It's really going to happen!

Today we turned in our final paperwork and it's ready to send to Hungary!  I can't believe it - it's really going to happen!  We don't know an exact timeline and were told to prepare to wait up to 6 months.  I hope it is much faster than that. 

One of the first questions people ask is, "Why Hungary?"
1.  Hungary is one of the few countries that sends pictures, video and medical documents with the referral.  Some countries choose the child for you.  In some countries, you must travel there before choosing and you have a very short amount of time to decide (30 min - 1 hr).  Hungary will give us up to 2 weeks to decide.  We will be able to prepare some things in our home before we leave.
2.  The wait time is relatively short.  Some countries have a 2-4 year waitlist.  Hungary is about 1 year and maybe shorter for an older child (over 5 years old).
3.  Hungary is a relatively modern (Western) country with a stable government.  Government instability can cause the adoption process to be very inconsistent.
4.  After 2 weeks, we will have custody of the child and be able to begin the bonding process right away.  Some countries only allow you to see the child for a couple hours a day until the adoption is final.
5.  Many of the children are in foster homes vs. orphanages.  Both are strictly monitored and regulated by the government.  The transition can be easier for those foster homes because they are already familiar with a family environment.

Here is a timeline of our international adoption process:
12/15/10 - First meeting with Little Miracles (LMI) in Amarillo
2/4/11 - Application accepted by LMI
3/1/11 - Adoption Contract accepted by LMI, begin paperwork
4/25 & 27/11 - Home study interviews
6/28/11 - application submitted to USCIS
8/29/11 - approval from USCIS
9/8/11 - Dossier complete and ready for submission to Hungary

I will continue to update the blog about our progress.