Another Hold Up

I must start by saying that it has been a crazy week or so around here. Finding out that our I800 paperwork was misplaced was devastating. Thankfully I am such a control freak and found the error. Our agency worked quickly to recopy the paperwork, making sure a copy of our signed application was ok, and sent it all overnight. USCIS has had it since 8/13. The agency also has worked with USCIS to get our paperwork through the"lockbox" quickly and it was already on an officer's desk by this Monday 8/18. It can take up to 2 weeks to get through to an officer. So.... great news right!!!

Well...... our paperwork was given to one officer who was away for the week. Ugh! Then it was sent to another officer right away. At first I was a little upset because that officer doesn't answer her phone. But I was able to get her email and she responded right away. She told me on Monday that she would try to get it done on Tuesday. She looked at it Tuesday and.... issued an RFE, or request for evidence. She sent me an email saying she requested the evidence but not what it was. I tried to get her back but she had already left for the day. This morning she replied very early to tell me the evidence is a letter from our agency that hadn't been signed. Ugh! Another mix up. However, she emailed the agency and they are sending the new letter to her today, overnight. Great! However, the system is being shut down for an update on Friday and she probably won't be able to work on our approval until Monday. Monday will be 4 weeks since our LOA, approval from China.

4 WEEKS!!! Others with our LOA date have their I800 approval and are well on their way through the next couple steps. They are lined up for October travel. Us? Please pray it will be October. Hopefully these 2 setbacks will be it and we can move this along. We still have a bit of a wait after this approval as we wait for our little one's Visa to be issued and a Chinese Consulate appointment to be issued. That is my worry, that the appointments will all be given and we'll have to wait for a later one. I'm still praying to travel around Mike's birthday (10/11) but it will probably be later. Just pray it isn't in November. I just can't wait any longer. Our sweet pea needs to get home. Oh, and we just might have a name for her.......

Paperwork Blunder... Not on My Part

Well, yesterday certainly was a mixed bag of emotions. I was so excited to receive the update and 2 new photos of Little Miss and then....ugh!

I am so grateful to be a part of many Facebook groups of parents adopting from China. There is a group of us who all logged in our paperwork in China in May. Having such wonderful people around who are going through the same experience has been a huge help. I have also been able to "stalk" their timelines to see how we are progressing through our paperwork. Well, through that stalking I KNEW our I800 paperwork should have been received and ready for approval early this week. I called Immigration Friday and again yesterday to see if it was received and they couldn't find it. The officer tried to locate it but it wasn't even in the system. So I called the agency. Long story short, somehow our paperwork was sent to China instead of to Immigration. 2 weeks have passed. 2 long weeks in which we should have received our approval. The agency has been great about trying to get the paperwork resubmitted, and they sent it last night. It is now at the "lockbox" waiting to be dealt with. Our officer has been notified and the file has been "tagged". Hopefully they will bump it ahead in the pile. But, 2 weeks are gone and now I don't know when we will travel. So, please pray that this doesn't set us off too bad. With the week long holiday the first week in China I can only pray we will travel mid-October.

Just goes to prove my point about why I am such a control freak. If I hadn't caught this, we'd still be waiting. UGH!!!

So, the adoption rollercoaster continues. Trying to "roll with it" but not feeling happy today.