Well, I have no idea what I'm doing...but it's worth a try!

Hi Everyone! I recently found another family's website that they used to keep their family and friends informed during their long adoption process and I decided I wanted to give it a try! This might be an easy way to keep you up-to-date on what's going on during this complicated process.

So, at this point, we are in the "paperwork" stage. We have completed our home study visits and are waiting for our report to be completed by our social worker, Allyson. We have many little pieces of information to collect in the meantime. We have been fingerprinted by USCIS (Immigration Services) in St. Louis and are waiting for their approval letter. We are also going to be requesting our Illinois State Police Clearance letter as soon as Jit gets his fingerprinting at the police station done. Once we have USCIS and ISP approval, we can take our paperwork to the Secretary of State for their certification. It then goes to the Guatemalan Consulate who also "certifies" the documents. These certifications really mean nothing - these agencies are simply saying that they believe the documents to be genuine and not fakes so to speak. Once these certifications are complete, our dossier is ready for submission to the powers that be in Guatemala. At that point, we would be ready for a referral of a baby girl as soon as one comes along!! We are being told this referral could come almost immediately or we could have to wait 1-2 months.