What have we done so far?

We have chosen an adoption agency called PLAN Loving Adoptions out of Oregon, they came highly recommended and we have been very happy with them so far. We sent in our initial application to the adoption agency which was accepted. We then chose an agency locally to do our home study which is the next major step in the adoption process. We were very lucky to find a lady here in Charleston who has been doing home studies for over 20 years and has adopted 2 children herself. We are currently in the process of gathering all of our information for the home study. We are working on our autobiographies, financial statements, health reports and personal references and have sent away for our Department of Social Service, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and Sexual Offender Clearances (yes, they check it all!). Once those are all completed we will have our first home visit with our social worker.
In the meantime, we are getting our I-600A form ready to mail out. This is the biggy! It is the key document to becoming officially "qualified to adopt" in the eyes of the U.S. government. Along with the form we will have to submit several documents as well as be fingerprinted. This form can take up to 90 days to process, so this is often a common culprit of delaying and adoption process. All of this is part of the paper chase to get our dossier ready to go over to Vietnam. Once they receive our dossier they can choose a child for us.