tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post5654071406087850047..comments2024-02-15T23:56:02.370-08:00Comments on MPAK Blog: Some Questions You Can Expect from the JudgesSteve Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08485811260567035056noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post-31092000910337350442013-08-14T20:08:10.812-07:002013-08-14T20:08:10.812-07:00Hi LF27,
We received our referral on January 9th,...Hi LF27,<br /><br />We received our referral on January 9th, 2013. Then we received an email from our agency in the beginning of June that our son received his EP. And then just yesterday we were notified of our court date for September 13th. We are still in shock from the news, but we are very excited and grateful that we get to bring our son who will turn 2 on August 30th home, finally :). We are planning to stay they entire time, but would like to know from other families how they booked their flights and where they stayed. We are looking into wimdu.com for our accommodations because its much more affordable than a hotel, and we are not sure about which airlines to book our tickets because it seems no airlines offer open ended tickets anymore. I guess we'll just eat the cost of the changing fee if we need to :)Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06305979614233381231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post-44347875334740549042013-08-14T19:34:19.382-07:002013-08-14T19:34:19.382-07:00Please feel free to repost. Thank you for all you ...Please feel free to repost. Thank you for all you do. <br />ChrisAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16115074826384830677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post-7883130306849996602013-08-14T14:18:43.284-07:002013-08-14T14:18:43.284-07:00Dear Chris Marci,
Thanks for this great informatio...Dear Chris Marci,<br />Thanks for this great information and experience.<br />May I post this in a main body of the blog as all the readers could benefit from your experience and timeline.<br /><br />SteveSteve Morrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08485811260567035056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post-70501087186318982652013-08-14T13:43:22.695-07:002013-08-14T13:43:22.695-07:00Like many others here, I’ve been reading and hopin...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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16115074826384830677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post-13436616106679399462013-08-14T13:41:51.574-07:002013-08-14T13:41:51.574-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16115074826384830677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post-5976034763674182442013-08-14T09:51:12.795-07:002013-08-14T09:51:12.795-07:00Congratulations Cindy!
If you don't mind me as...Congratulations Cindy!<br />If you don't mind me asking, how long did the EP process take for your son once his paperwork was submitted to the Ministry? And then after his EP was approved, how long did you wait until you heard about making travel plans for your September court date?<br />Thanks.LF27https://www.blogger.com/profile/04624603161523819498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post-42385876759706047752013-08-14T08:19:02.898-07:002013-08-14T08:19:02.898-07:00Congratulations! Have a great travel and a happy u...Congratulations! Have a great travel and a happy union with your son.Steve Morrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08485811260567035056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post-70927045059941311162013-08-13T19:31:02.583-07:002013-08-13T19:31:02.583-07:00Hi Steve,
Thank you for posting these questions. ...Hi Steve,<br /><br />Thank you for posting these questions. It will be very helpful when we go to court. We just received our court date today :). We are set to go on September 13th. I can't believe after 3 years of waiting we are going to bring our son home :)Cindyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06305979614233381231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post-92036487520126469062013-08-08T08:33:07.339-07:002013-08-08T08:33:07.339-07:00LF27,
I think the timeliness issue is handled by t...LF27,<br />I think the timeliness issue is handled by the agencies. Some, if not all give higher priority for medical needs children, but I don't know how much faster.<br />The agencies have been contacting birth parents before or during EP submission, and of course the family court contacts them with mails. In the earlier months they tried to personally contact and meet with every single birthmothers, but this has backfired as most of the birthmothers did not wish to be contacted. Nowadays they are notified by mails, and not pressured at all. To my knowledge, during the 14-day waiting period after the family court ruling, no birthmothers have reclaimed their biological children.Steve Morrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08485811260567035056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8283674149915853764.post-25342797106711933342013-08-08T08:26:18.203-07:002013-08-08T08:26:18.203-07:00Steve,
Thanks for this information. Very helpful ...Steve, <br />Thanks for this information. Very helpful to think through this. <br />A couple of questions to see what you may be hearing from your contacts. <br />1. Do you foresee any adjustments in the timeliness for those children on the "Waiting Child List" so that the process may be expedited? Seems like the kids with medical conditions would eventually be granted some type of faster process so that they don't languish in the system.<br />2. Do you have any insight into the mechanics of the contact with the birth parents? How are these people approached? How are the case workers being trained to do this? It would seem that those conversations would be carefully nuanced so as not to come across as pressuring the birth parents to change their minds.LF27https://www.blogger.com/profile/04624603161523819498noreply@blogger.com