Adoption Update: February 16, 2010

Today is the five-month anniversary of our HSTK (home study to Korea) date, which is September 16, 2009. That date is very important--anyone who has ever adopted internationally has memorized his or her family's date, whatever it is called--log-in date, HSTK, etc. :o) From what we have been told, the average wait for a referral (for our program) is about a year from that date. So we are getting close to the half-way mark (though only God knows the real timing of everything, and His timing is perfect).

Some updates about our adoption journey since last month ...

• We received our I-600A approval! We received this last month, actually--almost a whole month ago. It is postmarked Jan. 14. The paperwork reads: "NOTICE OF FAVORABLE DETERMINATION CONCERNING APPLICATION FOR ADVANCE PROCESSING OF ORPHAN PETITION." Yay! It further states that our application has been approved for one child of either gender, age 0-12 months. Additionally, our fingerprints expire on Jan. 27, 2011.
  
  
• We met and had dinner with two other couples who are adopting from Korea through Bethany. I am behind on blogging, but I have a whole separate post planned with photos, etc.
  
  
• Speaking of Bethany, the agency has changed its policy for the Korea program and children being escorted. (We are planning to use the escorting service, which means that our child will be escorted from Korea, and we will meet him/her at the airport (rather than traveling to Korea). We plan to take the kids to Korea later when they will be able to appreciate it and remember it.) Anyway, families with a HSTK date of Feb. 1, 2010, or later, are now required to travel to Korea to pick up their child/children.
  
  From Bethany's South Korea blog: "All families in the South Korea adoption program with a home study approval date of February 1, 2010, or later are required to travel to South Korea to meet and receive their child. Although it is strongly suggested that both parents travel, one parent may travel. Please know that this is a BCSI requirement, and not a Holt-Korea requirement. For families with an approved home study prior to February 1, 2010, it is expected that they too, consider the joys and benefits of traveling to South Korea. To further support adoptive families when they travel, we are in the final stages of updating the Bethany travel packet for South Korea."
  
  You can read more about the policy change here.
  
  
• More on this later, but we are moving--Lord willing--at the end of the month. It's a local move, so our adoption process shouldn't be affected too much. However, we will have to have a home study update--including, of course, a new home visit, etc. We will schedule this after we close and get moved in.