Our Family Journey

I received news today that the attorneys have the new birth certificate. Maria's new birth certificate now says her name is Maria Rene Richter....that has a nice ring to it don't you think??

Our adoption coordinator also said that the attorney is going to try to submit us to the US Embassy on Wednesday.

Here is an excerpt of an email I received that details the how the next couple of steps go. As you will notice our adoption agency is very careful not to give us unrealistic expectations for the steps to be done really fast...but they usually are completed well within the timeframes they state below.

The Birth Certificate is translated into English and a request for a new Guatemalan passport for the child is made. This normally takes about one week or so. While these items are being completed, the attorney will present all of the necessary documents for the issuance of a PINK SLIP from the US Embassy.

The Embassy has instituted a system in which in which the attorneys are issued numbers representing their “place in line.” This number issuance policy and the wait for getting into the Embassy to submit these documents has been taking up to one week. Once the documents have been submitted, it can take up to yet another week for the Pink slip to be issued.

You need to be aware there are rare cases in which the Embassy can issue an I-72 notice requesting more documentation or amended documents before the Pink Slip can be issued. The I-72 notice is issued when there is an unforeseen problem with a document, but this is a rare occurrence, probably five times out of 80 adoptions, but that does not make you feel any better if you fall in the "five."

Once the Guatemalan Passport is completed by the Embassy, your lawyer will arrange to pick up the Pink Slip - This is probably the most frustrating time of the process as it can and does vary for a multitude of reasons about how long this will take. Please be patient while you await the news that we have Pink Slip in hand. Your coordinator will call you as soon as we have the news. Try to remember the attorneys want you to arrive in Guatemala just as much as you want to, but there are often uncontrollable events that cause delays of as long as a day or two.

With the Pink Slip in hand, the Embassy gives the Attorney an appointment date for the Visa interview. The appointment is normally set around 10 days after the issuance of the PINK SLIP, however it could be a week longer. At this time we will know approximately when you will expect to travel and you will need to be getting ready for that confirmation to come soon as it more times then not, comes with very little notice.

It would certainly be nice to have PINK by the end of the week...whew! I can't believe I actually get to write that statement. If we do then we will probably travel next week to go get our Maria!! I will keep you updated!