III Astana Economic Forum to be held on july 1-2, 2010 
Instructions on dossiers for adoption
INSTRUCTIONS ON PREPARING DOSSIER FOR ADOPTION
The following is a list of documents needed for your adoption in Kazakhstan. For each document listed, you need 1 (one) original document with translation, in the same order as shown on your cover letter. The Embassy requires 2 copies of your original dossier with translations, accompanied by a short cover letter.
You must have the originals notarized by your State Notary and get them authenticated by the Secretary of your State’s office, i.e. obtain an apostille for every of your adoption documents. In other words, all of your adoption documents must be notarized and apostilled which certifies that they are true and legal in the U.S. and Kazakhstan.
It is important that all signatures of the Prospective Adoptive Parents be consistent throughout all documentation. For example, if you have signed your passport in a certain manner, make sure that any signatures on other documentation for the dossier match exactly.
*Three-hole punched paper is required for every document in the original set and every document in the photocopy sets to bind your documents together with ribbon, after they have been authenticated and put the sticker for the official seal of the Consular Section.
Very important! Please note – All documents must not be older than 4 months from the date of issue when you submit your dossier to the Consular Section.
1. At the time of Embassy submission, medical certificates must be less than 3 months old.
2. Each medical certificate must be accompanied by a copy of the signing doctor’s license to practice. The license must be notarized as a true and accurate copy, and apostilled separately from the medical certificate itself.
3. At the time of Embassy submission, the home study agency license must be valid for at least one complete year. If such validity is not possible, a letter of explanation from the state’s licensing authority must also be submitted (notarized and apostilled).
4. At the time of Embassy submission, the home study worker’s license must be valid for at least one complete year. If such validity is not possible, a letter of explanation from the appropriate licensing authority must also be submitted (notarized and apostilled).
5. At the time of Embassy submission, the FBI clearance must be less than 6 months old.
6. Consular fee payment should be made with Money Order for up to USD 180 (Payable to the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan) by prospective parents only (NOT by an Agency) and can be sent directly to the Embassy with your dossier or through your Agency;
2. Each medical certificate must be accompanied by a copy of the signing doctor’s license to practice. The license must be notarized as a true and accurate copy, and apostilled separately from the medical certificate itself.
3. At the time of Embassy submission, the home study agency license must be valid for at least one complete year. If such validity is not possible, a letter of explanation from the state’s licensing authority must also be submitted (notarized and apostilled).
4. At the time of Embassy submission, the home study worker’s license must be valid for at least one complete year. If such validity is not possible, a letter of explanation from the appropriate licensing authority must also be submitted (notarized and apostilled).
5. At the time of Embassy submission, the FBI clearance must be less than 6 months old.
6. Consular fee payment should be made with Money Order for up to USD 180 (Payable to the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan) by prospective parents only (NOT by an Agency) and can be sent directly to the Embassy with your dossier or through your Agency;
Please be aware that checking dossiers at the Consular Section of the Embassy takes up to one month, also dossiers go through checking at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan up to one month in each as well. After then documents go to the consideration of regional Departments of Education and appropriate orphanages.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR YOUR DOSSIER
- Letter of intent to adopt a child in the Republic of Kazakhstan. This letter should be addressed to the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The form of this letter must be provided to you by your Int’l Adoption Agency.
- Parents Commitment Letter to Kazakhstan Adoption Law. Here is a sample form of the letter. Parents must pledge themselves to maintain the child’s Kazakhstan citizenship until the age of 18 years; must agree to prepare post adoption reports once a year until the child becomes 18 years of age; must agree to allow visitation rights to Representatives of the Kazakhstan Consulate in the US and officials from Kazakhstan until child reaches 18 years old.
- Home Study. Your Home Study must be completed by a licensed Certified Home Study Investigator or agency in your state of residence. The home study must be followed by the current (unexpired) licenses of both the home study agency and your social worker.
- Home Study Agency post placement commitment prepared by a HS Agency
Social Worker. This is Social worker's obligation to provide post placement reports of your adopted child's development to the Kazakhstan Government once a year until the child reaches the age of eighteen years.
