So what happens next?

Now that our paperwork is all turned in, few people have asked us what happens next. Well, our paper work will be at AWAA for about a week and then it will get mailed off to Ethiopia. The day it is mailed out is our DTE ( Dossier to Ethiopia) date.

Right now our agency is saying the wait time for a baby boy is 3 - 5 months. I am, of course, hoping that we will land a little more on the three month wait time side ( doesn't 12 weeks sound better than 3 months?) That will make getting a referral ( picture of the baby and his medical history) this summer, as early as June! So, the next big thing is :

A Referral!!

Then about a month after that we will travel to Ethiopia to meet Isaac and to attend a court hearing and testify to wanting to adopt him. We will be there about 5-7 days. If we pass court the first time, Isaac will legally be our son and we will be able to post pictures of him on the blog. If not there will be another court date a few weeks later, but we will not have to attend.

After we pass court, we will have to wait for the US Embassy to give us a Visa appointment. Right now they are doing their own investigations to make sure the children being adopted are true orphans. This is a good thing, but it is taking longer and making appointment times extend to about 8 weeks. Once we get that Visa appointment with the US Embassy, we will fly back to Ethiopia and pick Isaac up and bring him home for good! This trip is only about 3-5 days and we are planning for Abigail to go with us. I am hoping this trip will be in September or October.

Since we will have met him and have been there for court as soon as his feet touch US soil, he will be an American Citizen.