Thursday, May 19, 2011

Sentencia as Last!

We arrived at court at 9:00 this morning (Trip 3)... baring in mind that the secretary said the copies would be ready at 10:00.  When he checked in he was a bit hostile and told our lawyer that for the 5th time they would not be ready until 11:00 (of course this was the first time he said anything like that).  The secretary, apparently new at his post, was a little drunk with power and sent us away empty handed again just because he could.  So we left and got a cup of coffee, trying to kill a few hours.  Then our lawyer had to leave and Helena and I went to the nearby Panamericana bookstore and browsed kid's books for a while.  Trip 4: At precisely 10:59 we stepped up to the window of court #21 to find the secretary not at his desk.  We both got very nervous for a moment but then 2 minutes later he arrived and I was able to sign for our copies of the adoption decree.  Finally the paper was in my hands and Sebastian was legally ours!
Then rushing because the doctor was due at the apartment at 1:00, we headed to the registry where thankfully Reynel (our driver and A+ human being) had already started inquiring about the new birth certificate.  When we got to the registry as a nice change from our most recent legal interactions, the woman who helped us was very gracious and understanding.  I signed and fingerprinted the new birth certificate listing Greg and I as the parents!  We don't have copies yet because the official registrar was out of the office so they could not be officially stamped but hopefully tomorrow we will have copies of the new birth certificate.
What's next?  Here's the list:
1. Passport photos of Sebastian   (hopefully tomorrow)
2. Apply for Sebastian's Colombian passport (hopefully tomorrow)
3. Visa medical exam
4. Conformity Document (CRAN must apply for it from ICBF once we get them copies of the
    Sentencia and new birth certificate)
5. Get Conformity Document from ICBF
6.  Apply for Visa at US Embassy
7. Get Sebastian's Passport
8. Get Sebastian's Visa

All of this should take approximately a week, Lord willing
There is a lot still to do but the end is in sight.  After almost 2 1/2+  hours on the phone with Jet Blue (apparently whoever assisted us in the very beginning made a mistake that caused a legal problem in regards to Sebastian's ticket) we have a flight home booked for Friday May 27th!  Keep those fingers crossed and keep praying that this next week will go smoothly and swiftly and bring us safely home.

1 comment:

  1. All of a sudden things seem to be happening so quickly! We will be very glad to have you all back home again soon. Count down to the 27th.

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