[paperchasingmom]

Welcome to the Boards!!!

Congratulations on you and your wife's upcoming plan to adopt! I know it is a very exciting, trying time.....

I would like to suggest to you that you QUICKLY notify the Inter-Country Adoption Board based in the Philippines, known as the ICAB. They can help you tremendously through this process and from what I know THEY ARE THE ONES THAT NEED TO HELP YOU....

We too tried to go through the Philippine court system and were on our way over to adopt a non-relative baby girl and I found out about this ''ICAB".....unfortunately, our attorney in the Philippines had never heard of them and he had started our process through the court system there....but ALL INTER-C0UNTRY ADOPTIONS go through this ICAB area......

Domestic adoptions go through the court system--meaning that you reside in the Philippines and you want to adopt from the Philippines, but inter-country adoptions go through the ICAB and their process....meaning that you reside OUTSIDE the Philippines and you want to adopt from the Philippines...that would be an inter-country adoption--one country to the next....

We've been told of horror stories where U.S. citizens residing in the United States have gone over to the Philippines, had their intercountry adoptions "approved" by the local courts there, but when they tried to leave the country, the embassy and the child's passports and visa's WERE NOT GRANTED, because the adoption was not legal or recognized.....since it didn't go through the inter-country adoption board....this might not be your case, but I would highly suggest you quickly contact the ICAB and review their website and call them or email them....

I don't wish to scare you, but just to educate you since this was the same road we were on (but a non-relative child) and now we're having to backtrack and go through the ICAB.....because the way that the attorney in the Philippines was trying to do it, (through the local courts) this was illegal for inter-country adoptions and we never would have been able to leave the country and return to the United States with our child....we were devastated and horrified!!!!

That was just our particular situation....hope this helps (I know it doesn't help, or make you feel good, but...) I would just want you to have the best help available and the ICAB would provide that....

I will write back with their website address.....

Blessings to you and your family,

Melody