Adoption ARK - Hungary

We Could Not Be More Blessed

noreply@blogger.com (Adoption Ark) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:33:00 +0000

Our story starts a year ago when we (my husband and four biological kids ages 5-9) decided that we had enough room in our hearts and home for more kids and were, in fact, desperate to complete our wonderful family. We found Adoption Ark on the Internet while looking for a program through which we could adopt from Hungary. My husband speaks Hungarian and we were impressed with their adoption policies.

Eleven months later we found ourselves traveling to Hungary to meet and adopt 3 year old Anna! The six of us went first to the orphanage where she came running to meet us shouting "Mama! Papa!" having seen our pictures for several weeks. The orphanage was a very impressive place. It looked like a Montessori preschool and they had done everything possible to foster attachment. We visited her at the orphanage for a week and then traveled to Budapest with our new daughter for 6 weeks of foster care before finalizing her adoption. The orphanage held a tearful goodbye party for her and gave her all of her clothes and toys, CDs and DVDs for her to listen to and watch, a daily journal they had kept of her life, and her photo album.

The 7 of us came home and have had a great first summer together. Anna speaks English as well as Hungarian now and is just thriving. We are so grateful to the orphanage for caring so well for our daughter, to the country coordinator for making the trip so easy and for helping Anna with the transition, and to Alla at Adoption Ark for guiding us through that we thought was the impossible - a seamless adoption. We could not be more blessed. Thank you everyone!

Emily and Kenneth Mulder,
Poultney, Vermont

For more information on adoption from Hungary, please contact Adoption Ark at adopt@adoptionark.org

Adoption Tax Credit Form

noreply@blogger.com (Adoption Ark) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:35:00 +0000

The Adoption Tax Credit can be confusing. Please visit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQryETwRziA for more information on the
qualifications and filing instructions. You can also view the form at
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8839.pdf

Adoption ARK's Report Card

noreply@blogger.com (Adoption Ark) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:40:00 +0000

Adoption ARK is very excited to share with you our latest survey results.
Our "Report Card" reflects our commitment to orphaned children and the
clients that we serve. International Adoption is not just a job; it's a
calling. At Adoption ARK, we are honored to assist you in adopting a child
and we thank you for choosing us as your international adoption agency.
Thank you to all the clients that participated.

View Adoption ARK's Report Card at
http://www.adoptionark.org/upload/adoptionarkreportcard_87895.pdf

Sincerely,
The Team at Adoption ARK
(847) 215-2755

Follow Adoption ARK on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/adoptionark>
http://www.facebook.com/adoptionark
Visit our YouTube page <http://www.youtube.com/user/AdoptionArk>
http://www.youtube.com/user/AdoptionArk

Adopting one child won't change the world; but for that child, the world
will change.

USCIS Centralizes Processing of Orphan Adoptions Change will Streamline Processing

noreply@blogger.com (Adoption Ark) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:46:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced
that on April 1, 2010, it is centralizing processing and adjudication of all
new orphan (Non-Hague) petitions with the agency's specialized adoptions
team in Missouri.
Prospective adoptive parents will continue to file their Petition to
Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative (Form I 600) and Application for
Advance Processing of Orphan Petition (Form I 600A) with USCIS' Dallas
Lockbox facility. The Lockbox will forward the case to the Orphan Unit at
USCIS' National Benefit Center (NBC) for processing and adjudication. The
applicant will receive a receipt notice with the NBC address and contact
information for follow-up correspondence.
While this takes place behind the scenes, adoptive parents will benefit
because it allows USCIS to:
* Process applications and petitions more efficiently,
* Streamline and standardize work processes, and
* Offer more consistent service.
Parents will also benefit from the specialized skills and experience of the
NBC Non-Hague Adoption Unit, based on the NBC's implementation of the USCIS
Hague Adoption Convention program in 2008.
USCIS has dedicated a toll-free NBC Adoption telephone line, 1-877-424-8374
and published an Orphan Home Study Tip sheet (Form M-760) to aid adoption
service providers and prospective adoptive parents.
Local USCIS field offices in the United States will continue to accept
requests for extensions and change of circumstances for approved Form I-600A
applications in accordance with the current filing instructions. Overseas
U.S. citizens may continue to file Form I-600 at a U.S. Embassy, consulate
or USCIS office abroad that has jurisdiction to accept the petition.
However, in order to file a Form I-600 petition abroad, the petitioner must
have an approved Form I-600A and be physically present in the adoptive
child's country.
Prospective parents who reside abroad may continue to file the Form I-600A
with an overseas USCIS office or the Dallas Lockbox facility.
For more information on orphan adoptions visit:
http://www.uscis.gov/adoptions.

Adoption Success Story from Hungary

noreply@blogger.com (Adoption Ark) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:42:00 +0000

"I have only great things to tell about my Hungary adoption experience and will be more than happy to share with other people considering Hungary as the country to adopt from.

My life changed completely once I adopted an adorable boy, Nicholas, from
Hungary! He added so much light and love into my life!

Today Nicholas is doing great!!!! There is nothing this kid can't conquer. He is academically at the top of his class, he is a great athlete, and has so many friends. He adjusted so well and quickly, so people could not believe he has only been in the country for several months. Even when he speaks he no longer has an accent. He is also learning Spanish and French and doing very well with these languages.

I wish you all good luck in your adoption process! There is definitely
nothing else in the world that can make you feel happier than adopting a
child!"

Warm Regards, Linda P.

