The Next Steps...

As you all know, we had to leave our kiddos behind in Addis Ababa while all of the final paperwork is processed for the US Embassy. Under Ethiopian law, we are officially Neni and Achole's family. However, we have to wait for clearance from the US government to bring them home. We must first receive the adoption decree from the Ethiopian court, then their new birth certificates, then Ethiopian passports, and finally the medical clearance report. After our agency receives all of these items, we can be submitted to the US Embassy. The embassy will then either approve our case immediately, request an additional birth family interview prior to approval, or issue an RFE (request for evidence). While we don't expect an RFE with our case, a birth family interview is highly possible...and we expect clearance following that interview. This entire process takes approximately 6-8 weeks (on average), although some families with our agency have received clearance within 4 weeks. We are very hopeful we will be able bring our kiddos home by the end of February!!