Kelly, thanks for this update! Just knowing that Susana has said that things ARE moving is very heartening. I think most of us feel we can wait as long as it takes if we know the process has truly begun. We appreciate the news!

thanks... any words from you at all are appreciated. Susana being busy is a great thing!
all are in our prayers. deborah

Hello all.

I'm not a waiting parent (my baby came home Aug 2002) but I just wanted to post some "good news". So far, there have been 2 babies (Post-March 5th) that have come home this week from the place where I adopted my baby girl. There might be more and they just haven't posted. For all of you waiting, I know that there have been 2-3 referrals made by this place within the past 2-3 weeks. So, I believe things are looking up. I know that one baby, that is now home, came home at 7 months old.

I hope this post eases some anxiety. Your baby WILL come home very soon!

I am from Illinois and we are post March 5, waiting for our daughter, who is 4 1/2 months. Within the past week, we were notified of two Illinois, pre March-5 families who are traveling in October to pick up their babies. We thought this was good news and wanted to share it with everyone!

we are a pre 3/5 family and our traveling to get our daughter on 10/13. She will be 15 months old in a few weeks and despite the set backs, soon she will be ours. To all couples waiting, hang in there because when the news comes that it is your turn to go, the feeling is amazing.

Hi, I just want to know if there is anything Susana can do to help us? We are adopting two brothers ages 15 and 9. Our oldest son will be 16 in Jan and we are so scared he will turn 16 before the adoption goes through! We have been in PGN since Sept 22nd and everytime we call we are told to call back another day. Our agency hasnt updated us, we havent heard from them since August 13th. We are feeling very desperate and do not know what to do. We are not allowed to contact our lawyer ourselves, the agency would not give us his number or e mail address. We wrote the agency and begged them to please advocate for us and wrote the facilitator and asked her to please ask the lawyer to call PGN. What will happen if the case does not go through until after our boy turns 16? Will he really lose his chance to be adopted? We started this process in Jan of last year and were not concerned with this until now. Time seems to keep ticking away and we hear nothing. I feel so desperate, I do not know what to do? Can Susana do anything? Does she have any suggestions? Please help. Thanks, Carrie Creighton

I too am desperate. I just found out today that I may have to re-do most of the dossier if I do not have my son in the next week. That will entail about another $2000 (homestudy, copies, notaries, state authentication, US authentication, and Guatemala authentication). My lawyer too doesn't tell you where the case is; she always says be patient. That is hard to do when the funds keep running out.

I have a number for PGN but when I last called, they said they did not have any cases and gave me another number. When I call the other number, they hang up when I ask if they speak English.

Does anyone have a number other than 502-331-1005, or are you getting a response when you call that number?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Pam

Dear Pam,I don't have another as yet, but I will try to find one today and write you back later. My question to yo is, when did you start your adoption process? I have been stuck in Family Court since March 5th and I am still there! I am wondering if I will have to do the same thing. Check back later today and see if I posted another phone number. I am praying for you.
Cindy

Hello Pam - The number which I was given from my agency here in Michigan is 502-361-905. I have not called, because I was cautioned from my agency not to draw any unnecessary attention to my cases. I have two children in PGN, non siblings, ages almost 5 and 10 months. I want to know about my cases, but I am not sure if I should call.

Pam,

I, too have reached the point of needing to redo my documents and can relate to how frustrating this is. My agency notified me about this yesterday and I'm beginning to work on this. I am an adoption social worker, however, and know that in the state Ohio, your adoption homestudy is good for 2 years. You will likely need an updated signature sheet with a current notary date, however, in Ohio this would not require a new or even updated homestudy, which will greatly reduce the cost. Our agency only charges $25 (at the most) to do this, which includes updated date on the contact page, new notary, and county certification. You can check with your homestudy social worker or agency and ask how long a homestudy is valid in the state you live in--hopefully you can just get a new notary page and save some money for that part of the process.

Also, I have not called PGN lately, however, the number I have used in the past is 011-502-361-4905. You can ask for Claudia or Pablo (they both speak English. I've heard from others, though, that they may not be there any longer or at least may not be able to talk to parents but rather refer you to talk to you attorney.

It sounds as though many of us are reaching a critical point in the process and I pray that we are all approved soon.

Debbie

Having gone through the process of redoing documents and updating homestudies, a few things to keep in mind. When updating your homestudy(atleast in the state of Ohio) make sure to indicate that your home was revisited and still meets BCIS requirements( fire ext, evacuation plan, etc.) We resubmited for a new I-171H and would have been denied if we wouldn't have caught. The BCIS is getting very picky on these details. Also, file your I-600A as soon as it appears you will not be traveling in the time frame of the old one. It took BCIS 3 months to process our new one and it only got done with help from our congressman. Be advised, even though you have been fingerprinted before, all new I-600A's require new fingerprints(and fees I might add) Lastly concerning redone documents, our case was rejected twice by PGN, requiring new documents. Each rejection added 8 to 10 weeks to the waiting period before PGN rereviewed our file. This time frame includes reauthenticating, translation and resubmission. It was extremely frustrating and forced us into updating our homestudy, BCIS paperwork and the like. I hope I am not alarming all who read this post, I am aware that some cases go through flawlessly. Despite all of this, my wife and I are traveling this week to get our little girl. As Susan wrote" they can delay it but they cannot deny it". Be patient and good luck to all

Hi I have several numbers to PGN:
011-502-331-1005
011-502-331-1008
011-502-331-1006
011-502-361-4468
011-502-334-8007
011-502-334-8459
There are several people who work there who speak English. Ask for Claudia or Pablo Betsavasi. If you speak Spanish Carlos Reyes or Ludwig Delwit can be reached at Ext. 208. The old central authority also has a English speaking lady named Carla and her number is 011-502-361-4905. I call PGN all the time and I have to warn you they are not much help. They are always nice on the phone but I always get told to call back another day our case is still in the office where they are waiting to assign the case to someone. You will need to find out your case number when you call and thats easier to just give the number each time you call. I try to speak to the same people each time so they get to know ME and OUR CASE. I try to make small talk so they remember me. It doesnt seem to make much difference but I at lease know I am trying. I hope this helps and good luck! Carrie Creighton

Carrie, those numbers for PGN were so helpful! I finally got to find out where we were in the process. Our case has been assigned to someone for review. David was born on Nov. 13th so he will be a year soon. We expected to have him home last April. It has been agonizing for us as I know it has been for so many other parents. You were right, Claudia was very nice and helpful. Thanks so much for the info. I hope you hear good news soon!