Great News for Single Moms wishing to Adoption from Hungary

noreply@blogger.com (Adoption Ark) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:09:00 +0000

Great news from Hungary for single Moms.
Often, infant or toddler age children do not fit the lifestyles of a single parents. We've had many single Moms successfully adopt older children. Please read the adoption story of Dee Thompson, author and ARK family member. http://www.adoptionark.org/public/press88.aspx

Hungary will allow adoption by single parents for children 10 years or older. Hungary adoption is one of the most affordable adoption programs in Eastern Europe. For more information, please visit the Adoption ARK website
http://www.adoptionark.org/public/pag20.aspx

The Team at Adoption ARK
Sign up here to receive Adoption ARK's Newsletter.

Free Seminar "Parenting Children from Haiti and Other Hard Places"

noreply@blogger.com (Adoption Ark) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:07:00 +0000

Adoption Learning Partners is pleased to bring you this webinar in
cooperation with The Evan B. Donaldson Institute and the Joint Council on
International Children's Services.

Dr. Karyn Purvis will spend one hour answering parents' questions on
parenting their children from Haiti, and other "hard places" (which she will
define). Feel free to ask questions about attachment, sleep issues, behavior
challenges, family dynamics, or any other challenge you are facing.

Questions should be submitted in advance by completing the form below
(please include your child's age). They will be read to Dr. Purvis by our
moderator. We'll get to as many questions as time allows.

Dr. Purvis is co-author of the book "The Connected Child," and the Director
of the Institute of Child Development at TCU. Her focus is on research based
interventions for vulnerable children. She travels extensively, providing
training and consultation for families and professionals working with at
risk children.

Please register at
http://www.bluestreakwebinars.com/AccountManager/RegEv.aspx?PIID=ED50DD8985

noreply@blogger.com (Adoption Ark) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:53:00 +0000

Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for Best Actress last night for her role in the movie 'The Blind Side.' If you haven't seen the movie yet, it is about Michael Oher, a homeless, traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick after being taken in by a caring woman and her family. In her acceptance speech Sandra said, "what this film was about for me, which are the moms that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from." Adoption ARK couldn't agree more! Today, on International Women's Day, Adoption ARK would like to say thank you to all the mom's that have loving cared for adopted children. Please remember.Adopting one child will not change the world; but for that child the world will change. The world changed for Michael Oher and countless other the day their moms took them in their arms and began a life-long pursuit of loving them unconditionally.

The Completed Version of Us

noreply@blogger.com (Adoption Ark) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:46:00 +0000

A Great Adoption Success Story from Hungary!

Our story starts about five years ago when we felt like our family was not complete with two boys and one girl. I asked Tom if we could adopt a girl. He said, “We do not have the money and where would we start anyway?” I have two adopted siblings and thought I would start by asking my sister who was in the middle of filling out paperwork for her adoption of a child out of Guatemala. She said that God would provide the agency, child, and finances if we really wanted to adopt. I went back to Tom and asked, “Which country?” He said the only country he was interested in was Hungary. Tom is Hungarian first generation American. He has many family members still in Hungary. I start looking for an agency that adopts out of Hungary. Long story short I could not find one. I started asking Tom to re-think and go with China or Romania. He said, “No.”

So I moved on but, every now and again would check agencies out and see if they would be interested in coordinating adoptions out of Hungary, to no avail it was not happening. The Thanksgiving of 2007 Adoption Ark posted that they were starting a program out of Hungary. Tom showed me the email and the rest is history. I called and immediately got information on the program. Talked my parents into a loan and we were off. By the end of 2007 we had already signed on with Adoption Ark, finished our home study, and started the paper trail. By May 2008 we were finished our paperwork…. It was challenging wait and it was not easy to learn that the country accepted a new law which said that if you were not willing to take three or more siblings or wanting children 9 years and up you will have no chance of adoption. “We fit into the new law criteria, so maybe the wait will be shorter, right Tom? We waited and waited more but then the phone rang! “Kristin we have a referral for you,” our coordinator said. The six most glorious words adoptive parents will ever hear. WE HAVE A REFFERAL FOR YOU!!!! I could not stop crying and shouting Praises to God long enough to tell my three eldest kids, but they could figure it out. After several minutes the kids started to ask “how old, how many, what are their sexes, and what are their names?” Oh my goodness, I had not asked that. Oh, but I didn’t really care. I knew we’d want her, him, or them. Our coordinator is crying with us at this point and telling me Girl 8, Girl 6, and Boy 4.

Fast forward six weeks we are on the border of Romania and Hungary meeting our children for the first time Monika Grace, Kira Alexandra, and Drew Laszlo. We are in love - all eight of us!!! There is no one else in the room accept us. We only have eyes for them and them for us. We are a family; the complete version of US. We are home in America after almost 7 weeks in country and doing wonderful! Adopting was scary, but now we can’t live without our 3 precious new children!! They are wonderful and we are sooo glad we took the step of faith to do it.

Tom and Kris plus Six!!!

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Great Story Written from an Adoptee Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Adoption Ark) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:20:00 +0000

The article, The Case for International Adoption, is a wonderfully written, very informative example of why International Adoption is such an important aspect of our society. Written by Jeneen Interlandi, an adoptee from Columbia, the article tackles the issue of adoptees being able to develope a cultural identity within a family of a different ethnic background. In the end Jeneen concludes , what matters most is not where a child is from, but whether or not that child is well loved and well cared for by a responsible family—regardless of race or nationality.

Click here to read The Case for International Adoption by Jeneen Interlandi