We're in the court

Yipee…we received word from our agency that all of our documents are now in the Taiwan Court. That was fast!!! Praying for a fast judge…come on fast judge!

So now that our documents are logged into the court system, what happens next you ask? The answer is A LOT. The court process takes somewhere between 4-6 months so we are praying that we get our son home before the end of this year. The actual court process goes something like this:

Step 1: District Court
Once the court receives all of our documents, the court reviews our Petition for Adoption and assigns our case to a judge authorized to hear and rule on adoption related issues. The judge than reviews our case and sets the matter for a hearing. The time it takes to get a hearing depends on the court calendar and the schedule of all the parties that need to attend the hearing (i.e. our attorney, Yu-Lin’s birth family and/or social worker, etc.). We have seen hearings scheduled 1 month out to as long as 4 months out. So we have no idea of when this will be. At the hearing, the court has the opportunity to understand the circumstances of the adoption and why we would make good parents for Yu-Lin. Though lengthy and frustrating at times, the District Court process is designed to protect Yu-Lin, his birth family, the organization caring for him, AND in the end protects us as adoptive parents. When the District Court decisions have been made, we can be confident that the process was handled with consideration and in Yu-Lin's best interest.

Step 2: First Ruling
Once the District Court hearing has been completed and the judge has had time to make a decision to finalize the adoption, a First Ruling is issued. This is a short statement signed by the judge that is forwarded to the parties involved (social services organization on our behalf and the birth family) notifying everyone of the Judge’s decision to finalize the adoption. Typically, the First Ruling happens a month or so after the hearing. The First Ruling must go to each party and then there is a waiting period of 10 days before any more can happen to ensure that everyone has been notified of the judge’s decision.

Step 3: Final Ruling
Once the 10 day waiting period is up (and the court staff finds time!), the Final Ruling is forwarded to all parties. When the Final Ruling is received by Yu-Lin’s social service organization, the court process is DONE!

Step 4: Household registration change and immigration requirements.
Before we can travel, a lot must be accomplished by Yu-Lin’s social service organization. All court documents and background info on Yu-Lin must be officially translated to English and submitted with certain paperwork to the American Institute in Taiwan (“AIT”). Also, Yu-Lin must have his Visa medical exam completed which is forwarded directly (unopened) to AIT’s immigrant visa office.

At some point, Yu-Lin’s guardian must file for a household registration change. The household registration is a file located at local government offices in Taiwan that contains certificates and information about each person in Taiwan. Yu-Lin’s household registration is attached to his guardian’s file until the adoption has been finalized by the Taiwan courts. Once Yu-Lin has been legally adopted in Taiwan, the guardian files with the government office to remove the file from theirs and create a new file showing that we are his new legal guardians. The household registration change takes a day or two or a week depending on the placing organization and the local government office.

Step 5: Travel Notification
Once all of this is completed, we get the long awaited notice from our agency to pack our bags and pick up Yu-Lin. Families typically get a 1-2 week notice to travel. Generally, our travel dates are determined by when our AIT appointment is scheduled to allow us to process out of immigration.