I-800 progress

If you have been following our journey to A', you know that we are now waiting for her final immigration clearance to come. It is quite a lengthy paper heavy process, but we are moving ahead again. We mailed in our applications about 2 wks ago to the National Benefits Center lockbox-Chicago(aka...mailing into ether). From there, the apps. get pre-processed, and then they are forwarded on to Lee Summit, Missouri for clearance You can not fill out these specific papers until you have your LOA from China, which we received on March 10. This whole "govt. mailing system" seems a little unorganized to me, but what do I know anyway??? I was told that it can take up to 2 1/2 weeks for it to reach the correct person after mailing it, which seems grossly inefficient!

Anyway, we received an email from our immigration officer today. She looked it over, and she needs yet another form from our agency. I feel so sorry for our social worker. She is putting the poor lady thru quite a bit of unnecessary work. Thankfully, our SW was able to type it up and will FedEx it to her for a Monday delivery. I called the National Benefits Center (aka. NBC) and was told that we could circumvent the lockbox this time, so YIPPEE!! We shouldn't have to wait another two weeks for her to look at it....maybe only a day, or two after delivery this time. From there, the NBC cables the approval to the US Embassy in Guangzhou, China. They then process a few more forms, which can take a few more weeks. After that, they communicate that all is well with the Chinese govt. from an immigration standpoint, and China will issue travel dates.

To be honest, we still have no idea when we will travel. We are thinking it will be in May, but it could be anytime this summer, as our govt. works thru their new process. It only took 5 wks after LOA to travel w/D', but it doesn't look like that is the case this time.

On a more uplifting note, Miss A. is doing really well in her new foster home. We were told that she enjoys being spoon fed (cracks me up...so does mommy:). She also loves music and dancing. She is quite fond of blowing bubbles with her mouth when she is bored. She loves to be carried around, so I'm sure her sister and brothers are going to have a blast with her:0).