[MaryM]

Hi All,

Our agency just sent us their 22-page dossier information packet, and I am completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of documents and all the stages the documents have to go through—notarization, authentication, legalization, and translation—before we're finished. I wonder if people could comment on how their dossier preparation went or is going, how long it took you to compile it, how long each stage took with the various agencies involved (notaries, State Departments, Consulates, translators), and how you managed to keep all the paperwork straight during the process. I would love to get any advice you have on this process. Many thanks!
Marya

[Colorbind love]

First, breathe. I know you are getting that overwhelming urge to hyperventilate or puke. Its first time shock. I've been there. It gets better with time.

Take things one step at a time.

When we started our first adoption, we did 2 things. One, we bought an accordian file. We arranged all of the documents in their little compartments in the accordian file. Let's see, Homestudy, placing agency, dossier, immigration, finances and then ready to mail files of each of those original files, along with with a misc file and a file to make and keep copies of everything.

Second, Dh set up a spreadsheet. He documented everything needed, according to which requirement (homestudy, CIS, placing agency, dossier, finances). He documented what they required (signed, copied, notarized, etc), whether the step was completed (just a Y/N space) and the date the document was mailed. I thought he was nuts at first. But, this guy does spreadsheets for a living. Let me tell you, it was amazing to have that thing on the computer. It kept everything at our fingertips. AND, most importantly it broke the process down into attainable steps for me.


And, I can offer one piece of assurance. Once you get into the swing of it, it gets better. The initial shell-shock stage wears off. We just started our second adoption, and because we moved states we have to start from scratch. DH informed me tonight he wants our dossier in-country by end of October. I actually didn't panic this time around. So, I can promise you its the initial response to panic. And, then you just find a system to organize it so you can keep track of it and go for it. Oh, and remember that your agency will keep track of it too, so if you miss something they should let you know ASAP.

[bratgirl]

My best advice is to separate the documents into piles of things you can do and things someone else has to do (police, HR, doctor, etc). Schedule you Dr. visits and begin taking the things that other people have to do to them. Have your homestudy done if it wasn't already. Sit down and take an entire day to fill out all of your forms. Once we had everything from everyone else, the several forms, which we recreated on the computer only took a day or two to complete. We felt like we were really slow doing our dossier and could have had it done much sooner. Our homestudy took the longest amount of time to get it complete and sent to us. Our entire process from filling out the initial application to turning in the dossier took about 2 1/2 months. If we had the homestudy beforehand, we could have done it in about two weeks. Just sit down and make yourself do it! You can turn in your dossier before you get your I171H, so don't wait for it if you want to move quickly. Once CIS had our homestudy - it only took about 3 weeks to get the I171H. We were able to send in the 1600A w/o the homestudy and we were able to get the fingerprinting done right away also. Set your own pace and breathe if you get overwhelmed. We actually didn't think it was that bad. Our dossier had 50 documents when we turned it in.

[Tayler's mom]

Our dossier took about 2 months to complete. We used the same concept of the accordian file, it works great. We also used a spreadsheet. I checked things off of the sheet upon completion and it gives you a sense of progress. The trip to the state dept was easy. Everyone in that office was there for the same reason we were. It only took 20 minutes for the apostilles and I double, triple, and quadruple checked all my documents before sending them. They were correct the first time-no redos!! I highly recommend some sort of filing system. I kept a seperate brief case, just for adoption paperwork. I have since added a travel file. I have been compiling a list of items that people have suggested we take on our trips, info on the doctors we will send our referral to review, etc. It has been a long road through all of this paperwork, but consider this your labor pains! Good luck and try to enjoy what you can of this experience, it is unique and so worth it!!

Waiting for my referral