We are in the lengthy process of adopting a 14 year old girl named Bayo from an orphanage in India. As of December 1997 we finished jumping through the required hoops and gathered all of our required paperwork and sent it off to our international adoption agency.
Nothing at all happened on our case until the end of May when we were informed that Bayo's final court hearing was scheduled for June 5th. We are now told that it is quite likely that everything has gone smoothly and we may not have to travel to India to appear before the judge.
June 20, 1998--Probably this page will be more interesting if we treat it as a sort of journal, so here's the next update: We have been told it's likely that someone from the orphanage in Pune will accompany Bayo to our home. We finished painting Bayo's room today, the paint fumes causing Jo-Ann a severe headache. Bayo will probably have to repaint the room herself if she dislikes the color!
July 3, 1998--Bayo's room is now just about completed. Today we received an e-mail from her, our first direct communication with her! She told us what some of her favorite things are and was very charming. We are now told by the agency that the final ruling is finished and that her passport should be ready in about 10 days. Then as soon as her visa is finished, she should be on her way. The current estimate is that she may arrive here around the end of July.
August 12, 1998--A couple of weeks ago we waded through another "final" flurry of paperwork, virtually all of it redundant--requirements of the federal government's updated international adoption legislation. At this point the INS has our I-600 form, etc. and the moment they send the cable to India, Bayo is free to come. We were hoping she could get here with many weeks before school began, but it is now looking like the very earliest she can get here is some time next week. We are hoping for this. The bureaucratic nonsense an international adoption engenders is truly silly.
August 24, 1998--We are still waiting for the silly INS to stamp the silly form. Reportedly, it takes from one week for two months for this process, depending on how inept the office is. The "average" at the office we're using is a week. Well, we're a bit beyond that!
September 1, 1998--We received a form from the INS on Friday stating that our I-600 application would not be acted on for about 60 days. This is totally wrong; the paperwork was done months ago. They didn't even have our address correct, so it's surprising we received the notice. We have alerted our agency in the Twin Cities, who called up the INS office to find the woman in charge of this is gone until Wednesday. Meanwhile, India has faxed our international agency, warning that a month-long holiday is approaching there and wondering, justifiably, what is causing the delay. If we do not get good response from the INS very shortly, we will begin bothering our congresspeople nonstop until this simple matter is taken care of.
September 12, 1998--On September 4th we contacted our senator and dealt with a very efficient and friendly staffperson named Merna Pease. Yesterday we heard from our adoption agency that the INS has approved the I-600 form and has sent the cable of approval to India. So it appears very likely that Bayo will be here within two weeks. We are thrilled!
September 18, 1998--Our adoption agency in the Twin Cities left us a message saying that they received a copy of the approved I-600 today and that we should be getting the original tomorrow. Then we fax it to the international agency and they forward the green light to India. We're still beating that "week or two" to death!
September 25, 1998--We received the notice of approval and immediately noticed that the INS had sent the cable to Madras, not to Bombay. We wailed and the INS re-did the cable, including its original spelling errors of "Mankata" and "Byao." We received the revised notice yesterday and faxed it to AIAA, who called us today and said they are assembling their "packet" to send on to India. Meanwhile, Bayo should be having her physical, etc. done in preparation for the flight.
October 8, 1998--Today we received notice that Bayo will be arriving at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Saturday, October 10th at 6:10 p.m., central standard time. She will fly from India to Amsterdam, and from Amsterdam directly to Minneapolis. Finally!
October 30,1998--Bayo arrived with Sandhya, her escort from Mahila Seva Gram shelter on October 10th! It was a very emotional meeting for us, as you may imagine. Bayo is adapting to life in the US very rapidly. She went shopping with her folks and her Aunty Judi, and came home with a new wardrobe which included two items she particularly liked--a pair of cool shades and a black Harley-Davidson type cap!
Dave and Patsy Pongratz, our neighbors from down the road invited us to an Indian dinner on the 16th. The Pongratzes have a daughter from India also, Priya, who was thrilled to meet Bayo. Bayo and Priya are going trick or treating together on Halloween.
Bayo began attending school at Fitzgerald Middle School in Mankato on October 19th. Her English is more advanced than we had imagined. She is in the 7th grade and likes her teachers and the other students.
Before Bayo came to the US, she said she wanted to obtain two things here: a new name and a new leg. Bayo's new full name is now Bayo Jamie Lynch. She and her mom visited the doctor about the new leg on the 21st. It will take about 6 months to complete the necessary physical therapy and to ready the new prosthetic leg which will enable Bayo to run, jump and ride her bicycle in a completely natural fashion.
Bayo shows remarkable fashion sense and is adept at changing her hairstyles, choosing tasteful outfits and applying makeup. She stated that she would like to become a doctor, but we think she's much more likely to become an actress or model, given her love of fashion and also popularity.
October 28, 1999--Bayo has adapted remarkably well in this first year she has lived in America. She is now in the 8th grade, and is already looking forward to learning to drive. Below is a more recent photo.
This page is under construction.