You
will see, many of the documents gathered can serve several
purposes.
This may look intimidating the
first time you look at all the paperwork; however, we
encourage you to proceed, one step at a time. It can be
done! Children's Hope staff IS available for
questions. It will being to make sense as you proceed.
Once you receive a preliminary okay from Children's Hope, your
next steps are:
Pre-file for your
child's visa following the instruction of your
home study agency
Get a home study
done
Apply for a
passport
Being to gather
the documents for your Dossier
Write a letter of
introduction
**Children's Hope staff assist
families with each of these steps and provide
approved families with further details on how to complete
paperwork**
Dossier
Paperwork
Application and letter of introduction
Certified copy of marriage license
Certified copy divorce decree(s), if applicable
Certified copy of birth certificates of
adoptive parents and children living in home
2
medical letters (notarized)
2 proofs
of economic capacity (notarized):
a)
letter
from employer, or a CPA statement if self-employed
b)
1040
form
Home
study (notarized)
Psychological report (notarized)
Letters
of FBI clearance (notarized)
Certification of the nationality of previously
adopted children (notarized)
Affidavit of Names (notarized)
Copy of
I-171H (notarized tail)
Follow-up commitment from Children's Hope
(notarized)
Home
study approval from Children's Hope (notarized)
Copy of
Children's Hope license (notarized)
3
letters of recommendation (notarized)
Photocopy of passport photo pages
Passport
size photos for ICBF application
Photos
of family and home
Photo
pages for child
Although the documentation
seems intensive (and is!), bear in mind that ICBF is doing
its very best to see that Colombian children go to the most
prepared and qualified families they can find- and you are
one of them. The paperwork is meant to see that the
children are safe and provided for, and that the legal
requirements are met in both the United States and Colombia.
What is Notarizing?
The
Secretary of State's office in each US state licenses a certain number
of people in the state to act as notaries. Their job is to check the
identification documents of the person signing the document and verify
that they are who they say they are. They usually put a statement
on the document like, "subscribed and sworn to be before me by John Doe
(person signing the documentation)
on the 12th day of July of 2007. State of Oregon, County of Multnomah.
My commission expires__________." and they they sign it and put
their stamp on it.
What is Apostilling?
Apostilling
is the verification process used in which the Secretary of State affirms
that the notary who notarized your document is truly a registered notary
in that state.
You
will see, many of the documents gathered can serve several
purposes. 