We are 2-and a-half-weeks away from Summer Break! Which is absolutely critical because this mommy/homeschool teacher is just about done in! I thought that LAST semester was crazy, but this one took home the gold.
On the adoption front, we are learning how true all of the warnings were that nothing works on our schedule and definitely not quickly enough. But we are making steady, tortoise-like progress.
April and May have continued to be intense on the fund-raising front. Garage Sales #1 and #2 have occurred, bring in a combined $1,762.00. Thank you again to everyone that has donated items to and shopped at the Online Sale/Garage Sales! It has been a substantial blessing to us! We have also submitted several grant applications with more to go.
On April 29th, WE RECEIVED IMMIGRATION APPROVAL! It only ended up being about 2 weeks earlier than I had estimated, but that one page of official paperwork was a beautiful thing! We are officially approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to adopt internationally. Gotta love the 4-hour round trip to Sacramento for a 15-minute fingerprinting appointment. SO worth it!
And so we are waiting once again. The I-797 (Immigration Approval form) is being authenticated and then everything goes to China! In the meantime, our entire placing agency is in China for a fact-finding trip to all of their partner orphanages and foster homes. Con: The authentication might come in while they are gone and sit there for a couple of days doing nothing. Pro: We should be getting more pictures and video in a couple of weeks!!!
To answer a common question – “How much longer?" – here is a brief breakdown of the rest of the process and some ESTIMATES of when those will occur.
➔ Child Assignment (hoping by end of June, could easily be later)
➔ Immigration Approval, Phase II (takes ~3 weeks after LOA)
➔ Visa Processing (takes ~2 weeks after Immigration Approval)
➔ Consulate/CCCWA Processing (takes ~4 weeks after Visa confirmation)
➔ Travel Planning (takes ~2 weeks after TA)
➔ WE GO GET HER!
On the adoption front, we are learning how true all of the warnings were that nothing works on our schedule and definitely not quickly enough. But we are making steady, tortoise-like progress.
April and May have continued to be intense on the fund-raising front. Garage Sales #1 and #2 have occurred, bring in a combined $1,762.00. Thank you again to everyone that has donated items to and shopped at the Online Sale/Garage Sales! It has been a substantial blessing to us! We have also submitted several grant applications with more to go.
On April 29th, WE RECEIVED IMMIGRATION APPROVAL! It only ended up being about 2 weeks earlier than I had estimated, but that one page of official paperwork was a beautiful thing! We are officially approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to adopt internationally. Gotta love the 4-hour round trip to Sacramento for a 15-minute fingerprinting appointment. SO worth it!
And so we are waiting once again. The I-797 (Immigration Approval form) is being authenticated and then everything goes to China! In the meantime, our entire placing agency is in China for a fact-finding trip to all of their partner orphanages and foster homes. Con: The authentication might come in while they are gone and sit there for a couple of days doing nothing. Pro: We should be getting more pictures and video in a couple of weeks!!!
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| Care Package #3 -- Little Sister's first hand-me-downs! |
To answer a common question – “How much longer?" – here is a brief breakdown of the rest of the process and some ESTIMATES of when those will occur.
➔ Child Assignment (hoping by end of June, could easily be later)
This phase ends when we receive and sign the LOA (Letter of Acceptance). At that point, she is officially “ours,” and we can post pictures online!
➔ Immigration Approval, Phase II (takes ~3 weeks after LOA)
The first approval was for our family to adopt. This approval will approve her specifically.
➔ Visa Processing (takes ~2 weeks after Immigration Approval)
➔ Consulate/CCCWA Processing (takes ~4 weeks after Visa confirmation)
Paperwork goes to the U.S. Consulate in China and then from there to the CCCWA. This part of the process concludes with our TA (Invitation to Travel).
➔ Travel Planning (takes ~2 weeks after TA)
- We let our agency know when we would like to leave for China.
- They make our Consulate Appointment.
- We BOOK FLIGHTS!!!
- Our agency will make our hotel reservations and arrange any adoption related appointments.
➔ WE GO GET HER!
We really wanted to go by August. Miracles do happen and everything could happen quickly enough for us to do this. However, it will quite possibly be later. We are learning patience on a whole new, different scale!
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| This sweet little hand holds my heart! |
So excited for you! Continuing to pray for "joy in the journey" and am thanking the Lord for His perfect timing.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! So happy for you guys!
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