Let's start with when. This is a tough question because we really don't know. Right now, most families in the Korea program are waiting 6-8 months from "acceptance" to travel. So, in other words, our best guess at this moment in time would be April, May, or June 2011. It is possible, however, that our wait could be shorter or longer than anticipated.*
So that was the when (kind of) but what about the how?
Before I begin, please don't quote me on this. Honestly, our agency is so great about notifying us about "what to do next" that we barely have to worry about a thing. However, I do believe I have a general idea about what to expect.
I believe that at some point, probably in the spring, our social worker will call to notify us that Alex's "papers" have been submitted to... the people who process them. This will mean that we should get our "call to travel" in the following few weeks or so (how exciting!). After everything is processed and ready to go, we will get our official "call to travel." This means, obviously, that we are approved travel! AHHH!!! I imagine we will book our flights for, like, the next day. AHHH!!!
We will be in Korea for about one week (perhaps a bit longer if we decide to do some extra site-seeing). During this week, we will get to meet with Alex's foster family, MEET ALEX (AHHH!!!), and do some site-seeing, shopping, etc, etc. I don't know exactly what will be required of us this week other than that, but I do know that Alex won't "officially" join our family until the last day. Yeah, you read this right. Our first experience as a family will be on an 18-hour flight back to the States (with at least one layover, I'm sure).
Now, I said "officially" in the previous paragraph because Alex's adoption won't actually be finalized until we are back in the States. And I think this is the point at which I stopped hearing our social worker explain the process because I was too busy daydreaming about the Korea trip! Ahhh, now what was I writing about again?
*See our Travel Timeline Update.
What an awesome adventure this will be!!!
ReplyDeleteYou will love Korea! Its one of my favorite spots we have traveled. The people are amazing! WOW the last day you get him, I would think they would give you a day or two to transition from his current providers to you guys. So does where does his passport come from then? (does he get dual citizenship). Will you have to get the passport before entering the USA or do they have something temporary for that? Hit me up for any flying/travel gear info you may want to know about... I have tried about everything! LOL
ReplyDeleteHi Angela!
ReplyDeleteWe will be able to meet with him and his foster family a couple times during the week so hopefully that will help with the transition (at least a little).
I think he will have some sort of U.S. immigration card/documents and/or Korean passport. I'm not sure about dual citizenship. Good question! I will look into it. I know he won't be able to get a U.S. passport until the adoption is finalized in the U.S.
I think we'll have some travel time on our own during the week, so I will definitely hit you up for some suggestions!
~Jen