Fast and Furious

We got our case update on Friday afternoon, and whoa, what an update! As was noted in a previous post, there are basically four "phases" in the Guatemalan adoption process. The first is the DNA test of the birth mother. Second, the family court process, which includes an interview of the birth mother by a social worker. Third, the review of the adoption dossier by the PGN (attorney general) office. Last, final paperwork and the scheduling of an appointment for us at the Embassy office.

Well, it looks like we will be moving into "phase 3" next week! Our case updated stated that the birth mother had the interview with the social worker on September 7. And we already told you that we received "Pre Approval" from the U.S. Embassy on October 6. The two prerequisites for entering the PGN process: (a) completion of Guatemalan family court (which we assume has happened since the birth mom was interviewed over a month ago) and (b) Pre Approval. However, the official Pre Approval form is still waiting at Window No. 10 at the Embassy office because the person at our attorney's office who was supposed to pick up the paperwork resigned, and the Embassy won't release the paperwork to anyone else until we signed and sent another form. Heck, I'll fly down there and get it! Or I could drive: take I-35 south from Duluth to the tip of Texas, then ask for directions through Mexico and into Guatemala City, no problem. Anyway, that extra form was sent down on October 12, so once it gets down there, hopefully early next week, the PGN process will begin.

We have done a lot of looking around on various Guatemalan adoption websites and they all agree that PGN is the most nerve-wracking and/or intimidating process. Probably something like facing Johan Santana. Our agency said that the average wait time for the PGN process is 1-3 months. It probably won't go any faster than 1 month, but it could go a lot longer than 3 months. We have heard of people waiting 1 year or more for the case just to get through PGN!! One common problem is that cases are often "kicked out" of PGN for some weird reason, like not filling in technical language or not filling out forms 100% correctly. What is the use of delaying an adoption just because one blank was not filled in exactly to the bureaucrat's liking? That only hurts the waiting kids, in my opinion.

But I digress. We are just thrilled to be entering this stage and it has come a little earlier than we thought. We still have kitchen remodeling to finish and haven't even started on the nursery! That project will consist of painting, electrical service, decorating, etc. If we can just carve out some time it shouldn't be too bad.

I am out of town so I can't post any new pictures right now. We also got a medical update for Henry tonight and will talk about that in the coming days. In the meantime, it is an exciting time in the Pratt household. Mr. PGN, please be nice to us!