Kevin & Krysta Higgins

Updates

• Update 5

  

  Update #5 - Apostille at the Capitol

  June 14, 2026

  Now that the home study is complete, we're focused on the India CARINGS registration. All of our documents for CARINGS are notarized and the last step to make them official for international use was to have the WI Secretary of State apostille each of them. We decided to travel to the capitol building in Madison with the documents ourselves this last week rather than put them in the mail.

  We put a lot of careful attention into all the requirements for each document in preparation for this trip. We were impressed by how quickly the secretary of state office could process them through the system! We were basically in and out of the office in about 15 minutes. Unfortunately, there was one document with a notary from a different state, so that couldn't get done today, but it's so nice the rest of it is done and in our hands. We sent the last document through the mail to North Carolina secretary of state for them to process and return to us. After the apostille work was done, we walked around the capitol building and took lots of pictures and took in the sights. We each remember going to the capitol when we were kids, but that was probably the last time we'd visited.

  Next up for us will be sending all of our CARINGS documents to our international adoption agency so they can get them to India. We will also get our US immigration documents sent out to in order to clear the way for that side of things.

  It feels really good to be moving forward after waiting so long on the home study to be completed. We continue to trust God in His plan for us, no matter the timing of things.

• Update 4

  Update #4 - Home Study Completed

  May 19, 2026

  We hit one of the big milestones in the adoption journey today! Our home study has officially been approved and finalized! Hard to believe it was all the way back in December last year when we began the study. Here we are 153 days later and one big step forward. Although we are accomplishing our side of the work as quickly as we can, there is unfortunately a lot of delays and waiting. We probably had all of the requirements done in about the first month and a half of the study and then waited another four months for the report to be written and approved.

  The next stage is filled with another mountain of paperwork. Fortunately, we can be working on both the US and India side of things at the same time. That is good news because both will have an 8-16 week waiting period for processing and approvals.

  On the US side of things, we need to send our finalized home study and an I-800A application to the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). The purpose of this is to evaluate and determine our eligibility and suitability as prospective adoptive parents who want to adopt a child from a country that participates in the Hague Adoption Convention. It serves as the very first official step in the international adoption process for Hague Convention countries. It screens the parents before a specific child is identified or matched for adoption.

  Looking toward contact with India, we are going to get a copy of our documents sent to the Wisconsin capital offices in Madison to be apostilled before they are ready to send overseas. Once we have that completed, our adoption coordinator from America World will register us on India's government agency for adoptions, CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority).

  Once those submissions and approvals are final, we then wait for a child referral to be matched with us.

  The other work that we can now get started on is applying for financial grants. Most grant applications require that a home study has been completed before an application can be reviewed. We have spent time researching and identified about 20 grant opportunities that we can look into. We won't apply to all of them, but hope that the efforts we put into reaching out to these generous organizations will be able help us with the heavy financial burden of international adoption. So far, we have made $19,000 in payments for the various fees and services required and another $5,000 in payments need to be made in the next few weeks. It is likely we will see the total expenses nearing $50,000 by the time we reach the finish line. We are beyond blessed that family and friends have already donated $16,500 toward our adoption fund!

  Counting the days probably makes them feel longer, but it is now 324 days since we committed our hearts toward adoption and began the process. Accomplishments along the way like this home study completion gives us a boost to head on to the next goal. We continue to pray and trust in the Lord as he leads us onward. There might be a little boy or girl already born somewhere in the world that has this piece of our hearts that we so eagerly want to share.

• Update 3

  Update #3 - Still Homestudying

  February 8, 2026

  We are continuing to cruise through the home study process over the last few weeks. Our fifth and final meeting with our Catholic Charities social worker, Breanna, is scheduled for this Friday. We'll need to have the house in tip-top shape since we will be doing a walkthrough to make sure the house is safe and suitable for a child. We will also be going over all of the requirements and paperwork that we have completed to make sure we are on track. There's still a couple of tasks we need to accomplish. The first is providing a comprehensive picture of our financial status. Fortunately we just finished submitting our 2025 taxes yesterday so we have all the numbers ready to go. Just need to update our budget and gather account statements and paycheck stubs.

  The other piece that we are still working on relies on an upcoming appointment we have scheduled with the Adoption Medicine Clinic at the University of Minnesota. Our international adoption agency, America World, describes the children waiting for adoption like this:

  "In India, there are many precious children of all ages, with minor to significant developmental, physical, or emotional needs. They wait for the love and stability of a family. These children have experienced great loss through the death of parents, relinquishment, or abandonment and have been placed in the care of institutions. Once they are deemed legally free for adoption by the Indian Adoption Authorities, their greatest hope is to be welcomed into a safe and loving forever family."

  We are asked by the agency to provide a response to a checklist of many potential medical conditions that we would be willing and able to support. It feels like an overwhelming task. In order to make the most well-educated response, we are going to be relying on the advice we receive from the Adoption Medicine Clinic. We know that the child that we will one day call our son or daughter has been wonderfully and fearfully made by God. We pray that the Lord gives us all that we need to support them in every way that they need from us.

  It looks like we are still on track for the home study report being completed by Catholic Charities by close to the end of this month. Once that is done, we can send it over to America World to include it in our CARINGS registration with the Indian government. Fortunately much of the paperwork that we collected for the home study is the same as what is required in CARINGS so we will have a jump start on that next step. For now, we are keeping our eyes on the immediate work before us, and only occasionally glancing up to the long road ahead.

