Paperwork - how bad is it

[font=Comic Sans MS]Hello!We applied to our agency 9/30, and were DTC yesterday! We did all the paperwork ourselves in just around 3 months. I actually took a break most of November, so really if things come back in a timely manner you can have it done in a few months. I did have a few days where all I did was run around getting documents notarized and certified, but really just worked on it a little each day. I was very intimated at first, but now looking back it really isn't that difficult. Just be organized (I'm not by nature), make lots of phone calls, and read/ask questions online. I found forums/groups to be invaluable. There is a real sense of camaraderie here. We are all in this together...and that has been so helpful to me. I really liked being in control of my end of the paperchase that I would be hesitant to have someone else do it. Much of it is out of your hands (like USCIS approval, authentications, police clearance, ect), but I liked being able to move forward at my pace. For example, the first business day I had my 797 I got it notarized both county and state, and sent to a courier. It took me all day, but loved having it done! I don't know how it would work w/someone else doing it. Perhaps someone who has BTDT could offer more assistance.I am a SAHM to two young kids, and found it no problem to complete the paperchase. My boys are troopers, and we went everywhere together getting the documents taken care of. We all did a happy dance the other day as we sent out our last FedEx package tho! ;)[/font]

I agree with Stephanie. Just a few months ago I was on here asking if I should use a dossier prep service. There's no need for it. It's totally doable on your own. I did it in 3 months and I have 2 toddlers. Good luck!

It was much easier than I thought it would be. Our agency gave us a detailed guide to follow. Or I should say "gave me to follow" as I did ALL the PAPERWORK!! My husband just signed on the dotted line when asked. HAHA You have to gather a lot of documents and get them notarized, certified, and authenticated, but you just have to be organized. I just worked a little each night and got a lot done in the beginning, but then we waited a total of 8 weeks for our fingerprinting and last form! So, there can be some downtime. Stephanie

I would agree with everyone else- it is not that bad. You just have to have some organization skills, the ability to follow directions exactly, attention to detail. In the beginning I worked a little bit each night, but MOST of the time it was just waiting. Order BC- wait for it to come- mail it to get authencticated- wait for it to come back- etc. The actual paperchasing we had done in roughly 2 months (give or take a week), but then we had to wait for Immigration which took 9 1/2 weeks.I also agree with the control statement made by Stephanie. While most of it is out of your control, you know that everything that can be done is being done, because you are doing it. You know your paperwork isn't sitting on someone's desk at your agency waiting while they do something else. If something needs to be followed up on you can follow up directly with the responsible party, not wait for your agency to check. I would do it again myself. Michael

I can see your point about the control factor ... ;) Thanks so far for your replies, folks ... I feel a lot better about tackling it on my own... Stephanie, you mentioned FedEx -- would you recommend setting up an account with them? Lin

I have to agree with everyone here, the paperwork is not bad, our approval from immigrations is what held us up, We did have an account with Fed Ex, you can track that way

[font=Comic Sans MS]ABSOLUTLEY!!!!! FedEx was recommended to me when I started the paperchase, and I am so thankful we went that route! My packages always arrived when promised, and I loved that you could track online, and it was continually updated! I felt they "cared" about my documents like I did ;) I know corny, but true! I could see where they were at 1:23am, 6:16am, 11:58am, the time of delivery, as well as who signed for it. I can't sing their praises enough. Just go online and set up an account, (just need a credit card), and they can send you supplies, or pick them up in a local store. EASY! It was also great to include an Airbill w/your account number on it for return documents when sending off for certifications. Best to you on your adoption journey![/font]

Hi! We have both moved all over during our lives so our documents had to go out to numerous--and I mean numerous!--different states and Consulates for cert/authentication. We were daunted by that prospect and chose to use the dossier service. The service did a good job, maybe a little slower than I could've done, but I was glad to have the peace of mind of knowing they were experienced and would solve any issues that might come up. That being said, if your cert/authentication process will be pretty simple (not dealing with a lot of different offices), you will probably just want to do it yourself. I'm sure you will do fine. Honestly, the parts of the paperchase that were REALLY frustrating/time-consuming were things that the dossier preparation service could do nothing about--finding someone willing to notarize our doctor's signature on the spot, getting our police station to correctly word our clearance form, getting our local USCIS to properly process our I-600A when they apparently didn't know what it was(??!), etc. Now, if someone could do all THAT for me next time we adopt, I would pay them BIG bucks! But I probably won't use the dossier prep service again now that we have some experience. Good luck! Before you know it you will be posting "We're DTC!" on this board! :)

The only thing missing from FedEx tracking is the ability to actually where the truck is using GPS. I have a feeling that is not too far off, that will be awesome. I too have to highly recommend FedEx for this process.At the onset I had a bad experience with the post office- I sent our I600A to Memphis via priority mail. They tried to deliver it 2 days later and for some reason couldn't deliver that day- then they waited another 12 days to redeliver. I decided right there and then not to use them anymore for this process. Also, USPS tracking system is terrible. I was very happy with FedEx, I even routinely sent stuff "2 day express" and it was there the next day- GO FEDEX!!! Michael

I enjoyed the paperchase and it made me feel very part of the process: however, I am a pretty organized individual when it comes to that kind of stuff. (My closets...well that's another matter. :rolleyes: )

We are using GWCA, but did not use their Dragon Plan. Like many others here, we did not feel overwhelmed by the process and in fact like the control it gave us in how quickly things could get done. Best of luck.

Ditto. We had to deal with 3 states and 3 different consulates. Within Ohio we also, unfortunately but out of necessity, used notaries from 3 different counties so I had to run all around for county certifications before going to the Sec of State. (Not all states require county certification prior to state certification so don't let this confuse you :-)We had a dossier prep service available to us but we (I) chose to do it on my own and it's very doable.Like another poster said, I also frequently sent stuff fed ex via the 2 day express saver rate and it almost always was there in 1 day. (I wouldn't count on it if timing was vital.)So basically, you can do it! We started the paperchase Oct 1st and were essentially done Dec 28th but had to wait for our I-171H.As I type, the last of our documents are at the NY Consulate for authentication and we should be DTC in a couple weeks (after agency review). WooHoo!

Ditto. We did not use the Dragon Plan, and I personally would have found it to be not worth the cost.