.

After that is done, then the dossier will go to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.

The Chinese Consulate in Chicago conveniently does not accept mailed in applications, so we will have to hire a courier service to physically walk it into their office one day and then return to pick it up a few days later.  I guess if we did not want to hire a courier, we could just take a leisurely drive up to Chicago and back for a few days.  

OH, and we can start applying for adoption grants now that our home study is done.  YES! and OH NO! when will I have time!

So much more to the process, but that is all for now.
Thank you again for following our journey and mostly, thank you for your prayers!

Documentation Frustration and Extra Costs but......

There is a whole lot more to tell about this issue, but I really don't have a ton of time to go into all the details.  However, if you remember from one of my previous post, we ran into some documentation delays. We were able to resolve the issue but it costs us an extra $400 we were not planning for.

One day after the $400 cleared our account, we received an anonymous gift for $400.  God is ALWAYS FAITHFUL providing just what we need when we really need it.

He is usually never early ...at least not in our lives anyway.  BUT HE is never late ...He is in control.  Even when we feel desperate and out of control ...HE IS IN CONTROL.

Thank you Lord Jesus!

January 2016 Puzzle Fundraiser Update

I feel ashamed that we are not caught up with the puzzle pieces this like we should be.  We have been so busy working on a Clothing and Shoe Drive Fundraiser that we have not had time to actually put any more pieces of the puzzle together. We have received some more donations and I will try to post an over all total of donations as soon as I can.  I plan to share updates on the clothing and shoe fundraiser results as well as some new and exciting new fundraisers we are working on.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers!

January 7, 2016 Update

Walrod Family Adoption Update

January 7, 2016

Thank you all again for all of your prayers and support!  We have been eternally blessed by you!

Here is an update on our adoption process and some answers to some frequently asked questions.

Process update:

We thought that our home study would have been completed by the middle of December.  However, we ran into a bit of a paperwork snag.  We needed some documentation that we thought was already taken care of, but alas it was not. Since it was so close to Christmas by the time we found out, the people who need to help with the documentation were out of the office until after the New Year.  This essentially put us a month behind which is a huge disappointment and difficult to handle going into Christmas. 

We have resolved to trust in God’s timing even when are hearts ache with the thought of another holiday missed with our little ones.  We’ve shed a few tears over not even being able to send them anything for Christmas.  We won’t lie …this is REALLY HARD! 

However, God is driving the bus!  We may have to change a few flat tires here and there, but HE is still driving the bus! 

Funding update:

We had some additional donations come in since our last update.  Total raised to date is just over $2,900!  Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  We still have a very long way to go, but we try to focus on all that HE has provided, not one what is yet to come.  HE IS FAITHFUL!  Always and forever FAITHFUL!  Please pray that we meet our next funding goal which is still $2,100 away. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

How long will this process take?  International adoption is usually a very long, complicated and expensive process.  Our best guess (based on what we know right now) is that we hope to travel to China to adopt the children in late summer or fall of 2016.

How many children are you adopting? Two  (we have three biological children and we have adopted internationally three times)

How old are the children?

We pre-approved to adopt a boy age 3 and girl age 4.

Are the children related?

They are not biologically related that we know of.  However, they are originally from the same city. 

Why does adoption cost so much?  The short answer is that everything about the adoption process is intended to help reduce child abuse and trafficking.  Since these travesties are on the rise worldwide, more and more rules, regulations and systems have been put in place to help reduce the risk.  All of these things require the involvement of professionals on both sides of the ocean.  We have a complete list of all our expenses and it is available for anyone who is interested.  We aim to be completely transparent about the fundraisers and expenses.

What are their special needs?

This is generally private information but we can share some details to help you understand their needs a little better.  The girl has some issues with her eyes and language development.  We actually have more questions about her needs at this time.  We will not know the extent of her needs until she is home and examined by a team of specialist. 

The little boy actually has a brain malformation.  His condition is most commonly misdiagnosed as Asperger’s syndrome.  We also will not know a whole lot more until he is home. 

It just came to a point for us when reviewing waiting child profiles that we prayed, “Just show us which one is our child.” And then it really doesn’t matter what the papers say, what the doctors say or the diagnosis …this is our child and we will do whatever we need to do.  We will just do the thing, trust God to meet all our needs and carry us through whatever trials lay ahead.  It is a very humbling and scary experience.

We desperately covet your prayers.  Thank you ….a thousand times again! Thank you just seems so inadequate!