5. Home Study Agency letter of recommendation. The agency that is writing the PAP’s (Prospective Adoptive Parents) home study should also provide a separate “Letter of Favorable Recommendation”. This document should be signed by the same person who signs the home study, and notarized by the same notary who notarizes the home study documents.
- Int’l Adoption Agency “Certificate of Approval”. After your home study is completed and has been approved by your Int’l Adoption Agency case manager, your case manager should provide to you their Certificate of Approval. This document should be signed and notarized by your Int’l Adoption Agency.
- Int’l Adoption Agency License. Your Int’l Adoption Agency case manager will need to supply you with their Agency License, notarized as a true copy of the original. Please, ask your case manager for this document along with the Certificate of Approval.
- Monitoring Commitment of Adoptive Family after adoption is finalized.
The form of this Monitoring Commitment must be provided to you by your
Int’l Adoption Agency. In this Commitment adoptive parents pledge to
allow for the examination of living conditions and education of the adopted
child to the appropriate organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
- Post Adoption Reports Commitment from the family. This form should be provided to your by your Int’l Adoption Agency and confirms the Adoptive Parents obligation to provide post placement reports of your adopted child's development to the Kazakhstan government once a year until the child reaches the age of eighteen years.
- Consular Registration Commitment from the family. This form confirms the Adoptive Parents commitment to register the newly adopted child at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Astana before leaving Kazakhstan. The form of this Commitment must be provided to you by your Int’l Adoption Agency.
- Xerox passport copies for each Prospective Adoptive Parent. You may place copies of both passports on one page. Simply turn them sideways on an 8 1/2 x 11 paper and copy. The Notary Seal MUST OVERLAP both passports. Then document must be apostilled.
- Marriage Certificate. This must be a certified marriage certificate ordered from the office of Vital Records in the issuing state/country. This document must be apostilled in the issuing state/county/country.
- Birth Certificate of Prospective Adoptive Parent – for single parents ONLY. Obtain a certified copy of the birth certificate ordered from the office of Vital Records in the issuing state/country. This document must be apostilled in the issuing state/county/country.
- Guardianship affidavit – for single parents ONLY. Prepare one notarized letter for each child being adopted. The Adoptive Parent should write a short letter identifying the name(s) of the person or couple that will be appointed guardian of the child/ren if the Adoptive Parent can no longer care for the child/ren. Your appointees must also write a letter accepting your appointment as guardian of your adopted children. All individuals’ signatures must be notarized, both documents apostilled.
- Divorce decrees (if applicable). Kazakhstan allows only two divorces. Any adoptive parent who was previously divorced must submit a copy of all divorce decrees. Each of these documents must be certified copies ordered from the county and state where the divorce was filed. Contact the Register of Deeds or Vital Records department. This document must be apostilled in the issuing state/county/country.
- FBI Background checks separate for each Prospective Adoptive Parent.
Your local police department will be able to do the fingerprints for you.
Request one set per person. Mail the cards with a letter to the FBI requesting a clearance check for the purpose of international adoption. Ask your Int’l Adoption Agency to provide you with all the details of this process.
- Medical Forms, separate for each Prospective Adoptive Parent. These are health forms, one for each parent, to be completed by your physician. This form must be copied onto your physician’s letterhead, and then filled out. If the letter does not fit, you can have your physician stamp the health form with a stamp with his/her legal name and address. Here is a sample of such medical form.
- Employment Letters, separate for each Prospective Adoptive Parent. These must be done on company letterhead, be printed (not handwritten), contain information on your annual salary (not hourly), and must be signed by a company officer (not a bookkeeper or secretary). If you are self employed, have your accountant, who does your business tax returns, prepare this letter for you. The letter should state how financially stable your business is.
- Financial Statements (Affidavits). This form must be provided to you by your Int’l Adoption Agency. The adoptive parents will fill in the form and have their signatures notarized.
- Bank letter. Obtain a letter from the bank stating that you hold accounts there and are a customer in good standing. The signature of the bank representative should be notarized.
