[sinsjen]

we are starting our dossier to kaz....so we are in the beginning stages...

but we are considering staying in kaz the entire time instead of coming home during the wait. we are taking our 3 year old and both of our mothers will be able to help with our child while we are at the baby house and court, etc. we are trying to get a feel on how long to plan on being there and how to split the travel with our moms..(one mom will go the first half of the trip, the other the second)

1. how long did you stay?

2. if you came back to the U.S. how long was it before you returned to kaz?

3. how long did you wait for a court date after your bonding time?

4. how long were you in almaty for the exit interviews, embassy, etc?

thank you!

[lovestruck]

If you make one trip I would plan on being there approximately 7 to 8 weeks give or take a few days.

I also recommend staying the entire time if at all possible. There will never be another time with your child without all of the distractions of life once you return home. Granted you will be ready to come home, but really it is a once in a lifetime experience for many reasons.

We had court about 1 1/2 weeks after bonding ended.

Then you have the 15 day wait for the appeal and then about a 7 to 10 day wait for paperwork and passports before going to Almaty.

We were in Almaty less than a week, more like 5 days, but two of those were weekend days.

We also took our boys, ages 5 and 8 at the time. they did wonderful. Feel free to pm me if you'd like and I'll give you my address if you'd like to talk further.

[JenniferKaz]

I stayed the whole time (8 - 9 weeks) and was glad I did. My husband left after court (5 weeks). The cost of airfare was was the same as my after-tax missed pay for a couple weeks, so it made sense to stay the whole time. Depending on your job you might also not be able to go for a month, return home for a month, then be out again for bonding when returning home. I took all of my time as consecutive FMLA leave.

Other families who came home after court returned about 4 weeks later. A little longer than if they had stayed in country---- the in country staff works better when you are physically there and pestering them.

We waited about 2 weeks after bonding for a court date. We met our son May 2nd and had court May 29th. All regions tend to be different. We were in the city of Astana.

I was in Alamty for 5 days: Thursday night through Monday/Tuesday morning (i flew out around 1am). Friady was our SOS clinic appt and Monday as the embassy/interview/visa. Being there over a weekend meant I was there longer. We finished our adoption just prior to the AIDS testing which sometimes adds a day.

I am glad I stayed the whole time, it allowed me to focus on our son and not worry about jumping back into work for a couple weeks. And once you have an apt in Kaz, what's another couple weeks there!

[mlb]

how long did you stay? Son #1 42 days start to finish

2. if you came back to the U.S. how long was it before you returned to kaz? Son #2 5 1/2 long weeks

3. how long did you wait for a court date after your bonding time? We got htere on May 12 and court was on the 30th so for us it was quick.

4. how long were you in almaty for the exit interviews, embassy, etc? 6 days from take off to landing home

[cwhammond]

When we were there Nov. 2006-Jan 2007 we had 2 weeks of visitation and court in our fourth week there. My husband went home during the 2 week wait and then came back. I stayed and kept bonding with our baby. We received custody 15 days after court (so ti was 6 days alone with our new baby before my husband got back). Since it was over the holidays I think we took a bit longer. We were in Almaty for 6 days and at that point we had already had custody for almost 2 weeks (by the time we got there). The split trip wore my husband out and this time we're both staying the whole time and bringing our son. Our folks are talking about coming but probably won't have them come until after the first two weeks or so are up. Thinking one set during the 2ww and the other for custody and the trip to Almaty. It is so worth it to stay and bond and the other responder was correct in saying you'll never get this uninterrupted time with your family again (unless you back for #2 like us ).

[hml1976]

We adopted from Uralsk which is the fastest region so our experiences aren't really in line with most regions. Both of our adoptions (2005 & 2007) were 35 days, one trip and we both stayed the whole time.

[Mich71]

We were in Astana Aug/Sept 2006

1. we stayed one trip and were in country 54 days

3. court was about 9 business days after bonding.
(Of those that I have talked to that have recently returned this time is taking longer)

4. We were in Almaty for 3 days (this was just before the HIV/AIDS test was required, so that would have added another day)

[ljsdo2007]

Anyone out there who has completed a Kaz adoption in the past few months who can comment on time in-country? I hear it is getting longer and red tape stickier.

[DET62]

There is a lot of variation in travel times - a lot depends on how efficient your agency is. I was there last year and did two trips. I was in Petropavlovsk.

March 13 - met my son
April 3rd - court [waited 1 week after 14 day period]
May 2 - returned to get my son

Due to a canceled flight, I was squeezed for time in Almaty, and they did everything in two days - before my visa expired. Oleg was great on that - he works with a lot of agencies.

Dee

[montekarmelo]

Now there are some cities in which you have to go 3 times. They are in the north and central of the country, I think

[cwhammond]

We were in Kaz for a total of 8 1/2 weeks. We went to court in the 4th week and then my husband travelled home for 2 1/2 weeks during the waiting time. We were in Almaty for 6 days for final processing.

[onehappymom]

We applied in April 2003. Finished paperwork end of May. Went to Kazakhstan in November and stayed 3 weeks there.