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Ukraine Adoption Time Line


Date	Description
07/29/03	Made the decision to adopt. I have been thinking about it for years. I received bad news recently concerning my attempts at insemination over the past year. Adoption is now more cost effective.
08/01/03	Called and made an appointment with an adoption home study agency.
08/04/03	Home study (at my home)
08/05/03	Began the paper chase process
08/11/03	Mailed form and money for criminal check (dossier #1)
08/13/03	Doctor Appointment to get a "Bill of Health" for the Panama Dossier
08/14/03	Called the bank to see about a mortgage consolidation loan. Also investigated loan against 401K
08/15/03	Immagration photos taken.
08/15/03	Called BCIS to have some questions answered on the I-600A process. Mailed the I-600A form in with check.
08/15/03	Decided to find another country because Panama was too unstable - chose the Ukraine
08/18/03	Called to check on the certified marriage certificate and criminal history.
08/19/03	Mailed form and money order for certified copies of annulment decree
08/21/03	Bank closing on consolidation mortgage ( this will only cover $4k of the cost) Haven't lived in the home long enough to acquire much equity.
08/25/03	Mailed most required papers to the Home Study Assessor
08/27/03	Received criminal check #1
09/02/03	Decided to switch to the Ukraine and to adopt two children
09/02/03	Mailed final papers to Home Study Assessor
09/02/03	Mailed form and money order for two certified copies of my birth certificate. I already had 1 original for the homestudy. I found out after the fact that the Ukraine dossier doesn't require this.
09/04/03	Mailed adoption agreement to Ukrainian Angels
09/05/03	Received a list of the required Ukraine dossier documents from Cathy
09/08/03	Mailed form and money order for criminal check (dossier #2)
09/09/03	Received copies of completed home study.
09/11/03	Mailed form and money order for certified copy of marriage license for (dossier #1)
09/12/03	Mailed in Facilitator fee to Ukrainian Angels
09/16/03	Doctor appointment to redo the "Bill of Health". The Ukraine has different requirements than what was required for Panama and the home study.
09/16/03	Received I-600A form back from BCIS requesting money order instead of check. Their website says a "check" drawn upon a US bank is fine. This is not the case. It must be a money order!
09/17/03	Received criminal check #2
09/17/03	Mailed in I-600A form with home study & money order.
09/19/03	Faxed homestudy, criminal checks, marriage license, and annulment decree to Cathy
09/22/03	Faxed Cathy the copy of my passport and letter of employment. I already had the employment letter as it was required for the home study.
09/22/03	Submitted first reimbursement form to work for $2279
09/26/03	Called and spoke with FSSA. Mailed money order and letter to FSSA requesting letter that my home study agency was in good standing with the state
10/01/03	Sent Cathy a copy of the doctor letter. This required me to have it redone - wording wasn't right.
10/06/03	Faxed Cathy the new doctor's letter for approval.
10/09/03	Received my finger print appointment from the BCIS for 10/23
10/12/03	Cathy sent me an email detailing corrections required to partial documents sent to her.
10/13/03	Cathy sent me an email detailing more corrections required to partial documents sent to her.
10/13/03	Cathy sent the "letter of obligation" to me to have typed, signed, & notarized.
10/13/03	Faxed Cathy the letter from the home study agency stating that my assessor is in good standing. Also sent her the notarized copy of my passport.
10/15/03	Cathy sent the "petition to adopt" letter to me to have typed, signed, & notarized
10/15/03	Faxed Cathy the signed & notarized "petition to adopt" and "letter of obligation"
10/15/03	Contacted the State Police to have them redo one of the criminal checks - missing its notarization
10/16/03	Faxed Cathy the "new" notarized & signed copy of my home study agency license. Ukraine requires this to be a separate document and originally it was incorporated into my home study.
10/19/03	Cathy goes over my options on expediting the dossier
10/20/03	Received the letter from the FSSA saying that my home study agency was in good standings. Immediately faxed a copy to Cathy for approval.
10/20/03	Called the KY Department of State to discuss authenticating the annulment decree (only document that is from KY, the rest are from IN). Found out that it still requires more notarization - only is certified by the circuit court clerk.
10/21/03	Cathy sent the following emails to me: visa application process, important Ukraine information, Power of Attorney, Introduction to the Translator, authentication process, and what the translator fee includes.
10/21/03	Called the State Police to check the status of the 2nd criminal check - its in the mail.
10/22/03	Faxed Cathy the notarized & signed copy of the "Power of Attorney"
10/22/03	Finally straightened out what is required for the annulment decree by several calls to various departements in KY.
10/23/03	Went to the finger printing appointment and annulment decree notarized by the circuit court and by the county clerk. The decree is now ready to go to the state. I have yet to start authentication for IN documents.
10/24/03	Faxed Cathy the "corrected" 2nd criminal check plus county/circuit court notarized/certified annulment decree
10/27/03	Made copy of dossiers for translation into Ukraine
10/27/03	Called the IN Secretary of State's office to see if county certification is required prior to state authentication. County certification is not required on documents - only a notarization. Indiana also does not charge for authentication. Made a copy of the documents for my reference - will mail them to IN tomorrow.
