Right now we're in MO I
We had some problems with our birth certificates and recently they have been sent to the Dept of Justice to get the certification that we need.
Anyone know what this means?
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Right now we're in MO I
We had some problems with our birth certificates and recently they have been sent to the Dept of Justice to get the certification that we need.
Anyone know what this means?
MOI may be cleaning up some omissions before the dossier reaches the Consulate. The follow was posted by achildsvoice@live.com – a good blog to read if you aren’t already following it.
January 31, 2009 Update:
On a side-note. I have received several emails from families where the U.S. Consulate has requested the Archive certification of death or birth certificates. Please see the explanation below…
The U.S. Consulate or USCIS has the right to ask for birth or death certificates to have a half-page Archive attached or a full page Archive replacement.
An “Archive” is similar to having a certified birth certificate (or death certificate – for simplicity in explanation, I am going to merely refer to birth certificates – but the same process applies for death certificates as well).
In the cases where the U.S. Consulate or USCIS is asking for Archive documents, it actually surprised that the child’s adoption file made it through MOI (passport approval) without a certified birth certificate.
When a birth certificate is initially issued, it is hand written. To the hand-written document, a half-page Archive paper is attached from the National Archive Office that certifies that the official who signed and issued the hand-written birth certificate is in fact an authorized official (they compare signatures).
However, if the birth certificate document is more than one year old, a full-page Archive document has to replace the hand-written birth certificate.
When the birth certificate is initially written, it is recorded in two log books (one of those books ends up in the Archive library in Port-au-Prince, and the other other one of those books ends up in the Ministry of Justice library).
Supposedly, a log book is made for each calendar year (January 1st through December 31st). Often, especially in rural areas, log books are kept longer because the respective tribunal offices may not have empty log books to replace them with.
When a full-page Archive is issued, the entire log book page regarding the specific birth certificate entry is typed (most recently via computer) onto a one page Archive document. This full-page Archive replaces the hand-written birth certificate as the hand-written birth certificate is no longer considered a legal document.
The problem is that often, especially when dealing with rural offices, the Archive log books cannot be located, are still stuck in the rural office, etc. Also, there can be a long wait for the full-page Archive to be issued.
Hi Jamie! I know you are in Haiti right now (have an amazing time!!) but I was wondering if you could help me out when you get back. My boyfriend, my friend and I are going to be spending this Christmas in Haiti with Lori and Licia. We want to also spend a few days in PAP- one reason is to spend a day with World Vision. They told me that we should get a hotel in Petion-Ville and when I looked up the guest house you said you stayed at and would recommend, it looks like it is there? Just wanted to know a bit more about it and confirm what city it is in and how to book to stay there. Also, if there are any other places in Haiti that you would recommend seeing/volunteering with please let me know! We will spend most of the time with Lori and Licia, but want to have a few days with other organizations as well.
Thanks so much!!
Jamie, I know they have to authenticate the birth certificates to make sure they are real. Some have been found to be fake and they have really cracked down on this process. Hope everything goes well and things will start moving again soon!
oh friend- i am so praying you get your precious haitian babies home soon! what a journey.
by the way- was checking out the livesay blog and loved seeing you sporting the “bristol” t shirt! u rock!
love, courtney
I really don’t understand either, but this is a guess: maybe it wasn’t MOI that sent them back to DOJ, but the US side? I think at the end, if you did Adjucate Orphan First, that the US is simultaneously overlooking all the documentation.
I don’t know much, but a friend of mine’s family is adopting a boy from Haiti and his mom was asking us to pray for them because their papers went to the department of justice las week. i don’t remember much, but i think i remember her saying that this was the last step before “rubber stamping” everything. she said they can either pass the papers right on through or, if there’s a problem, the papers go … somewhere else in the dept. and get sorted out. sorry i wasn’t paying attention much, and depending what sort of problem there is, it may take a while.
i hope you guys get through the dept. soon!!!