Up to My Ears

At the very onset of summer vacation , I began filling out forms and more forms.  Employment verification, financial disclosure, medical history, credit history, legal history and more.  I had to submit to a criminal background check and finger printing, as well as  ask six friends to write personal references. All these documents had to be completed prior to my home study.   Now I will begin the final and most time consuming part of the process, completing the dossier.  Up until this summer, I had never even heard of a dossier and now it is part of my everyday conversation.  A Dossier is essentially your life story. 

I  thought I would list out some of the things I will be working on just to give you an idea of how much is involved...

*Complete 10 hours of training on international adoption
* Write an 8-10 page autobiography
*Write application letter
*Physical and blood test
*Obtain certified copy of birth certificate
*Write a letter on my view of marriage (requirement for singles)
*Letters from employer (completed)
*Letters of recommendation(completed)
*Copies of tax returns (completed)
*Letter from bank and bank statements
*Write statement verifying I am heterosexual
*Have passport photos taken
*Power of Attorney forms
*Police clearance letter(completed)
*Immigration clearance
*Fingerprints/background checks (one complete, need FBI fingerprinting)

All of the documents I have to collect must also be notarized, certified, and/or authenticated... so you can see why I will be up to my ears in paperwork!