[paperchasingmom]

I hope your Philippine attorney ISN'T Reynaldo Bernardo....he was our Philippine attorney that "seemed" nice, did alot for us even without being paid, "seemed" knowledgeable, professed to be a christian, so my husband and I hired him, paid him in full and now he's vanished.....

You have to understand that the U.S. ALSO HAS REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIONS, and specific requirements when adopting children from other countries and Linda touched on this....It is imperative that these children be deemed orphans or else the United States won't allow them into our country or be recognized as citizens....

It's not just will the Philippines release these children BUT ALSO, WILL THE U.S. LET THEM IN....

Again, not wanting to scare you, BUT TO HELP YOU!!! My husband and I literally, I hate to say this, but we've been put through hell, total hell, being told we can adopt this baby girl, only to make arrangements to travel and then find out about this ICAB and realize that if this adoption is not done legally, through them, it is deemed an illegal adoption which can result in being imprisoned for six years!!!! Again, that terrified us, thinking that not only could we go over there and NOT bring our baby daughter home, but that we could be IMPRISONED!!! You can't imagine the hell we've gone through.....

BUT, THE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU IS, your wife is RELATED to these children, SO IT CAN BE DONE....you just need to make sure it's done right....typically, the Philippines DOES NOT ALLOW ADOPTIONS OF NON-RELATIVE "PRE-IDENTIFIED" child adoptions....BUT IN YOUR CASE, THIS IS A "RELATIVE" PRE-IDENTIFIED CHILD, SO IT CAN, CAN, CAN, CAN, CAN BE DONE, IF THE PAPERWORK IS PROCESSED CORRECTLY.....

So take a deep breath, all will be well, go through the ICAB, call some agencies here in the U.S., like Holt International or Wide Horizon's International Adoption Agencies (you can find them on the web...) and you can make sure that the way everyone is doing this, is the right, thorough way....okay????

Again, I don't mean to scare you, just spare you from what my husband and I have gone through....

Unfortunately, our case is different, we are NOT related to this baby we are trying to adopt, so our process, unfortunately, looks grim, BUT, we believe God will prevail and all will be well....so, if you could keep us in your prayers we would greatly appreciate it....as we will keep you in ours...

Again, you should be okay, providing that all the necessary, correct, entities are involved and clear this, okay? Don't worry, just be glad you found this board and found out about the ICAB....

Feel free to write anytime.....I'm more than glad to help....

Just to let you know, we have not been granted custody of the baby we were told we could adopt and it's been 5 months now....we are now having to backtrack and go through the ICAB and hopefully, their hearts will be opened and will allow this exception....

You may still have to go through a homestudy and everything else too....check with Wide Horizons or Holt International or Pearl S. Buck or Hand in Hand International Adoption Agencies....they are a plethora of knowledge.....and will assist you greatly.

Write back if you have any more questions....

Blessings,

Melody