"We have your travel dates..."

Last Thursday while running back and forth across town we received the good news that Jennifers final visa appointment was a success.  It was a crazy day of trying to figure out the travel dates and trying to figure out all the emotions that had been guarded for two years...all while taking five kids trick or treating.  It was exhausting and overwhelming and wonderful all at once.

It was also update day.  We love GLA and how hard they work to help us connect with our kids while we wait.  I think the monthly updates may be the single most important thing that eases the adjustment for my biological kids.  They feel as though they know her already.  Going the extra mile to scan us copies of her little preschool school work is just amazing and so appreciated.

On Thursday, November 7 we head to Miami and on Friday we will arrive in Haiti and bring her home next Monday the 11th.  It is so surreal, but very soon, it will be anything but surreal!

Pictures from our 18th and FINAL update.

It was great to be able to print these and they are hanging on our fridge.  

This is her preschool class. They say she loves shoes, but I love how she is the only one barefoot here.  She will fit right in.

This is the little gift we sent her for her birthday. It is a sock monkey nesting toy.  It was probably a little hard, but all kids always like those.

FINAL visa interview scheduled

Mr and Mrs.  Schell,

Your daughter’s visa interview is schedule for October 31^st, 2013 at 9:00am. The letter was given to your adoption Agency representative today from God’s Littlest Angels. Please let us know should you need any other information.

Regards,

The Adoption Unit

What this means:  There are 6 families from GLA that are all at this same point in the process.  Next week, a representative from the orphanage will take all the children down the mountain and into the city to the Embassy for this appointment.  The Consulate will go over all the final paperwork with a "fine tooth comb"  they will make sure everything is correct and they will look at Jennifers medical exam to make sure she is healthy enough to come to the U.S.  At the end of that appointment the representative will be told whether the visa will be granted or not.  

We don't expect any problems with this, but I guess you never know.  The visa is usually picked up two working days later (Friday is a holiday, so most likely picked up on Tuesday, Nov 5).  This will allow us to enter the U.S. with Jennifer.  We will also need an exit letter from IBESR allowing us to leave Haiti with her.   This could take 4-5 days.  

Since so many families are going to travel, the guest house will be full.  We will not get official travel dates until after the appointment on the 31st, but it will be sometime that nest week.  Its perfect because here in NJ it is teacher convention week.  The kids are off school Thurs/Fri and Matt is off Tues, Thurs, Fri, Mon so travel plans will be a little easier.  

We will most likely fly into Miami and stay over.  Head to Haiti the next morning, stay two days and travel home (hopefully all the way) on the fourth day.

The wait is ALMOST over...!

Visa Approval!

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Schell,

USCIS in Port au Prince, Haiti is pleased to inform you that the I-600 petition, which you filed at this office on April 17, 2013 on behalf of Dieunifer Paul, seeking to qualify her as your immediate relative has

been approved. Your case has been transferred to the Adoption Unit of the Consular Section for the visa process. This completes all action by USCIS on the referenced petition. The Consular Section will soon

contact you to follow-up on your case.

Should you have any question regarding the visa process, you may send your inquiry to the consular section at papadoptions@state.gov.

Regards,

Adoption Team

Department of Homeland Security

US Citizenship & Immigration Services

Embassy of the United States of America

Tabarre 41

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Printed Passport, September Pictures, Visa Process, and a 3rd birthday celebration!

   

On Friday, September 27, we got the good news that Jennifer's passport was perfect.  We were finished with the Haitian side of the process.  This was a huge milestone and a huge relief.  On Monday, September 29 our file and Jennifers file were submitted together and sent to the U.S. Embassy in Port-Au-Prince to begin the visa process.  

This is a two part process.  The first is where the visa is approved.  This could take anywhere from 1- 6 weeks.  Tomorrow is the 3 week mark.  Once it is approved USCIS will email us and tell us that the visa has been sent to the Consulate.  The Consulate will email us anywhere from 2-7 days after they receive the file and issue a "visa date".  On that day someone from GLA will take Jennifer to the Embassy for this final appointment.  After the appointment is successful, we can purchase tickets! The visa is usually printed two days after this final appointment and IBESR issues a final exit letter.

On October 6, 2013 Jennifer turned three.  We made Haitian rice and beans (which everyone ate!)  and some cake and ice cream.  At the orphanage they celebrated her birthday with all the children that had an October birthday.  We sent a small gift of a nesting toy.

So now we wait for that visa approval (hopeful that it will come this week).  Five other families are waiting for the same email, one from the Main House, 3 from the Toddler House.  A lot of other families have also just been submitted to the Embassy. Lots of children will be home for Christmas.  With the excitement of that, comes the reminder that some won't be home this year in time and some still have no family.

