We have entered IBESR...

Are you saying, "What in the world is IBESR?" I would have said that same thing months ago, but now I am familiar with Haiti adoption lingo. Jonas's dossier has just entered IBESR, Haitian Social Services. Our IBESR # is: 16819.

Here is a great explanation of the different phases that our paperwork has to travel through in Haiti, before we return for the orphan investigation next spring/summer. I stole this explanation from a friends' blog: Thanks Allison!!!!!!!

The Adoption Process After Referral

Dossier preparation for IBESR.

Your dossier and your child’s dossier are combined into one. As well, a social history is required by IBESR for your child. Preparing a social history involves putting your child’s social information into a home study format together with information from your home study. The social history, completed by a Haitian social worker, usually takes 2 to 3 weeks to prepare.

IBESR (Institute du Bien-Etre Social et Recherches – Institute of Social Well-Being and Research)

IBESR is the Haitian Social Services. When your dossier is at IBESR, social workers will study it to see whether you meet the Haitian requirements to adopt a child. They also judge whether your referred child is a good match for your family. Your dossier needs 4 signatures before it can be released from IBESR. The four individuals who sign the approval are the director of IBESR, the IBESR lawyer, the head of adoption services at IBESR, and the head of social services. If, for example, one of these individuals is on holidays, there is not another individual who can sign on his/her behalf, which will result in additional delays. Once all 4 signatures have been received, IBESR issues a Certificate of Authorization informing Parquet and the courts that IBESR has approved you to adopt your Haitian child. IBESR is currently taking 4 to 6 months.

Parquet (District Attorney)

GLA prepares a letter for Parquet, as well as submits a couple extra documents in the dossier for submission to Parquet. An additional two documents are completed and signed in Parquet that approve your adoption. This stage is very unpredictable at this time; however, expect 2 to 4 months.

Court

GLA types up two court documents (Act of Adoption, and Civil Court document) and submits your dossier to the court for finalization of the adoption in Haiti. This takes 3 to 4 weeks.

Attestation Signature

An attestation signature is required on your child’s Act of Adoption. The attestation signature is completed by Archives recognizing that the signature on the Act of Adoption corresponds with the signature that is on file for this individual. It is similar to legalizing or notarizing the signature. This takes 1 to 2 weeks.

Legalization at the Minister of Justice

Each of your child’s adoption documents needs to be legalized in order to apply for his/her passport. This takes 2 to 3 weeks.

Passport

Once all documents have been legalized, GLA can apply for your child’s Haitian passport. The first step to obtaining a passport is the studying of the paperwork and passport approval at the Ministry of Interior (MOI). Once approved at the MOI, the passport file moves to Immigration, where the passport is printed. The majority of time spent in this stage is in MOI. This stage is also very unpredictable at this time; however expect 3 to 5 months (1 to 2 weeks included for printing).

*Your I-864 and I-864A need to be completed at this time. Forward to Bethany International along with supported documentation as soon as complete.

**Your I-600 needs to be filed at this time. GLA will have all necessary adoption documents translated, and will forward the documents you require to accompany your I-600 application. Once approval has been received, please forward approval to your local branch office for further forwarding to Bethany International.

Paperwork review

Once your child’s passport has been printed, and all original documents have been returned, GLA will review the paperwork and have any errors corrected (spelling errors are very common in Haiti).

US Visa

Once your I-600 has been approved, and your child’s passport has been printed, the US Consulate can complete your child’s orphan investigation in Haiti. This involves an interview with your child’s birthparent(s). DNA will have been conducted earlier in the process, and the results will already be at the US Consulate. A medical on your child is completed by a US approved physician in Haiti, and the results are submitted together with the visa application. GLA will complete form DS-230 (visa application) and submit it, along with all requested documents for your child’s visa. Provided the Consulate has everything they want, GLA normally hears back from them in 1 to 2 weeks, and at that time can schedule a visa appointment, and provide travel dates to you.

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Here are some pics of Jonas while he was at the orphanage. These photos were taken by Anna Kagstrom: Jonas's volunteer. She is an AMAZING GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!! Jonas will always be a very special boy in her heart, and I am sure that he misses her!!! She spent A LOT of time with him!!!