February 13th, 2007

On Saturday we received Gideon's paperwork of his DNA match! It was great to see that on paper. He was matched with his birhtmom by 99.97%. Here is what the US Dept. of State says about the DNA testing and why it is important.

"Problems occur when U.S. citizens are encouraged to adopt children who do not meet the U.S. immigration definition of “orphan.” In some cases, these children may have been obtained by illegal means, perhaps even stolen. The DHS/USCIS office at the U.S. Embassy requires DNA testing in all cases where an identifiable birth mother is alleged to have released the child, because the use of a false birth mother to release “her child” is the usual method chosen by unscrupulous operators to create a paper trail for an illegally obtained child. Occasionally DHS/USCIS must also interview and investigate the birth mother. These problematic cases are further complicated by the high incidence of corruption and civil document fraud in Guatemala. The U.S. Embassy has the legal responsibility to approve I-600 petitions and issue visas only in accordance with U.S. law and to ensure that U.S. citizens do not adopt stolen or otherwise illegally obtained children."

To me, seeing that match just takes a worry off my mind. For some reason, DNA has been one of the most scary parts of this process for me. I don't know where Annie is at with her DNA. I know it has been charged and I would assume it has been taken, but that has not been confirmed.

I would like to say here that while I was elated to get Gideon's DNA, it was a bit sad also. His birthmother had to actually be there with Gideon and got it taken at the same time. I got a copy of all the paperwork, saw her signature...... I don't know, my heart breaks for her. I don't know her situation or what brought her to this place, but it seems a little worng for me to get so excited about something that no doubt is very painful to someone else.


Julie