Waiting for a printed passport...

I never quite understood why people always said it was harder to wait the closer you got to the end.  I totally, completely understand.  We exited MOI on September 17 which was also three years since my dad passed away.  It was a sad and happy day all at once.  God has a way of redeeming the pain and loss on that day.  I also felt like it was dad giving us a sign of his approval...we have had many, many milestones in this adoption and all the big ones were on the 17th!

Anyway, now we wait for the printed passport.  I can't stand the email checking.  It is enough to drive you insane.  I am hoping we hear tomorrow.

Also, if the US government shuts down next week like they are considering, our visa process will be delayed considerably.  That would really stink.  No one wants delays this close to the end!  Oh I just want to go get her and bring her HOME!

Out of Attestation into MOI

Things are moving a long!  Slowly but surely we are getting a little closer each day to bringing Jennifer home.  We were told yesterday (Aug 12) that our file is being submitted to MOI (Ministry of the Interior)  Here they will examine everything and approve her for a passport.  At that time it will be sent to another building to print her passport.  This will be the last step in the Haitian government.  It will then all be turned over to the US Embassy for her visa approval.

Still hoping she is home by Christmas, maybe even Thanksgiving!

Great news for this Monday morning! GLA has information me that Dieunifer's paperwork has received its attestation signatures and has been legalized and GLA will be submitting it to MOI today, August 12. MOI is a two part process – first the Ministry needs to approve the paperwork, and then GLA will bring the paperwork to apply for her Haitian passport. You can expect about 2-4 weeks for each step. Once GLA has her passport, they will compile all of her paperwork and your paperwork to submit to the US Embassy to start the Visa Process. Once this happens, we can guess-timate travel dates for you. Please let me know if you have any questions about this or the next steps! 

July Update and pictures....Summer School!

This is the update we received today about Dieunifer (pronouned Jennifer) We are so thankful for these updates each month as it gives us glimpses of her personality and the days we are missing as we wait.  Right now we are waiting for the three signatures needed before her file can be submitted to passports (hopefully very soon!)  Once in passports we are told it will be an estimated 3 months and then it will all be turned over to the US for her visa.  Following this timeline we would be bringing her home right before Christmas.  Things change often though so no one really knows!

     Dieunifer has had a great month this July!  She continues to love the doll you sent for her.  Whenever she goes to the balcony the first thing she wants to do is get her bin so she can feed, change, and dress her doll.  She also continues to have a great love for shoes.  She wants shoes on whenever she is able to have them on.  After getting her doll set she also likes to put on the shoes you left here for her. 

     I am excited to tell you about Dieunifer’s newest adventure – going to school everyday!!  Because we currently have so many older kiddos reaching the preschool age who are in need of a more structured learning environment we started a little preschool class with the 3 year olds (or kiddos who are closest to three right now).  They began with class on Monday July 15^th and are there each weekday from 9am until 1pm. It is held on one of the lower rooms in the building next to the main house where the nurseries are located.  There are 15 kids in the class and each morning they come down the stairs from the nursery and get a pair of shoes.  Next they make the short walk to their classroom. 

      While in “school” they sing songs, dance, color, write, learn new words, and much more!  Around 1 pm they make their way back to the nannies in the nursery for their lunch and naptime.  It has only been about 2 weeks that they have been doing going to school on a daily basis and we are already seeing the an improvement in their speech, vocabulary, and ability to focus!  Dieunifer lights up when it is time to come down the stairs and put her shoes on for school.  She has a particular pair of shoes that she likes best and is sure to get them before anyone else.  She does so well in class.  She is a willing participant and will look around to make sure the other kids are doing as they are told as well.

Dieunifer is healthy and growing:

Height: 93.5 cm Weight 29 lbs 10 oz

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

Out of Court!

We are very excited to have received this email today.  Dieunifer (pronounced just like Jennifer in English) is legally ours!  Still have to get three signatures (6 weeks) and apply for her passport and visa (4 months???)  Still hoping she will be home in time for Christmas...or earlier!

OUT OF COURT!

July 2, 2013 at 2:43 PM ~ Kristi J. Gleason, International Services Coordinator

Hi Matthew and Kristin,
I just called you with the news, but am posting it on your portal today as well-- Dieunifer's file is out of courts! This means her civil court document and Act of Adoption have been created and she has legally taken the last name of SCHELL!

Next steps will be getting an attestation signature on the Act of Adoption, and then get all the adoption documents legalized at the Dept of Justice as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). These next few steps can pass quickly, and I don't always hear when you move from one to the next, but I will hear when you are about to be submitted to MOI to apply for her passport, and I will definitely notify you when GLA tells me about going into MOI.

