The Process

Many people have asked us about the process of international adoption.  With each country, there is different criteria, paperwork, timelines, length in country, etc.  The process for the DR Congo has been easier and faster than our process with the China program.  Here is the information of the process through our agency: 

Adoption Process:
1.  Families must complete a homestudy and brief dossier to submit to the Congolese authorities. The approximate wait time for a referral of a child is 0-12 months; however this may vary depending on the age/gender of the child you request and the number of families waiting.

2.  Once parents have accepted a referral, the case is presented to the local court for approval. Court is usually scheduled within 1-3 months. Parents are not required to be in court. Following court approval, there is a 30 day appeal period before the Certificate of Non Appeal is issued. When the CNA is issued, the case then is reviewed for approval by the Ministry.

3.  Once all the adoption documents are complete, the next step is to file the I600 with USCIS. The timeframe to get I600 approved varies, but is currently estimated to be 3 weeks to 2 months.

4.  When the I600 has been approved by USCIS, we will then request an appointment from the Embassy. All documents are submitted to the Embassy for Visa processing. The visa is issued typically within 2-4 weeks, and in rare cases has taken several weeks.

5.  The final step is to obtain a letter from the Congolese (DGM) for the child to leave the country. This process can take several days to a couple of weeks.

Travel: Travel time in country is approximately 7-14 days.
We expect to have him home by Christmas.  That is our goal but the Lord knows the day and time we will meet him!  :)

When our homestudy is complete next week, we should receive our referral rather quickly.  So exciting!  We will keep you updated!  :)