Adoption

[Padukacat]

Has anyone had experience with doing a very expedited adoption out of China or know someone who has?

[kingcat]

My cousin and his wife adopted a beautiful Chinese baby (two years old I believe) a few years back. Not sure how quickly expedited it was. Seems to me there was an unexpected delay. Quicker than natural childbirth however and they got two years free.

I don't recall the particulars but I assure you they wouldn't change a thing.
She is beautiful young six year old now and full of life and love.

They are both accomplished nurses in E-Town. I think I can put you in touch with them if you need me to..

[dan_bgblue]

You may or may not have seen this WSJ article from April of this year. It provides some good anecdotal info along with some real world numbers.

WSJ on foreign child adoption

[suncat05]

We have a friend that is adopting a Chinese girl who will soon be 13 yoa,, next month, I think. IIRC, this has been an endeavor that has taken some time to get to this point. She just told me last week that there was a misspelled name on a visa or something, and that she had to go back to the USCIS (my God, I absolutely HATE THOSE PEOPLE!) because her middle name was incorrectly spelled, the mistake of the USCIS, and yet she had to pay ANOTHER $360.00 to get THEIR MISTAKE corrected and get the visa fixed.
She also told me that the little girl's 13th birthday is sometime next month, and that if they do not have her in their possession BEFORE her birthday that the adoption is off.
They have made all of these preparations, made all of these plans, worked so hard to make this happen (and oh, yeah, spent an inordinately large amount of money, too!) and yet this still may not happen.
Nixon got this one wrong. The Chinese were about to go under financially when he rescued them from themselves, and now we're paying the price, all because he wanted an ally against the Russians for some point in the future. Now, we have BOTH against us, which is no different than it was before.
The Chinese do not value human life at all, especially female lives, but they'll sell us their unwanted female children. Which I am not sure is a good idea to do, because we have no idea what they're done to these little girls which may come back to bite us in the future.
I hope my friend gets her little Chinese girl before she turns 13, I do. But what if it doesn't happen then? She has done everything (meaning, jumped through ALL of the almost impossible hoops imposed by both the Chinese government AND the lousy USCIS!) and this still may not happen. In my mind, she's dealing with marginally legalized crooks and extortionists in both governments at the possible expense of her own mental health in the hopes of adopting this child.
My apologies, but my own experiences with the lousy USCIS and after hearing this has left a rather bad aftertaste in my mouth. I have come to the conclusion that dealing with any government entity at that level is, at best, an exercise in frustration and futility.

[Catonahottinroof]

I adopted both of my children in Ukraine in 2000.

[ETWNAPPEL]

Attachment 4755Attachment 4754

Is there something specific I can tell you?

- we already have adopted the best girl in all of China, so that's off the table
- Most adoptions are now taking 4-5 years
- You can speed that process up significantly if you adopt a special needs child.

[Darrell KSR]

OMG....that picture is terrific. True love and happiness. If that doesn't make you smile, you're not human.

[kingcat]

Attachment 4755Attachment 4754

Is there something specific I can tell you?

- we already have adopted the best girl in all of China, so that's off the table
- Most adoptions are now taking 4-5 years
- You can speed that process up significantly if you adopt a special needs child.

An adorable young lady!

[suncat05]

I'm happy for you, ETWN. I hope my friend's endeavors are not dashed because of bureaucratic mistakes.

My wife has a cousin in the Philippines whose mother and grandmother have both died. We have talked this over many times, and I am all for adopting her and bringing her here. But the Philippine government will not let you adopt from their country, even if you're blood related, and regardless of the circumstances, unless you and the child in question have actually lived together in the same household for a period of 2 years. We cannot meet this asinine requirement, obviously, because I am not retired yet. So the girl has to live with other relatives, and we help support her.She is being well cared for, for which I am thankful, but I'd rest easier knowing that she was here with us under our care. She's a great kid that has endured a lot of adversity in her still young life. Her mother died in childbirth, and her grandmother died from cancer last year.
I don't know how else we can help her aside from what we are currently doing.

I hope my friend does not experience any more problems in trying to get this child.

[ETWNAPPEL]

Thanks Darrell and Kingcat. Can't tell you how much I love and adore that girl. I have three "biological" sons and they all three agree with me when I lovingly claim she is the best child I have. I was told having a daughter would change me and it has. It changed those boys for the better too. We are all smitten with her. Mick has met her, and he can attest that she is funny, charming, and in the 7th grade has already scored higher on the ACT than I and my sons did as seniors!

suncat, it's a shame the rules for adoption are geared towards making money and saving face in many countries. The US is not any better as our rules bend over backwards towards the biological family have no doubt kept many kids from being adopted.

[MickintheHam]

D

Thanks Darrell and Kingcat. Can't tell you how much I love and adore that girl. I have three "biological" sons and they all three agree with me when I lovingly claim she is the best child I have. I was told having a daughter would change me and it has. It changed those boys for the better too. We are all smitten with her. Mick has met her, and he can attest that she is funny, charming, and in the 7th grade has already scored higher on the ACT than I and my sons did as seniors!

suncat, it's a shame the rules for adoption are geared towards making money and saving face in many countries. The US is not any better as our rules bend over backwards towards the biological family have no doubt kept many kids from being adopted.