Let me know if you have questions about these next steps-- and again, CONGRATS!
Have a fabulous holiday!
Kristi

June Update

Our update this month was about the nannies that care for Dieunifer.  She has two that are assigned to her specifically.  They each work 4 days on and 2 days off.  We are so thankful for these ladies who love her until we can.  It is obvious in the pictures of Dieunifer playing with the doll that she is learning a lot from the nannies!
 
We also sent a doll and photo book down this month with another family that was traveling.  She so loved playing with the dolly on the balcony that we sent her her own.  Anything that she gets from her family is kept in a special box that she can play with when she has a volunteer.  Its strange to think that one day we will be packing these to bring back here with her.

Loved these pictures this month.  Susie takes pictures and writes updates for almost 150 kids, even if they don't have families yet.  She is so good at documenting things and keeping us up to date on what is going on.

Dieunifer truly enjoyed opening the gifts you sent for her this month.  She really enjoyed checking out the photos in the book and was in love with the doll as soon as she pulled it out of the gift bag.  She carefully fed it, and rocked it, and even did her best to put shoes on her feet.  It was so sweet to watch her and I was able to capture some of it in photos that you will also find attached to this update. Enjoy!

Dieunifer is healthy and growing:

Height: 92 cm

Weight: 29 lb 8 oz

Haitian Adoption Steps and Timeline

Pre-IBESR – We are preparing your dossier to go into Haitian Social Services. There are some legal documents that must be made after you accept your proposal and some of them must be legalized at the Ministry of Justice. If we have problems getting a document, this can delay this step. (1-2 months) November-December 2011

Wait for Referral

October 2011-May 17, 2012

Referral

 Dieunifer (pronounced Jennifer) May 17.2012

IBESR - Institut du Bien-Etre Social et de recherches ( Institute of Social Welfare and Researchers) - Haitian Social Services (3-?? months. It depends on if your file requires a Presidential Dispensation or not. The Dispensation can add a few, or many months to the process. If you do not need the Dispensation, you can clear IBESR in a matter of about 3-5 months).

IBESR closed from May-August 2012.  We officially entered IBESR August 17,2012.

Exited IBESR with Dispensation March 21, 2013

Printed in Le Moniteur April 1, 2013

Traveled to file 1-600, sign with the local judge, attend court April 16-20, 2013

Parquet – Pre-Courts, they interview the birth parents and give permission for the dossier to go through the Haitian court system.

~exited May 17, 2013 (one year from referral!)

Courts - The dossier is in the Haitian Courts having the actual adoption declared and legalized.
~entered around May 20, 2013  exited July 2, 2013!
Legal or Legalization – All court papers must be sent to the Ministry of Justice to be legalized. They declare that the signature on all of the paperwork actually is the signature of the Judge who signed it. (2 weeks)

MAE (Ministère des Affaires Etrangères) - Ministry of Foreign Affairs must legalize the signature of the person in the Ministry of Justice who signed your paperwork in the step above. (1-2 weeks)

Attest or Attestation - After court papers are finished, the Act of Adoption must be sent to the National Archives and they declare that the signature on the Act of Adoption is legal.   (`2 weeks)                                                                                                        

MOI (Ministère de l’Interieur) otherwise known as Ministry of Interior – All adoption passports must go through the Ministry of the Interior for approval before Immigration will print the passport. (4 -8 weeks is common, but some families have been stuck here for up to 8 months)

Printing – Your dossier is in Immigration waiting for the passport to be printed. (1-3 weeks)

Visa – Your dossier is in your country’s Embassy waiting for a visa to be issued, visa medical, visa printing (4-6 weeks, US)

IBESR exit letter

Our Family Day is:

Coming Home and what happens next

Coming home was a difficult adjustment.  Its kind of a blur now because I did not write this all down right away.  It took awhile to adjust back to American life and all that we have.  We missed Jennifer a lot and thinking of her so far away in another country for who knows how long was HARD!  Time moved on and slowly life returned to the a regular routine.  It wasn't until we got the email on May 17, 2013 that we had exited Parquet that I felt like we were moving again!  That was awesome.  It was definitely a cause for celebration around here...and mostly renewed our energy in the whole process.  It didn't take long to start getting anxious to exit the next step (Courts).  That is where we are now.  I am hoping and praying we here very soon that we have exited Courts.  This is when the Act of Adoption will be printed and Jennifer will legally be ours.  It will still be awhile until she comes home though.  Meanwhile we continue to get updates.  For May the theme was Haitian Flag Day and Mothers Day.

