What is a dossier?

A dossier is a term used in international adoption meaning the set of required adoption papers and it includes the following documents:

• Copies of each spouse's passport
• At least 10 photographs including pictures of our family, home and extended family members
• Certified birth certificates
• Certified copy of marriage certificate
• Statements of good health from our physician
• FBI criminal clearances
• Name change verification
• Home study
• Psychological evaluation
• Pre-approval document issued by USCIS (Immigration Form I-179C)

The majority of the documents need to be notarized and apostilled. The purpose of the apostille is to authenticate the documents for international use and it is obtained by sending the notarized/certified documents to the Secretary of State. Colombia's dossier requirements are very similar to Guatemala's (with the exception of the psychological evaluation) so it seemed a little less stressful this time around although I have to admit there were a few times when I wanted to pull my hair out...