The Process

GLA has just added a section to their website where adoptive parents can log in every week and check the process of their adoption. This is handy because then we don't have to wait until every monthly update to find out if our file has been moved along. Anyway...they have a clear description of all the steps...clearer than what I had previously described at any rate. So for those who are interested here are the steps:

Steps of an adoption in the order they happen:

Pre-IBESR = We are preparing your dossier to go into Haitian Social Services. There are some legal documents that must be made after you accept your proposal and some of them must be legalized at the Ministry of Justice. If we have problems getting a document, this can delay this step.

IBESR = Haitian Social Services

Parquet = Pre-Courts, they interview the birth parents and give permission for the dossier to go through the Haitian court system.

Courts = The dossier is in the Haitian Courts having the actual adoption declared and legalized.

Attest or Attestation= After court papers are finished, the Act of Adoption must be sent to the National Archives and they declare that the signature on the Act of Adoption is legal.

Legal or Legalization = All court papers must be sent to the Ministry of Justice to be legalized. They declare that the signature on all of the paperwork actually is the signature of the Judge who signed it.

MAE = Ministry of Foreign Affairs must legalize the signature of the person in the Ministry of Justice who signed your paperwork in the step above.

MOI = All Adoption passports must go through the Ministry of the Interior for approval before Immigration will print the passport.

Printing= Your dossier is in Immigration waiting for the passport to be printed.

Visa=Your dossier is in your country's Embassy waiting for a visa to be issued!


And yes...we are on Step number 2...IBESR, and expect to be there for a few months at least! There were riots in Port-Au-Prince last week so of course all the government offices closed. Things like that never help the adoptions. We are hoping for a miracle!!!