Grateful for Naomi and the lessons I learned when dealing with the federal government

Well, as they say- this whole adoption is both a journey and a learning process. I have definitely found that true and especially when dealing with the federal government. Now, I know what everyone is thinking (oh geez, what now?!).....but actually- and unbelievably- we recently had a fantastic experience with them! Here's the scoop and the three lessons I learned:

My husband was born abroad to US parents (back in the day- lol) so we had to take his old birth certificate (that was written in German no less) and have it converted to a DS-1350 or "Certification of Report of Birth". Pretty easy actually. It arrived back here promptly and we sent it off again to have it apostilled. Here is where the adventure began. We used the address supplied by our adoption agency, but it was wrong because it eventually got sent back to us with a non-descript letter and of course, without the notarized form we sent in with it. So, after some detective work, I found the number of the actual office that handles these things (it was buried within the Passport Office and not easy to find) and called to find out what was the problem. I talked to perfectly lovely lady named Naomi who gave me the correct address and told me that not only do they issue the certificates, but they would do apostilles there for free if the document was issued there. That's Lesson #1- always call the office directly (even if it means searching for the number); and Lesson #2- the Vital Records office will apostille for free if they issued the document.

So we sent the documents back- to the correct address this time- with another notarized request and another pre-paid return envelope. What could go wrong, right? Well, turns out we shouldn't ask that question. After about 3 weeks of waiting for the apostille, that should have taken 8 business days, we called to find out the deal. My husband talked to Naomi again and she said she was officer of the day that day and she knew it had already been sent out. I thought "Uh oh....where are these things??" "Did someone take them?". However, as many other questions and scenarios began to form in my head and before pure panic could set in, Naomi called us back (I know, that in itself is amazing!). She told us that her assistant had mistakenly seen our return UPS Ground envelope and re-opened it and put it back in Naomi's to-do pile! lol Naomi explained that they usually use Fed Ex and hence the mix-up. She apologized profusely and assured us she would send it asap. That was yesterday.....it arrived this morning first thing, Fed Ex overnight. So Lesson #3- always use Fed Ex when sending things to the government.

So let's review lessons learned:
Lesson #1- always call the office directly (even if it means searching for the number)

Lesson #2- the Vital Records office will apostille for free if they issued the document.

Lesson #3- Always use Fed Ex for the government.

Needless to say, we will be sending a letter praising Naomi and the Vital records office to her supervisor, Sec of State Clinton, and even the White House! What the heck, how often do they hear about great employees? Thanks Naomi!!