- Home Ownership form of Prospective Adoptive Parents. This form must be provided to you by your Int’l Adoption Agency. Your banker, CPA or financial advisor should complete this form for you. The form must be printed on a letterhead of the bank, CPA agency or the financial firm. The signature of the person preparing this document should be notarized.
- CIS approval of an orphan petition – USA. This will be either an “I–171H” or an “I–179C” form. Unlike the other documents, you must keep the original form sent to you by USCIS and take it to Kazakhstan. Make one (1) copy and have it notarized as a “true copy”, and have it apostilled.
- Power of Attorney for Int’l Adoption Agency Representative in Kazakhstan (for liason with regional organizations, e.g. orphanages, regional education departments etc.). This form must be provided to you by your Int’l Adoption Agency.
- Power of Attorney for Int’l AA Representative in Astana, Kazakhstan (for liason with central republican organizations, e.g. Foreign Ministry, Education Ministry etc.).
This form must be provided to you by your Int’l Adoption Agency.
- Pictures of Prospective Adoptive Parents. Prepare photos of your family members, your home, including prospective adopted child’s room, etc. Send at least 10 pictures in total in each set (original dossier and its copies). Photos may be on several sheets of paper, and different sets should contain same pictures.
Prepare a Cover letter (no notarization, apostille or page number required) for the top of your dossier. The format must be provided to you by your Int’l Adoption Agency.
*After the documents have been organized in order, and the translations have been attached to the English versions, you will paginate every set. Write the page number in pencil in the bottom right corner. Two-sided documents are numbered as only 1 page. The page numbering will be started with the Apostille and “Letter of Intent to adopt a child” and include the Russian translation of the Apostille and Letter. For example, the Apostille will be page 1, the Letter will be page 2, the translation of the apostille will be page 3, the translation of the Letter will be page 4, etc.
*After all pages are numbered, you must then write the corresponding page numbers for each document, including the translation of that document, in the column on the left hand side of the cover page. For example, the page numbers for the Letter of Intent to Adopt will be 1-4. You will also write these same page numbers in the column on the left hand side of the translation of the cover page.
*Bundle the original documents together as one set, keeping them in the same order as the list on the cover sheet. Also bundle each set of photocopies as separate sets, in the order of the list on the cover sheet. Keep the extra home study copy separate from the other bundles.
*You may request a copy of your FBI Identification Record directly from the FBI for the purposes of foreign adoption; you do not have to go through any state office to do so. You will need to be fingerprinted for the FBI on form FD-258, most local police stations can fingerprint you for a small fee and already have the specified card, or you can print them out from the FBI web site link shown below.
Prepare a signed written request for a copy of your record. If the request is for a couple, family, etc., all persons must sign the written request, including a fingerprint card for each and a cashier’s check or money order for $ 18 per person. It is recommended that you also request a “Letter of Procedure” to be attached to the fingerprint card stating that the fingerprint cards/FBI Identification Records processed by the FBI are not signed by an FBI agent or official. This will help alleviate and explain the absence of a signature to the officials in Kazakhstan.
A sample letter follows on the next page:
On the outside of the envelope, write “International Adoption” and “please expedite”.
Mail or Overnight to:
FBI CJIS Division-Record Request
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306
For more information, please visit:
****SAMPLE LETTER****
***INCLUDE YOUR COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS***
FBI CJIS Division-Record Request
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306
I am writing to request a copy of my FBI Identification Record. I am in the process of adoption internationally and currently working with (name of international adoption agency). Enclosed please find the Fingerprint Card # FD-258 and payment of $ 18 per card.
I would also request that you attach a “Letter of Procedure” to the fingerprint card stating that the fingerprint cards/FBI Identification Record processed by the FBI are not signed by an FBI agent or official. This will help alleviate any problems and explain the absence of a signature to the officials in the foreign country where we are adopting.
Please provide this letter and return it with my fingerprint card/FBI Identification Record.
I appreciate your assistance with this matter.
Sincerely,
***ALL PARTIES MUST SIGN THIS LETTER***
Family Name
