First, I have to say, I had a craptacular day. I had to speak at a conference – none of the 100 attendees were impressed. The afternoon “round table discussion” turned into a “roast Michelle’s project and second guess things I know little about 2 years later” session. Guess they pay me the big bucks to put up with those kinds of things (hey, what…there are no big bucks…I’m just getting royally screwed). I thought about breaking out Sabrina’s photos and educating them all about adoption since the scheduled topic wasn’t going so well…but they didn’t deserve to see her beautiful face. Enough about that. Back to adoption talk.
I’ve been asked several times “When will she be home?” “What comes next?” For those not involved in international adoption or involved with adoption in another country, let me briefly outline our next steps. (Times quoted are estimates – many, many things will take longer than anticipated.)
1. Power of Attorney. Per my last past, it is in Guatemala right now. It will be registered and translated. That will take 2-3 weeks.

2. DNA. First the attorney receives authorization from the US embassy to do the DNA test and then a day is scheduled to take DNA samples from the birth mom and Sabrina. This is perhaps the riskiest step adoption-wise. This is the first time the birth mom has seen her baby since relinquishment. This can take 4-6 weeks.
3. Preapproval. Once the DNA results are received by the embassy, they issue preapproval for the adoption of the baby by a US citizen.

4. Family Court. Our case can enter family court prior to preapproval. A social worker interviews the birth mother and sees the foster mother and baby. She reviews our homestudy and then writes a report recommending the adoption be approved. This is currently taking about 3 months.

5. PGN. The dreaded PGN. This is the an incredibly unpredictable step. An attorney reviews each piece of paper in the file searching frantically for tiny mistakes to ensure everything complies with Guatemalan laws. There will be can be one or more previos (also called kick outs). A previo indicates a mistake that must be fixed. Once it is fixed you start the review process over again. When the file is perfect, the reviewer makes his recommendation and send it to a supervisor for final signature. The birth mother then signs off one last time. This can take 8 – 12+ weeks.
6. A new birth certificate is issued, the baby gets her new passport, the pink slip is issued by the Embassy. The pink slip is the appointment date and time for the adoptive parents to bring the child to the embassy. The day after the embassy appointment, the visa is ready and everyone can go HOME!

So that is what comes next. During all of this time, we will go and visit Sabrina. We will receive updated photos twice a month and a medical report monthly.