We are hoping that this week will bring some developments! Everything from our dossier to our home study is on hold because of one paper. It turns out, that Ohio has one of the longest turnarounds in the country when it comes to the child abuse clearance form. Where most states have it back in a few weeks, Ohio takes an average of two months! We sent the form in on May 14, so I am hoping it will come soon. Until then, we cannot complete our home study, or apply for grants, or go further in our dossier. Sigh. On the bright side, we have already sent, and gotten back items to be apostilled from Georgia and Florida (for our dossier). Does anyone know if there is an "average" for how long the FBI fingerprints take (for the dossier)? Our form said up to 12 weeks, I'm hoping that's not the case though. It's frustrating but we knew this would be a long process, and following other blogs has taught me that the more flexible and patient I am, the better it is for everyone!:) So, we are just trying to appreciate the summer months and take it one day at a time.
In the meantime, I just ordered a book based on a friend's recommendation. It's called "Adopted for Life". I am looking forward to reading it, I know I still have so much to learn. Off to go hiking with the family now, but first I will be checking the mailbox! :)
Hi Brooke,
ReplyDeleteOur FBI clearance for the dossier took 7 weeks 5 days. We too were told 12 weeks so I was happy to have that back early. 2 months is a long time to wait for the child abuse clearance. I hope it comes back soon. It looks like our adoptions are following close to the same timeline so far. Maybe we will end up in Poland at the same time.
On another note I noticed that you had documents apostilled in Georgia. We live in Georgia. Did you used to live here?
Brooke, please please please read that book with a grain of salt. Check out this review.. http://www.amazon.com/Adopted-Life-Priority-Adoption-Christian/product-reviews/1581349114/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addOneStar
ReplyDeleteI think our FBI fingerprints took around two months too. We had them sent directly to our agency, so I'm not sure of the exact time.
ReplyDeleteOur biggest delay was getting medical letters notarized. We ended up having to hire a traveling notary to come to the office.
Two months is a long time for the child abuse clearance. I hope it comes sooner for you.
Actually we ended up about two months behind where we thought we would be. There's always something it seems like.
Sherry, I know the feeling about the med. forms. Our doctor's office has a notary but they messed up the notarizing the first time. When my husband took the forms back to be corrected Friday the Dr. wasn't there so we are still waiting on the notarizing to be corrected. Somehow even we missed that it was incorrect when we first picked them up. I'm glad we went back and checked the forms later.
ReplyDeleteBrooke,
ReplyDeleteI remember having some kind of issue with the Ohio clearance. We can't remember exactly what it was, but it did take the longest. We did call someone in Ohio to get them on the ball with it though.
The FBI clearance was pretty quick despite some delays. One because our home study did not list the dates of our Ohio and Florida child abuse clearance. The other delay was that I was in New Orleans for work on the day of my fingerprint appointment so it was rescheduled two weeks later. Our I800a arrived at the USCIS lockbox on Dec 21st and we received our official approval in the mail on Feb 13th. Without those 2 delays and some major holidays, we may have received the approval weeks earlier.
Our FBI clearance took about 4 weeks, but that is only because I called and called until I got someone who was sympathetic to my case, found the prints, and had them processed. The whole child abuse clearance forms are a joke. I lived in Alaska for a summer so I had to get one from there. They faxed it back the same day....not sure if that is good or bad. Then there was Colorado which needed to be notarized and cost money to get done. Think of how much time and money would be saved if the US had one database. Not to mention a little more control of who the is on the register and where they live...
ReplyDeleteLet us know how you like the book!
Our FBI prints took 7 weeks, and I had mine re-done, which took another 10 weeks, despite my calling every 5 days. But for the 10 weeks, they had just moved offices, so that probably made an impact.
ReplyDeleteThis is not an adoption book, but I see you're Catholic, and I am reading this AWESOME book- Rediscovering Catholicism by Matthew Kelly. Just in case you need something non-adoption to read :)