US Citizenship Certificate & Re-adopting

Well, it's official! We finally have the all-coveted US Certificate of Citizenship for our little peanut. They told us at the US Consulate in China that it would take several months, but this little gem showed up in our mailbox right around the three month anniversary date of when they placed our little one in our arms in China. 

Now-- while you probably don't think much about this document and its importance, it's truly one of the most important documents for a child that is adopted internationally, as it grants them the ability to have all of same rights and privileges that an individual born here in the US receives. Thought it's an important document, something tells me our little one wasn't really too enamored with this little piece of paper and its significance. She'd far rather take some crayons or a pen in hand and mark all over it. (and for those of you looking at the below pictures and freaking out thinking that she might have tore this when we gave it to her to look at...we put it in a protective case before she held it. Unfortunately, the way it was already mailed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, it was bent when it arrived- which was a little disappointing)

While this document is important not to lose for a number of reasons (and also would come with a not so fun replacement fee), we have chosen to do the re-adoption process for our state once we reach that point in the upcoming months which will replace this document with a US birth certificate. Many people ask why do we need to do this re-adoption process in our state. Well, while we don't have to do this in our state as a requirement, it would not be wise to skip this step as it will help "B" later in life with so many areas. 

Re-adopting here in our state through the US court system will provide her with a state birth certificate just as if she were born here in the US to us. This will then allow her to use this more familiar US document to enroll in school, obtain a driver's license, get a job, enroll in college, and a host of other things. While you can still do those things with a US Certificate of Citizenship, it's just more complicated because it's a document that most people aren't as familiar with and can often come with more hoops and hurdles. Having the state birth certificate makes life much easier on a family and the child if/when a family chooses to re-adopt in their state, particularly when the state grants a state birth certificate as part of the re-adoption process. (re-adoption looks different in each state)

To clarify, "B" was officially a US citizen at her first point of entry into the US, so she became a US Citizen on February 13, 2015 when we landed in New Jersey. Despite her now claims to being a "southern girl" -- I guess she officially started out as a "Jersey girl".

Just looking at this certificate, it's amazing to already see the change in 3 months since we took this photo in China-- her hair has grown so much already and oh the changes we've seen over these past 12 weeks since she was placed in our arms. We'll save that for another post, but there are so many things we could name. 

What a wonderful journey it's been already and with this official document in hand, we now get to move on to our next step in applying for her social security card. Excited and thankful that some of our final steps on the paperwork side are coming to a close. As always, we are so thankful to God for each step He continues to carry us on in this journey.