Today we got our EP SUBMISSION!!!!!!!
For those of you who we have not explained this to, let me clarify:
Korea’s Central Government Authority, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), controls the
issuance of the child’s emigration permission (EP). ESWS (the agency in Korea) submits the
children’s EP papers to the MOHW roughly in the order in which their acceptance paperwork arrived.
This submission is made when requested by the MOHW and the timeline is unpredictable.
Submission of the EP paperwork to the MOHW is the first step in the child’s exit process. Approval
from the MOHW typically takes 2 – 6 months to complete.
We have been waiting for this step since all of our paperwork was completed and sent to Korea at the end of October, 2016.
> In a nutshell, what does this mean?
In September, we were matched with Gideon & our acceptance documents were sent to Korea. They have been sitting there, waiting for the MOHW to request submissions. The news today means that our paperwork is finally being reviewed by the Korean govt and things are moving!!!
> Why has it taken so long?
"From what I hear, the MOHW recently underwent a new staff rotation program, and all the staff members have been replaced except for one, thus creating some learning curve for the new members, thus the slow EP process. I think another reason may be that the whole country has been so absorbed for months by the impeachment of the President Park, and much of the country did not move with their normal activities because of the national emergency." -MPAK blog
> Now what?
EP approval usually takes about 3 months on average. When the MOHW approves the EP, the case is then sent to the Korean Family Court in Seoul for final adoption approval. ESWS ESWS typically submits the paperwork to the court within one week of receiving the EP approval. The case is then assigned to a judge and the judge will set a hearing date. The timeframe from submission of the paperwork to the court hearing date is typically 2-4 months.
> What does travel look like?
Both parents are required to attend the court hearing. We will be given about 3-6 weeks notice to make our travel plans. While in Korea, we will meet & visit with Gideon (2 visits), complete additional court paperwork, and apply for his Visa at ESWS. Then we will come home. We plan on bringing Lily with us for this first trip only, so she can meet Gideon but we only have to travel with one toddler at a time. Hopefully, our court date will be about 6 months from now.
When the court has issued final approval of the adoption, ESWS and USCIS Seoul will be notified. ESWS will notify AAC and send us potential dates for Gideon's visa interview. Then we will be able to make our travel arrangements based on available visa interview dates. This might be 1-3months after our court date. We will both travel to pick him up and bring him home.
We appreciate your prayers for this exit process to go smoothly & will post updates as we hear them. Thanks for all your love & support!!!
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