August 29 Office Update

Today from 11am to 2pm MST all IAN staff will be in Hague training.  We will not be in the office or answering phone calls.  Please feel free to leave us a message or call us back after 2pm.  Thanks for your understanding!

Letter From the Embassy

Embassy Letter Update

The following is a copy of an email sent to IAN from the embassy in Ethiopia:

From: Addis, Adoption

Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 3:22 AM

Subject: Issues regarding the adoptions.

Dear Adoption Agencies,

Several issues have arisen over the past few weeks that make it necessary for us to clarify some points with you regarding how we screen documents and schedule interviews with adoptive parents.

We want to stress that we will not expedite cases simply because parents are in country. We screen cases in the order in which they are received and we schedule interview appointments in the order in which the cases are cleared. We recommend that all adoptive parents wait to travel until the Embassy has confirmed a scheduled appointment. We will not fast track any case because adoptive parents chose to travel to Ethiopia without a scheduled appointment.

Our documentary requirements for cases do not change when the parents are in-country. If in the course of screening the documents we determine that we cannot clear the case because of errors or inconsistencies in the file that require further investigation, adoptive parents could find themselves spending significantly more time than expected in Ethiopia.

Families should not book return travel without a confirmed interview date. We will not expedite appointments on this basis.

Please keep the following in mind when communicating with your adoptive parents. We will be sharing the same information:

• adoption cases will be screened in the order received
• interviews will not be scheduled until a case has been screened and cleared, including any required corrections
• Embassy staff require several business days to screen a case
• corrections may require several days to weeks to complete
• investigations and/or interviews with birth or relinquishing relatives may take a significant amount of time to complete
• interview slots are normally available within one week of a case being cleared
• it takes 48 hours from the time of the interview until we are able to deliver a printed visa.

We respectfully ask you to continue informing your parents of our recommendations regarding travelling for the visa interview.

Esther Bell

Vice Consul

US Embassy

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

bellef@state.gov

Referral Accepted!!

We are pleased to announce that a referral has been accepted for an 8 1/2 year old brother and 2 1/2 year old sister!

The list moves as follows:
Everyone below #7 on Siblings moves up one spot!

Congratulations to the happy family!

Waiting Children Update

There are new children looking for their forever families (two sibling sets, 2-9 years old).  Please help us find families for these wonderful children!

www.internationaladoptionnet.org, Email Bill@internationaladoptionnet.org for login information.

~ IAN Staff

IAN Family Picnic - Last Call!!!

Don't forget the IAN Family Picnic is THIS Sunday, August 14 from 1-3 pm at Belleview Park in Englewood, Colorado. 

We would LOVE to have all of you join us for this wonderful event...please RSVP by the end of the day today, August 11, 2011 so we can plan for the right amound of food.

To RSVP, please visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1859948155.

Please contact Allison at allison@internationaladoptionnet.org or 303-691-0808 with questions. 

Referral Acceptance!

A beautiful young toddler girl has found her forever home. Congratulations to the happy, happy family! Families on the baby girl waitlist ~ everyone under #12 moves up one; on toddler girl waitlist ~ everyone under 4 moves up one.

Calling IAN Families!

The IAN annual picnic is just around the corner and we are putting together a photo/video presentation of our wonderful families. We want your photos! If you are interested in being a part, please send your photos/videos to Bill at Bill@internationaladoptionnet.org by Monday, August 8th. Include the name of your favorite song as well! These photos will not be posted on our website unless you request the photo release waiver. We can't wait to see you there!

~ IAN Staff