So began Mia’s re-adoption hearing this morning. While Mia’s adoption was finalized in China, we were advised to re-adopt her to give the U.S. courts full jurisdiction over the adoption. Also, this enabled the state to issue a birth certificate, meaning she will be able to get copies of her birth certificate in the future without having to contact the Chinese authorities. The hearing took place in the judge’s chambers (for privacy) and there was only one attorney present - ours. The judge had already read everything there is to know about how we became a family. After Jeff and I were sworn in, the questioning was pretty simple, confirming the representations we’d made in the court filing by answering “yes” to each question. We had to testify that:
· We are who we said we are
· We are married
· We live in the city stated in the paperwork, and we have lived in this state more than 6 months
· We adopted Mia in China
· Mia entered the U.S. on a valid visa, and she is a U.S. citizen
· We were asking the court to “domesticate this foreign adoption” and have the state issue a birth certificate with us as the parents
Sarah captured it all with the camcorder. (That's Sarah in the photo.) Mia looked beautiful in her red velveteen dress and sweater. Her outfit was all-American, and red is the traditional color of celebration in China. After the questioning was over, the judge ruled that we had adopted Mia.
After the hearing, Jeff and Sarah left with Mia while the attorney and I went to another part of the courthouse. The clerk of court entered the order of judgment and gave us certified copies of the decree. The order was immediately sealed so that no one can ever look at all the supporting evidence, which includes Mia’s Chinese birth certificate, the Chinese adoption decree, our home study, etc. Adoption decrees may be the only thing you can’t get on the Internet.
I took the adoption decree straight to the county’s vital records office, and a mere half hour later I had Mia’s new birth certificate listing Jeff and I as the parents.
Dear Mia,
If you are reading this someday, I want you to know that this was one of the happiest days of my life. The other happiest days were the day we found out we had been selected to be your parents, the day your Chinese nanny first put you in my arms, and the day we brought you home to America . I love you very much. Every day I thank the Lord that am your mother.
· We are who we said we are
· We are married
· We live in the city stated in the paperwork, and we have lived in this state more than 6 months
· We adopted Mia in China
· Mia entered the U.S. on a valid visa, and she is a U.S. citizen
· We were asking the court to “domesticate this foreign adoption” and have the state issue a birth certificate with us as the parents
Sarah captured it all with the camcorder. (That's Sarah in the photo.) Mia looked beautiful in her red velveteen dress and sweater. Her outfit was all-American, and red is the traditional color of celebration in China. After the questioning was over, the judge ruled that we had adopted Mia.
After the hearing, Jeff and Sarah left with Mia while the attorney and I went to another part of the courthouse. The clerk of court entered the order of judgment and gave us certified copies of the decree. The order was immediately sealed so that no one can ever look at all the supporting evidence, which includes Mia’s Chinese birth certificate, the Chinese adoption decree, our home study, etc. Adoption decrees may be the only thing you can’t get on the Internet.
I took the adoption decree straight to the county’s vital records office, and a mere half hour later I had Mia’s new birth certificate listing Jeff and I as the parents.
Dear Mia,
If you are reading this someday, I want you to know that this was one of the happiest days of my life. The other happiest days were the day we found out we had been selected to be your parents, the day your Chinese nanny first put you in my arms, and the day we brought you home to America . I love you very much. Every day I thank the Lord that am your mother.
No comments:
Post a Comment