We mailed off our paperwork to Haiti today via FedEx. The package contained the original 125-page dossier and 5 complete photocopied sets. The package weighed 7 lbs. and cost $72 to ship.
Here's what goes into an adoption dossier for Haiti:
- 8 passport photos of each parent
- Photos of our family, house, etc.
- Recent bank statement
- Most recent federal tax return
- Birth certificate for each parent
- Marriage license
- Indiana criminal background check for each parent
- Homestudy by a licensed adoption agency
- Psychological evaluation for both parents
- Letter to the Director of the Haitian National Office of Social Welfare requesting permission to adopt
- Power of Attorney signed by both parents
- Notarized statement regarding length of parents' marriage
- Two letters of reference
- Employment verification for each parent
- Letter from bank verifying accounts are in good standing
- Letter from medical doctor verfiying each parent's fitness to adopt
- Lab tests (HIV, Syphilis, and Complete Blood Count) for each parent
- Approval for International Adoption from the office of U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, based on homestudy and FBI fingerprint clearance
- Certificates of authentication of notarization from the Indiana Secretary of State (for 10 documents)
- French translations of all documents except bank statement, federal tax return, and lab tests
- Legalizations from the Haitian Consulate in Chicago (for 6 documents)
It took us just 4 months to collect all these items! Whew!