10/27/03	Picked up a money order for $10 for two KY documents to be authenticated by the state.
10/28/03	Mailed dossier copies to Vladimir for translation (2nd Day UPS). Mailed check for $1000 to Cathy to cover translation cost. Mailed annulment decree to the State of KY for authentication (Next Day UPS). Mailed the rest of the documents to the State of IN for authentication (Next Day UPS).
10/29/03	KY documents arrived in Frankfort and were processed. Dropped in regular mail back to me.
10/30/03	IN documents arrived to Indianapolis. Copy of dossier arrived in Kiev but not delivered.
10/31/03	The copies of the dossiers arrived at their destination in the Ukraine. Received authenticated documents back from KY.
11/03/03	Received documents back from Indiana - only part of them authenticated. :( Unfortunately I'll have to wait until Wednesday to call them due to the elections.
11/05/03	Contaced the IN Secretary of State to see what the problem was on the dossiers. The reason they were returned as because the notary didn't put "County of Jefferson" in her signature/stamp. Annoying. Shipping the corrected documents back to the state today.
11/05/03	Contacted Jeff Doyle (courier) to get pricing for authenticating documents at the US State Department. I only need to do this for the two KY documents. The Ukraine Consulate in Chicago accepts Indiana State authentication without a US State Department authentication.
11/05/03	I contacted Carrie (courier) to get an updated cost and what's involved in the process for her to have my dossiers processed through the Ukraine Embassy in Chicago then shipped to Ukraine. The prices have gone up some from what Cathy provided me as an estimate.
11/05/03	I spoke to Jeff Doyle concerning bundling documents through the State Department. He has experienced problems with 2 dossiers that part of them were authenticated by the State Department and the other part weren't because they fell under the jurisdiction of the Chicago Embassy. When they arrived in the Ukraine there were problems and he had to expedite the Indiana documents through the State Department anyway. He is urging that all of the documents go through the State Department and be processed in the Washington DC Embassy. I need everyone to get their ducks in a row to proceed without problems. He will be talking to Cathy today (hopefully). I sent Cathy and email covering the conversation and asking for direction.
11/05/03	The HR Manager told me that he received approval from corporate to reimburse my first claim. I should see it within 2 weeks.
11/05/03	I found the I-171H in my mail box after work today. Woot! From the time I mailed my I-600A in till received I-171H has been 7 weeks (this includes being finger printed etc..). I received it 2 weeks after finger printing.
11/06/03	I received an email from Vladimir. The translation of the dossier is complete except for the new I-171H which will be mailed out today to the Ukraine. He will finalize the translation once he sees the original dossiers.
11/06/03	Dossier documents were received by the state of Indiana for authentication (2nd time around). I ordered a Russian language tape specific to parent phrases. :)
11/06/03	Mailed the I-171H off to the state of IN for authentication.
11/10/03	Received my Russian CD today
11/11/03	Received the remaining dossier documents back from IN today with authentication
11/12/03	Mailed both dossiers to Jeff Doyle for processing through the US State Department. He will forward to Carrie for prcoessing through the Chicago Ukraine Embassy.
11/12/03	Submitted second reimbursement form to work for $2485.11
11/14/03	Received first reimbursement from work for $2279
11/14/03	Dossiers are through the US State Department and in route to the Courier in Chicago.
12/05/03	Called Carrie to check on the status of the dossiers. They should be ready for pickup at the Chicago Ukraine embassy on Monday 12/8.
12/05/03	Wrote Cathy and Vladimir to discuss how the Hague Convention will impact my dossiers. Apparently this will require that documents receive apostilling rather than just authentication at the state level. Hopefully I will sneak across the document finish line before this hits.
12/08/03	Received word that the Chicago Ukraine Consular's office dropped the ball on my dossiers. They will be 5 days late so (14 days total through there)
12/15/03	The dossiers have arrived in the Ukraine. Received copies of authentications from Jeff Doyle. I'm awaiting confirmation that the dossiers have been dropped off at the NAC.
12/18/03	Filled out a new W4 form to increase my claims inorder to generate a tax debt so I can get reimbursed on the federal $10,000 (per child) adoption tax credit for 2004 taxes.
01/20/04	I received an information package from the US embassy in Warsaw Poland. The package contained info on the steps of adoption and immigration through their office.
01/29/04	Found out today that I may have to redo my medical form because NAC changed their form 1/1/04. Sent an email to the US Embassy in Kiev and to Cathy Harris
01/30/04	Received a reply from Cathy telling me to redo the forms (ARGH!). Received a letter from the US Embassy saying that I may have to and gave me the new form. SO ANNOYING! Trying to get with my doctor today to have a new letter drafted.
01/30/04	New medical form is done and mailed UPS next day to Indiana Secretary of State. Included a next day return envelop
02/04/04	New medical form arrived back from the state today. According to the New Hague, I can skip the federal and ukraine embassy seals and send right to my translator. Mailing out today to Vladimir
02/09/04	FedEx showed delivery of the new medical forms to my translator in Ukraine.