• Update 2

  

  Update #2 - Home Study

  January 17, 2026

  We are slowly but surely moving forward as we continue the home study process. We learned early on that the "home study" was more than just coming to look at the house. We have already knocked out our physical evaluations, psychological evaluations, fingerprinting, marriage evaluation, and almost all of the education. This week, Breanna, our social worker from Catholic Charities, came to the house and went through the mountain of paperwork with us and asked us questions to help us to be the most prepared we can be when we become parents! There's currently a stack of 42 different multi-page documents that we are trying to keep organized. We really like Breanna. She is sweet and kind, and she loves our dog, Lincoln! It really helps to have such a kind person helping us through this journey. We have several more meetings with her, and some more paperwork to complete, but we're hoping that if things go smoothly, we could be done with this phase before the end of February. Breanna will not only be doing the home study portion of this, but she will be a support to us after the adoption is finalized. After the child is placed in our home probably over a year from now, Breanna will be doing some visits every few months or so to make sure things are going smoothly.

  We also got the go-ahead from America World (our international adoption agency) to start on our paperwork specifically for India. Once America World has all of our paperwork collected, they will register us with CARINGS which is India's online adoption platform. It is important that we can get registered soon! This is how India will know that we desire to adopt. We think that once we get most of the home study done, we can concentrate more of our efforts on CARINGS.

  Even though things seem to be moving slowly at times, we are so thankful for the progress we have made so far. It feels good to be getting a lot of this paperwork signed and meetings scheduled. There may be a time further down the road where we are just waiting, so that might be more difficult emotionally. God is faithful each day, and we know that He is guiding our each and every step! It could be that our child has already been born and is awaiting a loving family to call home. We pray for him or her and the birth parents frequently. We realize the sacrifice it must be to have to place their child for adoption. We would appreciate your prayers not only for us as we go through everything required for this adoption to take place, but for the child as well.

• Update 1

  

  Charting the Roadmap!

  January 3, 2026

  One of the most frequent questions we receive when we tell people that we are adopting is "How far along the process are you?" and "How long until you get to meet the child?". I sure wish we could easily answer those questions but the adoption process is nothing if not long and complicated. We are grateful for all of the safety measures that are in place to protect the many vulnerable children who are waiting to be placed with adoptive parents. Unfortunately, that safety net comes at the cost of a burden of time, money, and complications for those who are ready and willing to adopt.

  After much careful discussion and research, we started down the adoption road having counted the cost of not only the financial side of the journey but also the emotional and physical toll that it would take for us to reach our future son or daughter. We are nothing but excited for the road ahead but we will be honest with you if you ask whether we are already feeling the effects of the long road.

  There are far too many variables in the process to make a formula for how long it will take to reach the end. From the advice and experience of the adoption agencies we are working with, we are expectant that the entire process will take somewhere between two to three years. We are currently in the "Home Study" phase. Below is our best attempt to layout our understanding of the high-level roadmap of the entire international adoption process. Hopefully this helps you pray for us along the way and we look forward to providing updates at many of these stages. God has already prepared the way for us at each step and we joyfully follow him where he leads.

  STAGE 1: Application to Adoption Agency
  • Research and introductions to agencies
  • Application – America World – Part 1
  • Application – America World – Part 2
  • Application – Catholic Charities – Part 1
  • Application – Catholic Charities – Part 2

  STAGE 2: Home Study
  • Education - 16-hours of in-person adoption parenting classes
  • Education - 8-hours of virtual online training
  • Education - 8-hours of child specific training
  • Psychological Evaluation
  • Physical Evaluation
  • Background Check / Sex-Offender Registry Check
  • Biometric fingerprinting
  • Individual and Joint interviews by agency social worker
  • Home visit to assess environment and safety
  • Financial Review
  • Personal References
  • Legal Document Collection
  • Autobiographical statements

  STAGE 3: Application to CARINGS
  • Collect and submit documents for I-800A (USCIS)
  • Collect and submit documents for CARA dossier (CARINGS)
  • Waiting… I-800A approval from USCIS
  • Waiting… CARA approval for eligibility/matching
  • Child referral presented; prospective parents consult Adoption Medicine Clinic and accept or decline within 30 days

  STAGE 4: Referral to Travel
  • Complete referral acceptance documents
  • File I-800 with USCIS (child-specific)
  • Receive I-800 provisional approval
  • U.S. Consulate issues Article 5 letter to India
  • Final dossier submitted to CARA (includes Article 5 + referral acceptance)
  • Receive No Objection Certificate (NOC) from CARA
  • Case filed in Indian court
  • Judge issues Adoption Order (adoption legally finalized)
  • CARA issues Article 23 (Certificate of Conformity)
  • Orphanage obtains child’s birth certificate and Indian passport

  STAGE 5: Travel to India
  • Family arranges travel to India (approx. 1–2 weeks)
  • Travel to child’s region and take custody
  • Travel to Delhi
  • Child completes panel physician medical exam
  • Attend U.S. Embassy appointment
  • Child receives IH-3 immigrant visa
  • Fly home to the United States

  STAGE 6: Return Home
  • Child enters U.S. and automatically becomes a U.S. citizen
  • Schedule pediatrician appointment (first week)
  • Add child to health insurance
  • Receive Certificate of Citizenship (USCIS, by mail)
  • Apply for Social Security Number (SSN)
  • 3 months – In-home Post-Adoption Report
  • 6 months – In-home Post-Adoption Report
  • 9 months – In-home Post-Adoption Report
  • 12 months – In-home Post-Adoption Report
  • 18 months – In-home Post-Adoption Report
  • 24 months – Final required Post-Adoption Report