So, what happens now??

We got some information on the steps required to bring Hanna home. Here is what we received today:

The next step in the process will be getting her current birth certificate -- it will say her current name. That can take up to 2 months to get documents ready for that, then file them with a court, then there is a 30 day period of waiting for the actual B.C., Once we get the birth certificate, then we file your documents with the Adoption Court. the hearing is then scheduled pretty quickly - 1-2 weeks - and Pierre goes to that hearing. The Judgement is signed and it is registered with the court in a day or two from Hearing date. There is a 30 day appellate period, and at the end, there is a No Appeals Judgment issued. Once that is issued, the I-600 is sent to USCIS and you wait for your approval. Once you get the approval, documents are filed with the US Embassy in Kinshasa for visa. We get the visa, then we get the Exit Letter from the DGM in Kinshasa. Then you go and pick up your daughter - YAY!!

Hopefully, she will be home in the Spring!

Approval on National Adoption Day!!!

We received our I600-A approval today! This means we have been determined able to furnish proper care to an orphan by the US Dept of Homeland Security! A formality, but an important one. We are one step closer to our little Hanna B!

Info on our daughter today!

So, this is what we got today:

She was near 1 year old when she was brought to the orphanage on October 20, 2010. She was found abandoned at the city Market (food market place) by Market workers.
Parents and family members are unknown. At the time she was found, her health was weak because she was malnourished. She is healthy now.

So sad! We hope we can bring her home SOON!!!

Getting there AGAIN!!

Well, we did not get all of our paperwork done, before we left for our Disney trip, but we did get it done when we got back. So, now all of our documents are complete, authenticated, and ready to go to DR Congo (fingers crossed). We also had our fingerprint appointment last week, so we should be getting our approval soon. We also had to send them a change of country request and our updated Home Study.

On another note, we had a fabulous time on our Disney World/ Disney Cruise trip. Here are some pictures. Next time, we will have 2 little girls with us!!!!