03/05/04	Given the changes in the Ukraine concerning adopting unrelated children - its much more difficult - I've decided to get state approved for special needs adoption. I signed up for the classes (4 in total)
03/13/04	Indiana adoption class #1 at Seymour (Foster system and Recognizing Child Abuse)
03/15/04	Dropped a copy of the homestudy plus some dossier documents off to the Division of Family and Children (DFC)
03/16/04	Dossiers were rejected at the NAC due to wrong version of the medical form. Vladimir resubmitted. Apparently the NAC would not let translators place the new form in the dossier folders. They make you wait till they are officially rejected then force you to go through another 20 day wait. Talk about inefficeint!
03/19/04	Wrote Vladimir asking for an update on the dossier status.
03/25/04	Called the DFC to check on the home study for special needs adoption - she will return my call 3/29
03/27/04	Indiana adoption class #3 at Seymour (Emotional & Behavior Disorders)
03/29/04	Cindy responded and said I had to get a new (free) home study for special needs adoption. Apparently the one done for the Ukraine isn't as indepth as what she needs.
03/30/04	I took out a FedEx account and sent the info to Vladimir so he could insert a few priority envelops into the dossiers.
04/08/04	Visit from The Villages for the 2nd homestudy (special needs adoption)
04/13/04	This is the 20th day that the dossiers have been in process since the 2nd Submission. In total my dossiers have been in the NAC office for 120 days. Pathetic.
04/16/04	I received an email today from Vladimir with my registration number and attached form to complete and mail to the NAC. I mailed it today via priority FedEX and included a return envelop. They are accepting travel dates for July which means some of my documents may expire while I'm in the Ukraine. So I'm gonna have to start having those redone.
04/17/04	Indiana adoption class #2 at Scottsburg (Emotional & Behavior Disorders)
04/21/04	FedEx showed delivery of the letter with my requested appointment week.
04/24/04	Indiana adoption class #4 at Bloomington (Adoption specific)
05/03/04	Requested that the Ukraine homestudy be updated - cost $600 ouch. Mailed request for criminal check update in order to include in the homestudy update.
05/08/04	Homestudy Update Visit
05/10/04	Mailed BMV form today for Homestudy Update. Ordered child locks and packmates. Requested copies of references from State homestudy for use in Ukraine homestudy.
05/12/04	Received a letter from the NAC today. It looks to be the same information that Vladimir provided via email on 04/04/16. So I'm still awaiting an appointment date. Also, I ordered Kwikpoint cards today.
05/13/04	The new criminal checks showed up today and they forgot to sign and notarize them even after I included a letter to that effect. So I will have to call tomorrow and have these redone. They are batting 25% on accuracy so far. My reference updates arrived today as well. I will forward to Bonnie to update the homestudy with.
05/14/04	I received an email today from Vladimir saying that he saw on a list where the NAC sent me an appointment letter on 5/7. So I should receive it around 5/28 since it was sent regular mail.
05/15/04	Received NAC appointment date - emailed to Vlad to try and make out the handwriting. Looks like 8/30. Confirmed… appointment is for 8/30 but they did not give me a time.
05/19/04	Doctor appointment to redo the medical form. New criminal checks arrived with notarization
05/21/04	Took a 1/2 day and drove to Louisville to get new annulment papers for the dossier updated
05/24/04	Mailed annulment papers to Frankfort for apostilles
05/25/04	Started quoting airline flights to Ukraine
05/26/04	New medical form completed today.
05/26/04	Mailed first batch of Indiana papers to Indianapolis for apostilles. Still waiting on the homestudy and ss letter.
06/01/04	Mailed letter of interest on two local indiana kids. Sent letter to Bonnie asking about homestudy status (Ukraine)
06/03/04	Received first batch of Indiana documents back and KY documents. Still waiting on revised Ukraine homestudy
06/11/04	Booked airline tickets on NW (special deliveries). Decided to use the adoption fare in order to avoid penalties.
06/11/04	Mailed Visa applications to Doyle Authentications.
06/14/04	Jeff Doyle received the apps and will start the process tomorrow (unexpedited) - ETA 15 working days.
06/17/04	Plane tickets arrived via mail
07/01/04	Received visas today. And Bonnie says the home study update is in the mail.
07/05/04	Received home study update today
07/06/04	Mailed 2nd set of documents requiring update to IN for apostilles
07/08/04	Received 2nd set of docs back from IN (that was fast!)
07/09/04	Mailed 2nd set of docs to Vladimir in Ukraine for translation.
07/14/04	Vladimir received the dossier updates
07/26/04	Received 3rd Hepatist B shot
08/04/04	Ordered Travel Insurance & Satellite phone today (Phone due by 8/25)
08/05/04	Ordered VIP airport service from Rowland. Sent an email to Yuri Bezdverny (doctor in ukraine) to inquire about his services to evaluate my prospective child.
08/10/04	Contracted Dr. Bezdverny's services to travel to the orphanages with us for medical evaluation of the children.



08/27/04	Departure date from Louisville to Kiev