[Turtletoesyellow]

I am so frustrated with all the letter writing I have had to do to get official certified copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, police records and such. Then wait for 4-6 weeks, hear nothing and so write another letter asking them what they did with my first request. If I am able to get all of these letters together without anything expiring for the China dossier, I am going to be amazed.

I'm also amazed at how much doctors have been charging for the letters I have needed from them. One charged $50.00. It just seems like everyone has their hand out for this process and I'm starting to just be happy that my letters of reference didn't ask me for money to write those letters.

Yeesh.
Turtletoesyellow

[watermelon0719]

Oh, I am so sorry you're having such a hard time! For me, things have been the exact opposite - everyone has been quick and efficient!! :knock on wood!!!!: I have found that exact wording is very important in your letters - maybe ask your agency what wording to use? Our coordinator told us EXACTLY what to say in our letters, and everyone has been very quick with our documents. Good luck!

[Mihoshi]

Is it possible/helpful to have those documents on hand prior to starting the adoption process, or are they required to be dated within a certain time frame? My husband is getting a lot of those documents now as part of some security clearence process, it'd be nice if we could just file them away until later.

[LMA1959]

You can get them in as you get them done, at least in Ontario. I have some dated January and some May!

[ocracoke]

You can get the documents like birth certificates and marriage licenses whenever. The question becomes how many do you need. My agency require 3 originals of each. Some agencies are happy with copies or just 1 original. So it is helpful to know which agency you are using so you are meeting their standards. Things like letters of reference, employment letters, bank letters, etc should be done closer to when you are submitting your dossier. I think all of my documents were dated within 6 months of the submission of the dossier. But again, check with you agency to see what their expectations are.

Best of luck,
Samantha