ET, Catherine is a terrific young lady. She needed parents like you and Karen who could challenge her to achieve greatness. Thank God you all had the opportunity to change her life!

[Padukacat]

Wow great stuff guys. I just checked this been busy with the process. Suncat can you ask them if they would mind talking to me? I'm in the same boat and just submitted to them and have until October so it's doable as far as I can see through research but if a hiccup occurs we are in trouble, and more importantly the boy is aged out and headed for who knows what. If anyone has a contact that has done this in short order who wouldn't mind talking with me please message me their number or email address. Thanks, prayers are appreciated.

[Padukacat]

ET, loved the Pics. Suncat no need to check on anything I believe we have plenty of help now. I think this process will work out if its Gods will, everything seems to be working well. There is a group on facebook called WARP speed that focuses on this sort of thing and they know every detail of the process. Our agency is doing a great job as well. Appreciate any prayers in the matter, we know it wont be an easy process now or in the future, and its a life changing decision to disrupt our seemingly perfect lives, but we think its worth it to give a family to a child that's never had one and would have never had one. Wish I would have realized that sooner to be honest.

[Padukacat]

Just wanted to give you guys an update, we are really moving fast and may be over there by early September, but if not should still make the October deadline...I have a new son. Amazing day last Friday, we received several approval VERY fast to move things forward. We then found a girl on one of the adoption chats who lives with a family in the states, and the girl grew up with our boy in the orphanage and gave us tons of great info confirming he is the great kid we had guessed based on watching the videos and reading about him. We feel very blessed with this.

[suncat05]

That is wonderful news, Paducahcat! I am very happy for you, and I hope there ate no other issues.

In other related matters, my friend here received word last Friday that her visa is a go and she will be able to get her daughter about the middle of August.

So happy for BOTH of you!

[Padukacat]

Great to hear! We have been sending messages to ours and our dossier is going to be in China Monday. Hope to make the mid sept date. Wish I could share the video of him saying his new name, priceless.

[suncat05]

I saw my friend yesterday, and she is packing to go to China next week! I am happy for her, and pray that everything goes along with no other problems.
I am so happy for BOTH of you! And I pray that you have a good trip with no issues and are able to return home with a new family member!

[badrose]

I love this thread. Having been adopted myself it warms my heart.

[Padukacat]

Considering I spend so much time on here and you guys are like virtual family I thought I would tell you before we tell the world that we received our letter of approval to adopt our boy today! We will also get to video chat with him for the first time tonight and deliver the news. We are overjoyed and so thankful for a God that is larger than us who has brought this all together in less than two months from the day we saw a simple video of him. Hard to explain in words really. Thank you all for your kind words and pray for us as we go wheels up to China likely in the next month!

[suncat05]

Mrs.suncat05 & I are so happy for you and yours, Padukacat! Safe travels when that time comes, my friend! Congratulations!

[kingcat]

Congratulations! This child is very blessed imho.

[Darrell KSR]

Congratulations, and thank you. How wonderful.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

[CitizenBBN]

Great news, and thanks so much for sharing it with us here.

[badrose]

Woo Hoo!

[PedroDaGr8]

Considering I spend so much time on here and you guys are like virtual family I thought I would tell you before we tell the world that we received our letter of approval to adopt our boy today! We will also get to video chat with him for the first time tonight and deliver the news. We are overjoyed and so thankful for a God that is larger than us who has brought this all together in less than two months from the day we saw a simple video of him. Hard to explain in words really. Thank you all for your kind words and pray for us as we go wheels up to China likely in the next month!

That is such AMAZING news. You guys will make amazing, loving parents. I can't even say how happy I am for you. My bestfriend (from 3rd grade to today) was adopted. His parents were amazing and always made him feel like one of their own, even after they were actually able to successfully carry a child full term. They celebrated his birthday and "Happy Gotcha Day" like a second birthday to celebrate the day that they got him.

[kingcat]

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.
..Jesus
.

[Padukacat]

Thanks gang we feel really blessed. I'll share some pics and more details soon!

[suncat05]

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name, receiveth me.
..Jesus
.

Amen, brother!

[suncat05]

Thanks gang we feel really blessed. I'll share some pics and more details soon!

Please do! This is so wonderful to hear and be allowed to share with you!

I see and hear a lot of ugly things in my job, and of course we all watch the news and see all of the ugliness going on in this world now. But it's events like this that help reaffirm my faith in humanity. Thanks for sharing.

[Padukacat]

Wanted to give everyone an update in case I forget before I travel, but we are just waiting on the last step which is travel approval and plan to book the flights later this week or early next week. I hope to be flying to China on sept 12th and back on the 26th or so.

We did get to video chat with him the night after my last post and it was pretty awesome. I think he and my family was pretty nervous and overwhelmed but it went great. Amazing experience really and I can't imagine what it's going to be like to meet him in person for the first time. Please say a few prayers for us over the next few weeks in sure we will need it...KENTUCKY boys in China. My son and I will travel over.