An essential component of every international adoption is this mythically mammoth thing called a dossier (pronounce doss-E-A). Actually, for our discussion here, let’s think of the dossier as a wooly mammoth – a wooly mammoth that you have to eat before your can bring home YOUR child from … wherever.
So, there it is. This big wooly mammoth standing (lying down) between you and your child. How are you going to eat it? Well, the same way you eat an elephant (which I’m sure you do all the time) … one bite at a time.
Each piece of the dossier is time consuming and will require intense attention to detail. You will have to wade through the bureaucracy of several soveriegn entities – with varying degrees of incomprehensible persnickety attention to seemingly inconsequential minutia. But, as you take periodic breathers from your wooly mammoth feast, I encourage you to remember that buried somewhere in all the bureaucracy is the sincere desire to protect the child and ensure that the adoption is in their best interests.
So what are the little bites that comprise the dossier? Each country will vary, but below you will find a basic list compiled by Hope for Orphans’, If You Were Mine: A Workshop for Those Exploring Adoption, Family Life Publishing, 2008.
- Home study
- Certified birth certificates
- Notarized copies of employment verification
- IRS Form 1040
- Bank statement
- Letter from your physician stating good health and/or explanation of any medical conditions and prognoses
- Four letters so recommendation from nonfamily sources
- Notarized copy of your home study
- Two to three photographs
- USCIS Affidavit of Support Form with supporting documents
- USCIS Form 1-600 or 1-600A (or 1-800A / 1-800)
- Fingerprint cards (USCIS Form FD-258)
As you can see, it is unquestionably a mammoth task indeed!
Thus, my sales pitch … call us for help. We specialize in time saving techniques for wooly mammoth consumption.
