SNOQUALMIE, Wash. -- Relatives say Mike and Sarah Stratton were given legal guardianship over a Ugandan baby boy several months ago, but diplomatic red tape on the U.S. side has kept her from bringing him home.
"With this whole process and the delays, there was never an end in sight," said Mike Stratton, who added that the frustration it turning to optimism after getting word that the child may get an approved visa in the next two weeks, clearing the way for Jeremiah to come home to Washington.
The Strattons decided to adopt a baby a few years ago, filling out all the paperwork, doing background checks, even designing and painting a new nursery in their home.
They then flew to Uganda and met the curly-haired, smiling infant in the small town of Seguku.
"Jeremiah's a happy, snuggly, little baby," said Mike Stratton, of the now 9-month-old boy. Sarah flew to Uganda in February to complete the adoption. Mike flew there a few weeks later when they learned he needed to be a part of the process as well. A Ugandan judge granted them permanent legal guardianship of Jeremiah as well as a passport for him, they said.
Turns out, it was issues with the American embassy in Uganda that kept Sarah -- and possibly two dozen other families -- in limbo. Sarah tried for months to schedule an appointment for Jeremiah to get his visa, but was denied and delayed until this past weekend, said her mother Katharine Warmerdam.
"The fact that these are our officials, who are American citizens, who work for our government, who should be our advocates, are the ones who kept her in Uganda for two extra months is really cruel and frustrating," Warmerdam said.
International adoption experts tell KING 5 that sometimes the U.S. does slow the process down in a given country to ensure adoptions are legal in both nations.
An adoption notice dated April 15, 2010, on the U.S. State Department's website includes the following excerpt:
Meanwhile, Mike had to come home to continue running the family contracting business. He's been working double duty, working on-site projects while doing the accounting work at home, which is normally Sarah's job. Relatives said it's costing the family more than a thousand dollars extra a month to support a family a world away.
"I try to call her at lunch time, and we try to Facebook [chat] back and forth in the evening before I go to bed," he said, noting that the 10-hour time difference gives them conflicting schedules.
On a Facebook chat window, Sarah told her mother Thursday, "I'm enjoying Uganda more now that there is a light at the end of the tunnel."
Facebook and whatever dial-up Internet connection Sarah can get are the main ways she's keeping in touch with family. She's also been updating people back home about Jeremiah through a blog, http://forevernewlyweds.blogspot.com.
"Since Sarah's been there, he's cut his first two teeth, and he's learned to sit up, and he's learned to crawl," said Warmerdam. "And I'm really glad Sarah's there to see that, but his daddy wasn't."
"I'm missing my wife, I'm missing a lot of stuff," Mike said.
Taking into consideration recent allegations of misconduct in intercountry adoptions in Uganda, the Department of State would like to remind prospective adoptive parents that before an immigrant visa may be issued to an adopted child, a U.S. consular officer must ensure that the adoption is legal under Ugandan law and that the child is qualified under U.S. immigration law to immigrate to the United States.
The Department of State reminds prospective adoptive parents that consular officers are required by law to conduct an orphan investigation (I-604) to verify the child's orphan status prior to the issuance of an IR-3 or IR-4 immigrant visa. Depending on the circumstances of a case, this investigation may take up to several months to complete. Adoptive parents are therefore urged to work with their adoption service provider in the U.S. to confirm the status of their case before traveling to Uganda.
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