[dana_dane]

I'd like to get a discussion going about people's experiences with adopting from Poland.

How long did you have to wait for a referral?
What types of children are available?
Your experiences in country.
And anything advise for information that would be helpful for those of us who are in the process.

[hybell]

How long did you have to wait for a referral?
We waited about 8 months for our referral. We completed the adoption in a year from the time our dossier went to Poland to the time we picked our son up.

What types of children are available?
Our son was 4 at referral.

Your experiences in country.
We had a wonderful time in Poland. We did two trips - one for 3 weeks to meet him, go to court, and spend time with him, and a second for 10 days to process his VISA. We could have spent less time in Poland on the second trip, but we were eager to see him again.

[dana_dane]

What year did you adopt him? How were your experiences with the Polish adoption authorities? The reason I ask all these questions is because we are tossed between adopting from Poland or Ukraine. With all the instability going on in Ukraine right now, I'm leaning toward Poland. However, my adoption worker for some reason thinks we have better chances with Ukraine. She seems to think Poland's adoption process is slow moving but from what I've read from other posts, that seems to be normal from any country. We are searching for 1-2 girls in the age range of 7-11.

[hybell]

Dana -

I PM'd you.

[MJCZYK]

Check with your adoption worker. I believe the Ukraine has suspended the adoption process for the U.S..

http://ukraine.adoption.com/

[dana_dane]

It is suspended for the time being but it is rumored that it will open back up after the first of the year.