Day 3/ All day and last full day

  We woke up refreshed and excited to spend the whole day with Dieunifer.  We had to wait at the guest house for Judge Bob to come though.  While we were waiting we saw all the preschoolers come in for school.  They were adorable and so well behaved.  They loved looking at themselves in my camera.  They were so happy and excited to be playing a bit outside before they headed back to the Toddler House from school.  We continued to wait...not sure when the Judge was coming.  I started to get nervous because the clock was ticking and I knew we only had a little time left!  Eventually he came and we signed with the other family in the kitchen of the Toddler House.  It was quick and casual.  We signed in his notebook.  Luckily we got a little time to see the Toddler House and meet a few of those kids.

     Melissa took us down to the Main House in the golf cart vehicle.  She was a great driver on those bumpy roads!  When we got there we played with Dieunifer up on the balcony all alone.  The pool was set up and she loved that.  Then we took her downstairs for awhile.  We saw a few birth moms and dads visiting with their kids.  At lunchtime, she went back to the nannies to eat and rest.  We then spend the rest of the day playing with her.  She was so sweet and good tempered.  She didn't like to be told no of course!

     Later in the day she found a baby doll on the balcony.  She played with it forever.  She diapered it, pretended to feed it and even washed its face in a puddle!  She would have played with this one doll for hours!
      We had to say goodbye at dinner time and head back up to the Guest House.  We would have two hours in the morning before leaving for the airport.  I am not sure what we did this last night in Haiti.  I was already getting sad.  and dreading what lied ahead.

        Friday morning, I woke up early.  I got some coffee and sat on the balcony for awhile as the sun came up. That was amazing.  After breakfast they took us and the visiting volunteer team back down to the Main House.  She was all ready for us.  We spent most of this time downstairs away from the crowd. She did play again for a little while with the doll.  
        At 10:30 we had to bring her back to her nursery.  It was so sad.  By the time we got back downstairs, she was waving to us from the balcony.   We got in the van with the other family and half of the volunteer team.  Everyone was pretty quiet and we backed out of the gate and headed down the mountain to Port-AuPrince.   We boarded the flight and I think I cried all the way to Miami.  We had dinner at TGIFridays with our new friends, said our goodbyes at the gate and boarded the last flight to Philadelphia.  We pulled in our driveway, exhausted and drained at 2:30 am April 21, 2013.

Day 2 Embassy Appointment/Court appearance

  We were told to be up and ready by 6:15 am for our appointments back in Port-Au-Prince.  Melissa and Tim, our hosts at the guest house had breakfast and coffee ready.  We waited for the driver.  He was running late and didn't pick us up until close to 7.  They kept reassuring us that our 7:30 appt really meant anytime before noon!  We picked up Magaly downtown at her home.  We pulled up right in front of the Embassy.  It was crowed with a very long line out front.  Magaly walked us right to the front of the line and through security.  It was a little awkward because we cut right in front of all these people who had been waiting all morning.

Once inside we were seated in a big room with lots of teller windows (like a bank).  We were called up and handed in our paperwork.  We sat back down and waited awhile (maybe like an hour or two?)  We were called up and asked a bunch of questions, which were pretty much announced over a speaker for anyone in the room to hear.  They asked about our trip to Haiti, when we met Jennifer, checked our passport and that was about it.

When Jill and Wade were done we all went back outside and waited on the side of a busy road, with lots of traffic and dust and people.  Our driver picked us up, we dropped Magaly off at her house and headed across the city to the courthouse.  That took about an hour, even though I am sure it wasn't that far in miles (or should I say kilometers?!)

At court we again were dropped off in front of the building, met up with Terriot, the lawyer.  He walked us in to a hallway.  We stood there while he took our passports into a small office.  He came back out and stood with us.  Jill and Wade, Matt and I and Terriot stood there for about 45 minutes.  There were lots of lawyers walking through the hallway and it was a neat cultural experience.  It was very hot in here and since we didn't know how long we would be standing there, it seemed worse than it actually was.

Terriot went back in the office, got our passports and we left.   We drove through some of the busiest streets in PAP and past some of the things you may have seen on TV after the earthquake, like the Presidential Palace.  It has now been leveled.  We got back to GLA around 2pm, changed our clothes and spent until 5pm with Dieunifer.

On Wednesdays, the whole staff and visitors eat dinner at the Main House.  We had chicken pot pie and dessert.  It was great.  We headed up to the Guest House after dinner and spent some time on the balcony before going to sleep pretty early.  We were excited to have the whole next day to spend with Jennifer.