Adopt 230 California: Fill & Download for Free

We are in the US and we adopted a child from Korea. Our process had many, many steps in it it took 16 months from initial paperwork until the child was placed with us, and then another 9 months for the adoption to be finalized.Most of the steps are designed to protect the child by making sure the adoptive parents have truly thought through their decision, are healthy, financially stable, have no history of criminal activity, drugs or child abuse, live in a place suitable for raising a child, etc.To prove my point, here is my exhaustive list of to-do items from our adoption in 2005-2008. Each of these items took time and many steps required extra fees.Fill in & file agency's preliminary application, including photos of us and the houseWrite medical statement, elaborating on treatment for any medical conditionsLine up four non-relative referencesOne copy of tax returns from past three yearsPay $200 fee to adoption agencyNotarize agency's adoption services agreementFill in the "Home Study Part 1 Paperwork" . Each spouse does the following:Fill in "Personal Data" form with 67 essay questions1 photocopy birth certificateComplete Authorization of Release of Information - Employer VerificationCriminal Record StatementLiveScan fingerprint form (for State of California: criminal and child abuse index)Schedule & attend LiveScan fingerprinting appointmentsMedical Exam, including HIV and TB tests, with Medical Report filled out by doctorComplete detailed Financial Statement1 photocopy marriage licensePhoto of baby's future roomPrint Map & directions to homeCopy all, keep for recordsEach of 4 non-relative references return 3-page, 10-essay questionnaires directly to agencyHome Study Part 2:Receive & pay invoice for home studySchedule social worker visitsSocial worker visit #1 (both husband and wife)Acceptable Medical Conditions Form filedSocial worker visit #2 (wife only)Social worker visit #3 (husband only)Sign up & take module 1 & 2 of agency's parenting classReceive 2 completed, certified, notarized copies of Home Study from social workerAgency sends Home Study to Korea (HSTK)Sign up & take modules 3 & 4 of agency parenting classI-600A filed with US-CIS (Advanced Processing of Orphan Petition for Visa) (4/6/2006), including the I600A form, Copy of certified home study, copies of each spouse's birth certificate, photocopy of marriage license, copy of most recent federal tax return, proof of medical insurance, $800 fee, cover letter.FBI FingerprintingReceive I-171H (Approval of I-600A) from US-CISReceive Referral to a Child, which is a packet of information with the child's history, photos, medical records, etc.Medical evaluation of Referral by Oakland Children's HospitalFile Referral Acceptance Paperwork to agency, along with huge fee to adoption agency.File 3 Placement Agreements with agency - all notarizedhusband: 4 Statements of Adoption (for child's Korean passport) - all notarized3 Travel Option forms1 Foreign Travel Release - notarizedhusband: 2 Affidavit re INS Vaccination Requirementshusband: two I-864 Affidavit of Support for Immigration filed with US-CISwife: two I-864A Contract between Sponsor and Household Member filed with US-CISSend US-CIS: copy of entire last year tax return, last year's W2 & 1099s, photocopies of both our birth certificates (again), copies of both our paystubs, Photocopy of marriage license (again)Receive child's "legals" from Korea (in English & Korean)I-600 visa petition form filed w/ US-CIS. Includes copies of legals, I-600, I-171F, child report & photos, copy of most recent 1040 tax form, copy of I-864, copy of I-864A, letter to American Embassy in Seould with visa cable instructionsMeanwhile, the Korean adoption agency worked away:Our application was translated into KoreanKorean agency applied for Emigration Permit ("EP") with Korean Ministry of Health and WelfareMinistry approves Emigration PermitAgency gets I-171 (I-600 approval) cable from US Embassy in SeoulVisa physical for baby, including Hepatitis B & HIV testsSubmit application for baby's IR-4 VisaResubmit our I-600 visa petition after US-CIS screws up and loses the first oneThen, we went go the "Travel" call and flew to Korea.Plan trip & travel to KoreaIn-Korea pre-flight medical examGo to US Embassy in Seoul to process Class-B Waiver (acceptance of medical condition)Get the final Visa paperworkTake custody of child!Once home, there was more paperwork:Receive Placement Confirmation Notice from AgencyReceive baby's Green Card in mailGet social security number under baby's Korean Name as permanent resident4 post-placement visits from social worker, where I also had to create 5 page "progress reports" with answers to questions and photos.File US Physician's Examination Report with AgencyOur adoption agency finishes the "post placement phase" and gives us approval to officially adopt the child in American court.File Adoption Finalization Paperwork in our county in California: Forms ADOPT-200, ADOPT-210, ADOPT-215, and ADOPT-230Receive "Consent to Adoption" from agencyAdoption Finalization hearing in County CourtSend agency/Korea copy of child's adoption decree (child is no longer considered a Korean citizen)Secure proof of US citizenship for child: Complete & file N-600 with US-CIS, pay feeReceive Certificate of CitizenshipFile passport applicationReceive passportApply to SSA to get status changed from resident alien to citizen, SS# name changed (passport is proof)Start the process all over again for kid #2!

