Silver Lining

To all those who have commented, emailed, or called about our discouraging news...THANK YOU!!! We feel so blessed to have such an amazing support group with us through this!

As far as the changes being instituted in the Ethiopian Federal Court, they are really quite positive overall. Very hard for us mid-stream, yes, but overall positive for the country and the children.

And, there is more to it that I didn't realize...the silver lining is there, after all! I'm just going to copy below what my friend Jen left as a comment on our last post (Jen, have I told you lately that I love you?) :), and please correct me if I'm off on my explanation here!

Jen adopted her daughter Gigi from Kazakhstan, which requires a a trip for court prior to bringing your child home. With the court proceedings handled ahead of time, the newly adopted child travels to the US on an IR3 visa, which means that as soon as they step foot off the plane, they are a US citizen.

Jen just adopted her son Gav from Ethiopia...obviously prior to the newly required pre-travel court trip. Her husband Jim went over, and came home a week later with Gav! Without the pre-travel court trip, the child is granted an IR4 visa, and is not technically a US citizen, (and I think maybe not even recognized legally as your child in the US), until you go through the re-adoption process in the US court system.
Put the pieces together: adoption + paperwork + US court system=hassle + $$$.

With that background in mind, here's Jen's perspective:

I am sorry you are facing yet another financial burden. Ugh!

There is definitely lots of good news in this, and your finances may not actually take that much of a hit due to the elimination of the readoption fees.

Ironically, it was just yesterday when I was grumbling to myself, "If we adopt from Ethiopia again, we're traveling over pre-court. No more of this IR4 business!" It is one big hassle! Gigi came home on an IR3, and it was so simple! Not to mention, with the IR4, there is all the readoption stuff which requires a lawyer, and upwards of $1-2k extra about 3-6 months after our kiddos come home. No more lawyers or expensive readoption fees (or travel for American court) for an IR3 visa. It's a beautiful thing! :-)

So yeah, needing more money is no good. No good at all. But there are quite a few positives too. Having done it both ways now, if I can help it, I'll never bring home another kid on an IR4. It might be a little more expensive, but in the grand scheme of things it's actually a good thing.

I hope that didn't come across as preachy! I just was hoping to give you a little peace knowing that once you overcome this new obstacle, the benefits are quite positive.

I do have more peace about all of this now...but more fundraising news headed out soon!!! :)