Tomorrow is an important day for our nation as well as our family! Not only is it Election Day, but it is also our court date here in Cass County, Missouri. Tomorrow we go to court at 1:30, and when we walk out Nigate and Amsalu will officially be Ruby Nigate and Elizabeth Amsalu! We will also receive a "Recognition of Foreign Adoption" certificate, and the girls will have new Missouri birth certificates issued! Next step...send in these court documents to receive their U.S. Citizenship!
This is a very different process than we went through for Nora. In China, the adoption is finalized AFTER you arrive in the country and meet your child, so they travel home with their new name (if you're giving them one) on an IR-3 Visa and are U.S. citizens as soon as you go through immigration at the airport in the U.S. Then I had to fill out a form and send in the translated Chinese Adoption Decree to the state of Missouri to get a new birth certificate.
Or adoption of Nigate and Amsalu was finalized in Ethiopia via Power of Attorney with our adoption agency BEFORE we met them. This means they came home on an IR-4 Visa and are permanent legal residents on the U.S., but we have to send in paperwork (and more money of course) to obtain their citizenship. Also, their legal names at this time (at least until tomorrow) are Nigate Anthony Smith and Amsalu Anthony Smith. Pretty, huh?
Football is here again!
9 years ago
3 comments:
I'm gonna root for your girls tomorrow...not the election!...way more interesting!! I think it's so funny how they come home with their names...Ava is "Rahel David Brutto"..what a hoot!
Congratulations!!!!!!! We have to wait 6 mths her in Va. My poor Sara Brian - lol!
Really though, what wonderful news (and a wonderful day for it to happen on).
That's wonderful! I bet you're going to be so excited to get it all finalized. And this is a great day to have it done....will keep your minds off the election....ugh! Love ya!
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