There is no other superpower in the vicinity.While US influence over the rest of the world is likely to decrease, there is no one else to take up its seat for the foreseeable future. US became a superpower not just because of its economic power. The economy was a part of the puzzle. But, beyond the size of the economy US has 5 key things:Finance. US markets are much more open and transparent than most markets in the world.Entertainment & Information. US brands (from Hollywood studios to Apple, CNN, Google, Microsoft, Youtube,Nike) shape your entertainment/information needs.Defense. Spends more than the rest of the world put together.Education. 70 of world's top 100 universities are in the US. Googles and Apples don't come out of a vacuum. Whether it is a moon landing or Internet or advanced defense warfare, you need education superiority. US is best positioned for an Information-era warfare (hosting most of the major information companies).Energy. The shale has given it an energy security that no other major economy has. China has to rely on oil passing through two most dangerous pirate zones - Horn of Africa and Straits of Malacca.At its height, Japan matched the US when it came to economic prowess, but it was never a superpower. US has plenty of softpower that no other major economy has now.Cultural reach. Nations exert power over others through culture. From Hollywood to sitcoms, McDonalds to Coca Cola, Apple to Gap, P&G to Google, US exerts an enormous amount of softpower over the world through its brands & broadcasting. These cultural artifacts would make a kid in Kuala Lampur or Kingshasa relate more with US cities than say Chengdu. Tell me how many Chinese brands you crave or how many Chinese TV shows you watch.Cultural infusion. US is far more open to immigration and is a thriving melting pot of multiple cultures. Japan never had that. USSR never had that. China will never have that. The cultural infusion is necessary to keep the wheels of innovation churning. In the 30s and 40s, Jewish immigrants kept the lights in its laboratories. Now, the Russian, Chinese and Indian kids play a big role in the valley. A monocultural Japan & Germany faltered at the start of the information era, while US breezed through - part of it helped by immigrants such as Sergey Brin and Vinod Khosla. China is unlikely to have that advantage.Financial center. US has the democracy and transparency that is essential for the markets. On a given day, you are more likely to trust the NYSE than say SSE (Shanghai). Its bond and stock markets evolved through a century of experiments (in regulation, research and customer education).Speaking the lingua franca. US speaks the language of the world's educated. Through a combination of reasons (from the extent of the British Empire to Hollywood) English has firmly become the center of the educated world. Mandarin is unlikely to be adopted (given how dissimilar it is to most other languages) in huge numbers by people outside China.Defense spending. It would take a really long time for China to ramp up its defense spending or ally relationships anywhere close to what US has now.Historical baggage. Through its long history, China carries a huge historical baggage. Its aggressive posturing is feared more than we fear the US. A kid in Korea, Vietnam, Japan or India is more likely to accept an American military presence in their area than a Chinese one.I will not cover the bigger issue (ageing China) that has been covered already. US will have a much younger population than China in the next 3 decades.In short, China doesn't have most of the advantages that US had in becoming a superpower. China will be a great power, but will never be able to match the US at its heights. More likely, there will not be a superpower in the foreseeable future.US Risks:The fiscal health of local governments (such as Detroit and California) is in a bad state.There is no visible solution being done for the exploding healthcare costs.Education costs are pricing out a sizable chunk of students and putting a big debt burden on the rest.These 3 are huge problems and I don't see easy solutions. That said, in its 230+ year history, US has gone through many crisis situations and have solved its problems through innovation and entrepreneurship.Let us consider other potential targets:Russia. Except for energy & engineering, it doesn't have a lot of strengths (in economy, finance, education, technology, entertainment or political structure) to take it to great heights.India. Too poor. It will take India decades to get firmly into middle income, leave alone high income. Historically, India had little interest in becoming a superpower. Even at its heights, its empires usually kept away from invasions of the kind we know now.Japan, Europe. Rapidly ageing.Southeast Asia. In population, defense, economy, they are all too small.Australia. Small, isolated, limited defense spending.People try to write off US prematurely. The next war will be fought over information/communication superiority. US has the base for it as it controls a big chunk of world's information. NSA's PRISM is just a frightening reminder of the advantage US has. Companies that control world's information such as Google, Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Yahoo and Microsoft are still domiciled in the US and plenty more are coming every day (backed by the world's most advanced Universities). So, don't go about predicting the end of the American superpower status anytime soon.

I'm a retired electrical engineer who has rewired several of my houses in the U.K over the years. There are many very good answers already covering this, but I have a few comments to add.The UK system is massively over engineered now that circuit breakers are universal. I have never had to replace a fuse as a short circuit will trip the breaker before the fuse gets warm. The plugs and sockets are massive and take up too much space. WhenI travel I have to carry converters for Europe (parallel flat pins), India/ Malaysia/South Africa(old U.K. Round pins) and Australia/NZ.( angled flat pins). (all 230/250V)I have been working on my son’s house in California which is a different world. USA/ Canada are 110v with rather flimsy connectors, but they don't take up much space. The lower voltage is safer because it gives much less of a shock than 230V, but the downside is that 110V doesn't seem to make my neon screwdriver glow, so sometimes I have needed to test for live manually! Most older US house wiring doesn't have an earth wire. Newer devices often have an earth pin, and the device won't fit a two pin socket.Power loss through voltage drop can be considerable compared with the UK, but electricity is cheaper in the US and air conditioning is often the biggest annual cost.The UK seems to be the only country that doesn't allow power sockets in bathrooms.On balance, I would prefer the European system