How does it work...

For those who have never been through an adoption process, this is a quick overview of the Kazakhstan process. First, you have a social worker complete a homestudy (HS) in which they bascially confirm that you would be a good parent and write a 5-6 page report describing your background, life and the type of parent you hope to be. You must also get clearances from pretty much every government agency ever in existance. Well, not that bad, but I have been fingerprinted 8 times already for background checks by the local DCFS, state police (2X), FBI (3X), and the USCIS(immigration) (2X). You apply for a 171h which is the immigration approval for you to bring a child into the US. There are many other forms you fill out. Every thing has to be copied, notarized and apostilled (which is basically having the state notarize your notaries signature). You bundle all of the papers up into a large pile called a dossier and send it off to your agency.Everything is translated into Russian and the dossier is sent to the NY Kazakhstan Consulate. They check to make sure you have all the appropriate paperwork and that you qualify to adopt from Kazakhstan. It is then sent half way around the worldto Kazakhstan and ends up going first to the Kazakhstan Ministry of Finanace to process(not sure what they do) and then to the Ministry of Education (MOE) which is the agency that controls adoptions in Kaz. Different adoption agencies work in different regions of Kaz. LMI works in 9 different region so the MOE decides which of these region you will travel to. Once there are children available in your region to adopt, you will get a Letter of Intent (LOI) which is your permission to travel to Kaz to begin the adoption process.Once in your Kaz region, you meet your child and bond for 15 days by visiting the child in the orphanage daily. This gives you a chance to learn something about the child and for them to become more comfortable with you. Once the bonding period is over, you must petition the regions court to allow you to adopt the child. If you are given permission to adopt, there is a 15 day appeal period to make sure that no one objects to the adoption. It is only after this appeal period is over that you are allowed custody of the child. It then takes 7-10 days to process the child's new passport, visa, and other legal papers to allow the child to leave the country. Now come the best part, you get to bring your child home. The moment your child touches US soil, they becomes a US citizen and you get to start the rest of your life. Timeframes vary with the region, the speed paperwork is completed, Kaz holidays, and backlog in the court system.