What Is an Adoption Dossier?

And how do I get mine completed?

Adopting a child can be a new and exciting experience for all of those who are involved with it. Once you have made the decision to adopt, you are ready to have your child home with you. Unfortunately, adoption can be a time consuming process. Perspective adoptive parents have control over parts of the process in international adoption and can lessen their wait time by compiling their adoption dossier quickly and efficiently.

What is an adoption dossier? An adoption dossier is a collection of paperwork that is needed in order to legally adopt a child from a foreign country. It is comprised of several documents that informs the agency, government and orphanage that you are eligible for legal adoption. The number of documents required for a dossier can vary from 11 to 18 items depending on the country you adopt from. Typically, a dossier will be comprised of birth certificates, medical reports, the home study and FBI clearances, among other things. Depending on which country you choose to adopt from, you may be required to submit items such as reference letters, power of attorneys, proof of financial assets and applications to foreign government officials. Most of these documents will require your signature and a notary?s signature in the state of which the documents were produced or signed in.

What is a notary? A notary is someone who is given the legal power to witness signatures in order to claim that the document is valid. For example, once you have your birth certificate, you must affix a statement on the document indicating that your birth certificate is ?true and correct,? or ?a true and correct copy? if the document is a copy of your birth certificate. You must sign your birth certificate and have the notary witness your signature. After this, the notary will sign and give a stamp of approval on the birth certificate. The notary who validates the document must be sure to have their signature, printed name and expiration of notary license printed (or stamped) on the document. REMEMBER? You and the notary MUST be face-to-face when signing the document.

Otherwise the document is invalid for a notary?s signature. You must have only one notary?s signature on each dossier document; however, if you gather your documents in fragments then you are allowed to have more than one notary for you entire dossier. After you have received a signature from a notary for all of your dossier documents, you then must obtain an apostille for each document.

What is an apostille? An apostille is someone who certifies that the notary signature on your documents is a licensed notary. An apostille authenticates, or simply ?double-checks,? the validation of your documents and the notary?s signature. To obtain authentication for your notarized documents you can contact your state secretary or search for an apostille office online. Be sure that the apostille office is in the same state in which your documents were notarized in.

Typically, you will need to mail your notarized dossier documents into the apostille office, along with an authentication fee. To help speed up the authentication process it helps to have a self-addressed, stamped envelope mailed along with the documents that need authenticated. It can take several weeks to receive authentication for your dossier documents so it is suggested that you find a courier service who will go directly to the apostille office for you or for you to go to the office yourself.

After you have gathered authentications for ALL of your dossier documents, you are then ready to submit your dossier to the adoption agency who will then forward the documents to the translator in the country from which you are adopting. At this point forward, it is simply a matter of patience until you have been accepted by the overseas government of the country from which you are adopting.

Remember, don?t get discouraged! Your adoption agency has a dedicated team to help guide you in collecting all the documents that are required for your adoption. Keep in touch with whoever is working with you on your home study and with other members of the agency?s adoption team. In the end, it is up to you to stay organized and on top of obtaining and completing the dossier documents. It is recommended that you not mail in your dossier to the agency until it is finished in order for you to keep track of what dossier documents you have and what are still needed.

Although the adoption process is a notoriously lengthy process, the time spent collecting the proper paperwork will go a lot faster if you are continuously on top of things. All adoption agencies understand that the adoption process as a whole can be very exhausting for your family. Please remember to stay organized, keep in touch with your adoption team and keep thinking about the end of the process- your adoption!

Ms. Erica Dixon is the Administrative Assistant of Adopt Abroad, Inc. a Hague accredited child placing and home study agency. Adopt Abroad, Inc. has been helping families complete their dossiers and their adoptions since 2003. You can send us your adoption questions by visiting our website at http://www.adopt-abroad.com/

Adopt Abroad is a Hague accredited child placing & home study agency. Since 2003 Adopt Abroad has been assisting U.S. military and other expats abroad with their adoption needs. Currently Adopt Abroad has adoption programs in Armenia, Bulgaria, Colombia, Jordan, Morocco, The Philippines, Ukraine and places children from foster care with US families living abroad. Visit our website for adoption information, seminar & support group dates as well as referrals to adoption professionals. http://www.adopt-abroad.com/

Source: http://www.womenfavor.com/home-and-family/adoption-foster-care/what-is-an-adoption-dossier.html

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