FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) —After nearly three years of navigating the emotional and complex process of international adoption, Hope and Zach Dykehouse of Columbia City are facing an unexpected obstacle that has put their family’s plans on hold.
The Dykehouses are in the process of adopting three brothers from Haiti, boys ages 4, 6, and 7. The couple, who already have five biological children ages 10, 12, 14, 16, and 17, was just days away from completing the final step of the process when immigrant visas for Haiti were suspended under a new federal policy.
“We were about a week away from getting our visa,” Zach Dykehouse said. “There’s a lot of cost… medical evaluations, psychological evaluations, home studies, tuberculosis tests, physicals, references. A lot goes into it. At first we thought, ‘This probably won’t stick,’ but the longer it’s gone on, we’re realizing it’s something we’re going to have to contend with. It’s devastating.”…