[hjelder]

So, did you guys put together your own dossiers or did you have a company do it? My agency recommends having a company do it, but I am wondering if it is worth it?

[AuntDonna]

We didn't have a choice for a company to do it. Its really not that hard, just takes some time. You have a great resource here when you have a quick question, so I vote do it yourself. One of the hardest things to do is find someone to do your Pysch Report for you. So start on that first. Try to gather things that will not expire first. Just remember the most important thing when you have anything notarized.......the date on the document MUST match the notary date. Try to stay organize and go for it.

Donna

[hjelder]

You don't need to get certified copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc..Do you?

[AuntDonna]

Yes you do. Have you seen the list you need? I was given a list with check boxes. Some things need notarized and apostilled. Some only notarized and some things nothing. Ask them for the list. I had a folder and pasted the list on top and just worked off the list as I could.

[FranTastic]

I also vote to do it yourself. Dedicate a table top so you can spread out, get yourself a good thick binder and take it one step at a time.

[hjelder]

Originally Posted by hjelder

You don't need to get certified copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc..Do you?

Oops I didn't mean certified copies--I meant notarized ones. Do the certified copies of those documents have to be notarized?

They have given us a basic list but not a country-specific list yet...

[AuntDonna]

Its been awhile since I ordered them. I remember and someone can correct me if I am wrong, but when I ordered them online you have to get the ones with a raised seal. When I ordered my marriage certificate, I remember telling the person that it was for an adoption and she knew which one I needed. They all came ready to go. I didn't have to then get them notarized. Look on your states website and sometimes it has a list of why you need them and then they will send the correct one. Hope that makes sense.

[Nancycs]

We are preparing our dossier by ourselves. We know of people who can do it for us, but really we want to save as much money as possible!!!
We are waiting for the pysch report, we had the test done in middle of October and we still don't have it ready!!!! This and the fingerprints are the only documents that we are waiting for to send our dossier to Colombia!

[NashvilleGirl]

We put our dossier together ourselves. It's a lot of paperwork and you have to stay organized, but it's really not necessary to hire a company to do it (in my opinion). Our agency gave us a big check list of all the documents that were needed, which ones had to be notorized and apostilled, ect... If you want to PM me your email address, I can scan the document and email it to you so that you have something to work off of until you get the list from your agency.

[entropy]

I'm just unsure what a hired agency would do for you in the first place? are they going to go get a medical clearance for you? You know what I mean? Many things, the aparents are directly involved. I've never heard of hiring an agency to do this work for you. You get a list of things that you need. You collect them and you send them to your agency. Your agency adds thier touch, aka the reason you are paying them and then its sent on to ICBF in Bogotá.