The adoption process is moving along...slowly but surely.
February 21: Submitted I-600 form to the USCIS. This form allows us to classify Teresita as an immediate family member for immigration purposes.
March 9: Received a request for evidence from the USCIS. They wanted a form signed by our social worker and DHS certifying that we've completed all the pre-adoption requirements in the state of Michigan. Really? This is our third adoption and they've never asked for this before...our social worker is awesome and got the form filled out right away. DHS took their sweet old time.
March 22: Got a call at 2:30 pm from our social worker to say that she had FINALLY gotten the form back from DHS...thanks to a friend who was able to watch the kids for me last minute, I dropped the kids off at her house at 3:30, then drove to Southfield to pick up the form. The receptionist told me where the nearest post office was...and then I drove around strip malls and Detroit suburb rush hour traffic for 40 minutes looking for it. Finally found the post office, and it was a tiny place that closed at 5pm, 20 minutes before I got there. So I drove back to Ann Arbor and got to the post office 15 minutes before it closed at 7pm, just in time to get the form sent to the USCIS.
April 1: Received news from our adoption agency that Teresita had been hospitalized with malaria for six days, from March 18-23. Our case manager was out of the office for the week, but her assistant was able to get through to their staff in the Congo the next day, and they reassured her that Teresita was doing much better. Called the USCIS to ask about our form, no answer.
April 3: Jeff got through to the USCIS and was told that our I-600 had just been approved and was being mailed to us.
April 6: Received I-600 approval in the mail, scanned and emailed it to our agency.
April 13: Found out that Teresita's visa interview at the US Embassy in Kinshasa was set for May 21.
April 15: Sent an email to our agency's contact at the Embassy requesting that the appointment be moved up due to Teresita's health issues. Got an auto-reply that she was out of the office for the week.
April 23: Received a reply from the Embassy that Teresita could come in for the interview as soon as her paperwork was in order.
April 26: Embassy interview!
We still haven't heard anything regarding the visa interview, but all her paperwork is there, so hopefully everything went ok. Next steps are:
The embassy will review all the paperwork and make sure everything was done ethically. This typically takes 3-6 weeks, though we did request that her case be expedited so hopefully it happens faster.
Once the investigation is done, the embassy will print her visa...this typically takes about a week.
Once the visa is printed, Jeff will travel to the Congo with my mom to request an exit visa from the Congolese government, and bring Teresita home!!!
Please keep us and Teresita in your prayers! We are all very anxious to get her home as quickly as possible!
February 21: Submitted I-600 form to the USCIS. This form allows us to classify Teresita as an immediate family member for immigration purposes.
March 9: Received a request for evidence from the USCIS. They wanted a form signed by our social worker and DHS certifying that we've completed all the pre-adoption requirements in the state of Michigan. Really? This is our third adoption and they've never asked for this before...our social worker is awesome and got the form filled out right away. DHS took their sweet old time.
March 22: Got a call at 2:30 pm from our social worker to say that she had FINALLY gotten the form back from DHS...thanks to a friend who was able to watch the kids for me last minute, I dropped the kids off at her house at 3:30, then drove to Southfield to pick up the form. The receptionist told me where the nearest post office was...and then I drove around strip malls and Detroit suburb rush hour traffic for 40 minutes looking for it. Finally found the post office, and it was a tiny place that closed at 5pm, 20 minutes before I got there. So I drove back to Ann Arbor and got to the post office 15 minutes before it closed at 7pm, just in time to get the form sent to the USCIS.
April 1: Received news from our adoption agency that Teresita had been hospitalized with malaria for six days, from March 18-23. Our case manager was out of the office for the week, but her assistant was able to get through to their staff in the Congo the next day, and they reassured her that Teresita was doing much better. Called the USCIS to ask about our form, no answer.
April 3: Jeff got through to the USCIS and was told that our I-600 had just been approved and was being mailed to us.
April 6: Received I-600 approval in the mail, scanned and emailed it to our agency.
April 13: Found out that Teresita's visa interview at the US Embassy in Kinshasa was set for May 21.
April 15: Sent an email to our agency's contact at the Embassy requesting that the appointment be moved up due to Teresita's health issues. Got an auto-reply that she was out of the office for the week.
April 23: Received a reply from the Embassy that Teresita could come in for the interview as soon as her paperwork was in order.
April 26: Embassy interview!
We still haven't heard anything regarding the visa interview, but all her paperwork is there, so hopefully everything went ok. Next steps are:
The embassy will review all the paperwork and make sure everything was done ethically. This typically takes 3-6 weeks, though we did request that her case be expedited so hopefully it happens faster.
Once the investigation is done, the embassy will print her visa...this typically takes about a week.
Once the visa is printed, Jeff will travel to the Congo with my mom to request an exit visa from the Congolese government, and bring Teresita home!!!
Please keep us and Teresita in your prayers! We are all very anxious to get her home as quickly as possible!
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