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When my husband and I started the adoption journey, the immense financial commitment was softened by a wonderful thing called the Adoption Tax Credit. Back then (before the dreaded “slowdown” in Ethiopia’s adoption program), we figured the adoption would be final in 2011, and we would be eligible for a refund of around $13,360 to offset eligible adoption expenses. So in our minds, nearly half of our adoption expenses would someday come back to our bank account, and all would be swell in our budget. Well, our adoption was not final in 2011...not even close. And I’m pretty sure that, like most families stuck on slow-moving waiting lists, our girl won’t be home by the end of 2012 either. So what about that… [more]

Lately I have come across several opinion articles about the state of adoptions in Ethiopia. In these articles, the authors raise concerns about the boom of adoptions coming from Ethiopia. Statistics from the last several years would suggest that this boom has largely been the result of a shift in availability, as adoption programs in other countries, namely Guatemala and China, have closed or dramatically changed. But the central claim in these articles alleges that some children were wrongfully placed with adoptive parents when they were not actually orphans, as evidenced by the fact that these children's parents were still living. For domestic adoptions and adoptions through the foster care system in the US, what makes a child eligible for adoption? American children are… [more]

I was reading an adoption blog the other day, and the author basically said, "Sorry I haven't updated this blog for a number of months...We're still waiting for our referral...It's easier for us not to immerse ourselves in the adoption world while we wait." Huh. What a novel idea. Imagine not spending all your free time reading adoption blogs. Imagine not checking your agency's website for updates that you may have missed via email. Imagine not connecting with other adopting moms, particularly those from your agency, to share tidbits of information (which I'm sure the agencies just love). And if you're waiting for a referral, imagine not making a little wish, in the hopes that THIS is THE CALL, every time your phone rings. I… [more]

As Angie and I have previously reported on the Ethiopia blog, an increasing number of parents adopting from Ethiopia have received notices that their children's cases are "not clearly approvable". In these cases, the US Embassy did not have enough evidence to determine these children met the US definition of orphan, as part of the investigation for the I-600, with 100 percent certainty. These cases were then forwarded to the USCIS office in Nairobi for futher investigation. This increase in case transfers was a the result in the change of processing. Previously, Embassy staff would request additional documentation if needed. Now, cases requiring additional evidence must be transferred to USCIS first. With the sudden increase in these cases, USCIS recently sent a team… [more]

How about a feel-good story this week? Recently, I interviewed a family who is adopting a boy from Ethiopia. Meet the Page family. Mollie and her husband Scott have three adorable girls. The boy, Isaiah, they are waiting to bring home from Ethiopia is equally as cute. Two years ago, Mollie and Scott were gathered at a friend's house to hear a band play. The band was there to raise awareness about the orphan crisis. That night, the Pages could no longer silence the stirring in their hearts to adopt. As they prayed about their decision to adopt, "We always came back to Ethiopia. Truly, it was like Ethiopia chose us!" said Mollie. She explained, "Even though I had never been there, African has been on… [more]

On October 28th, USCIS and the Department of State held a conference call regarding an increased number of I-600 cases that have been forwarded to the USCIS office in Nairobi. The purpose of the conference call was to explain what "not clearly approvable" means. In the last several months, nearly 60 adoption cases that were submitted to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa were given this status. Prior to these 60 cases (that were forwarded in about one weeks' time), only 10 cases had ever been previously sent to USCIS. When the US Embassy deems a case "not clearly approvable", it does not mean that these cases are denied. Instead, it means the Embassy does not have enough evidence to approve these cases… [more]

Today was Orphan Sunday at many churches around the US. This couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Recently, Ambassador Susan Jacobs, Special Advisor for Children's Issues in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, reported that, "Last year [fiscal year 2011], US citizens adopted more than 9,000 children from countries around the world." In fiscal years 2004 and 2005, Americans adopted nearly 23,000 children each year from other countries. The number of international adoptions has been on a steady decline since then. And it seems this fiscal year, which ended September 30, is no exception. There are some obvious clues as to why international adoptions have declined. China has dramatically slowed down international adoptions. The Guatemala adoption program was very popular, and the closing… [more]

This post is a follow-up to the previous post, called "I-600 in the News". As you may know, the approval process for Ethiopian adoptions occurs in two steps: 1) Ethiopia's Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs declares adoptive parents as the legal parents of an orphan; then 2) The US Embassy agress that the child meets the US definition of orphan, and the family is now allowed to return to the United States. In March, the Ethiopian government announced a slowdown in the first step of this process as an effort to reduce any possible wrongful placements in reaction to claims of poor practices or coercion. In addition to this slowdown in case processing, new regulations were placed on orphanages and agencies to make sure… [more]

After 11 months--yes, it took us that long to get here, and no, that's not typical--our I-600A will be filed next week with USCIS! While I do feel a sense of accomplishment or progress at crossing another milestone in our adoption process, I now face the fun task of...The Paper Chase (otherwise known as compiling the dossier). The dossier is basically your adoption application that will be sent to the country from which you're adopting. You need to assemble a long list of documents according to the country's requirements. These range from financial statements to proof of health and life insurance. For a complete list of these requirements, click here. Most families work on compiling the dossier while they're waiting for… [more]

If you're like me, you are thinking about adoption all the time. You're doing the dishes and thinking about filing the I-600A. Folding laundry is a time of reflection for your next blog post. Playing with your kids leads to daydreams about how great it will be when your next child is finally home. And thank heaven for DVR, because you have paperwork to do and Modern Family will have to wait. And then you look at your handsome, loving husband. He's watching the scores scroll across ESPN to find out the score of the Chiefs game that wasn't televised. And he's thinking about...football. That's it. Just football. So why is it that husbands--those who are fully on board with adopting--seem to be less… [more]