Chris Marci, who just recently brought her daughter home from Korea, shares an experience on what the timeline is like from EP to the finalization of adoption at the family court. Thanks to Chris for sharing this. Others are welcome to share their timeline experience. Here is the writing by Chris.
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Like many others here, I’ve been reading and hoping to glean some information as
to how long the wait will be. We just brought our little girl home so in keeping
with the information on the court, I’d like to put our timeline out there.
We were matched with our daughter at 6 months of age in December 2011.
We had our EP submitted in December 2012. We were one of the very last groups
for 2012. In March our EP had been processed. We were given a court date of in
mid June. We bought our tickets through Travelocity via Singapore air and it
cost about $2800. We stayed at a business travelers hotel in Myongdong for a 5
day visit. We saw our daughter twice at Eastern during that time.
The
court date was very relaxed and the judge was very personable. He asked us very
easy questions. Why do you want to adopt from Korea? How will you provide care
since you both work. What did you think when you learned of the delay in the
adoption process? After answering all their questions through a translator, he
issued provisional approval. We left the following day back home.
14
business days later we got word everything was done and we could come get our
daughter. We waited about another 2 weeks to travel for work. We booked our
tickets through a travel agent this time because we needed a one way child
ticket who sat with us. That couldn’t be done through Travelocity. The cost was
approx. $3600 for this flight. We stayed at the adoption agency this time.
The visa appointment took about 45 minutes because no one else was
there. They issued an IR3 visa. We left the following day. Immigration and
customs was very straightforward on both the Korean side and the US side.
Basically we gave the papers they asked for, waited about 10 minutes then went
on with our travels.
Our daughter, now 27 months, is home with us. She
had a rough trip, but otherwise is doing just fine. Sleep is tough, but
otherwise she’s doing all the normal things a precocious 2 year old should be
doing and showing no signs of any problems.
Hopefully this story gives
the rest of those out there some frame of reference for their own waits. I was
told by the adoption agency over there that our wait will be longer than those
who follow us now that the power that be have got the process established.
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(Steve's note: So far, during the 14-day waiting period, no birthmother has stepped in to take her child back. Neither domestic nor intercountry.)
Steve, I know of TWO USA families who have had the birth mothers stepped in to take her child back.
ReplyDeleteWas it during the 14-day waiting period? or during the EP process. I know some changed their minds during the EP process, but this is a news to me only a few days I inquired.
DeleteThank you so much for sharing your timeline with us. It is so nice to have a concrete story to refer to instead of series of guesstimates. I hope all continues to go well for you are your family.
ReplyDeletethank you! so nice to see this timeline...just to know something helps!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this Steve and thanks Chris for sharing. It has been really helpful!
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify about the 14 day period. I am trying to figure out the mechanics of this.
Does the 14 day period start once the BM’s signature is received that she got the certified letter? Or does it start and then the BM is sent the letter giving her the last date of the 14 day period to change her mind?
It starts when the family court hearing is over. Once the judge rules in your favor, and approves the adoption, there is a 14-day waiting period where a birthmother has a chance to appeal. Of course the court sends the notice to the birthmother of the ruling, and if there is no appeal by the birthmother, then the adoption is declared final, and the adoptive parents are notified to go to Korea to pick up the child.
DeleteSo they do not necessarily need the BMs signature at all? It is more of a notification to her that the adoption was approved and she can appeal?
DeleteYes. When they first started this process late last year, the court contacted each birthmothers to get their signatures and to interview them as well, but this did not turn out very well as most of the birthmothers simply did not want to meet or show up at the court. They just want to get out of the burden and be free. Some birthmothers were angry that they were being contacted, and some never cooperated. So the court changed the rule where they will contact them when they are able, and if not simply notify the birthmothers of the rulings by the court.
DeleteTo be honest. I have no idea if it was really 14 days or not. No one could tell us when the 14 days began, nor when it actually ended. We waited about 3ish weeks and then our agency got a call that we could go to pick up our daughter. During that time nobody could give us any idea as to where were were on the timeline. It was kind of "don't call us, we'll call you."
DeleteThanks so much for the clarification Steve.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Chris, and Steve for posting this.
ReplyDeleteFor those in the US, there a broadcast series about adoption on FamilyLife Radio. On August 30th, the speaker will be Pastor Eddie Byun from the largest English-language Church in South Korea.
http://mad.ly/f929f3
Debbie.
Thanks for this Steve. We were matched in November 2012 with a December 2012 ATK date as far as when Korea received our paperwork, and it sure seems like this same timeline could play out for us. Has anyone received a court date lately? The last update we heard was mid July that a couple of families received late August court dates. Anyone going to court in September?
ReplyDeleteAs far as I know there are court schedules. If anything, it should get busier.
DeleteGood to hear! Thanks! I was concerned too with the holidays if everything would slow down more. I hope we hear something soon!
DeleteHi Jenna, we have a court date set for next Friday, September 13th. We leave for Seoul this Sunday:). According to my agency, there are 2 other families that have the same court date (one before and the other after our time slot )
DeleteAwesome!! Have fun, and congrats!!
DeleteThanks Jenna! We are so excited, nervous, and very anxious. Sunday can't come fast enough :)
DeleteCindy- can you tell us when you accepted your referral and when your EP application was submitted? Just trying to figure out the current waiting time... Thanks
DeleteDavid, we received our referral January 9th, 2013, and accepted January 11thh. I'm not sure when our agency submitted our sons EP application, but we got word of his EP approval in late June. I hope this helps :)
DeleteSteve--related to Jenna's question is there any expecatation the process will slow down from here thru year end or will the current pace keep up?
ReplyDeleteNo, I think the pace will pick up as the slow down was really slow at the beginning of the year. While I don't think they can fulfill the quota level set for this year, they are moving along and expect more EPs approved and court dates set.
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