Trio of Trouble

While talking to other parents who are adopting or have adopted from China, I’ve heard some exasperating tales of woe.

One woman shared that she had called the state where she got married to order a copy of her marriage certificate, but what she received in the mail was a birth certificate – and she was NOT born in that state.

Another family has hit a ridiculous brick wall. They have a child that was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome over a decade ago. As a family, they went to counseling to learn how best to deal with it. Their Home Study agency is insisting on copies of those records, but the office where the counseling took place cannot locate them. They also are refusing to write a letter stating that they cannot locate them.

The latest story involves a family much further along in the process than us. Their dossier was at the Chinese embassy in Washington awaiting a stamp of approval so that it could be sent to China. It was rejected because it included wording that a previous child had been adopted from Taiwan. China does not recognize Taiwan as a country. That portion of the home study had to be rewritten re-notarized, re-authenticated by the Secretary of State, re-authenticated by the Chinese Consulate, re-reviewed by USCIS, and then sent back to the Embassy.

Normally, that sort of change would involve a whole slew of new fees, including a $340 fee to USCIS (as well as a new form, requesting a change). Fortunately, this family was able to get that waived.

I never cease to be amazed at how cumbersome this process can be. As I've said before, background checks and the like are definitely necessary, but the amount of paperwork (and duplicate paperwork) required is ridiculously much. I'm convinced it causes an untold number of children NOT to be adopted that otherwise would be, just because families become unwilling to go through the headaches and uphill climbs.