Got It

We never did receive the NVC letter via mail. It took a call to Washington and I had it the next day (yesterday.) Now our agency can send our paperwork to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China, which they will overnight on Friday. This paperwork will be combined with our I800 that was cabled to become our Article 5. This is the final sign off by the U.S. that we are fit and ready to be Daniel's parents!! This process takes approximately two weeks. After that, the information is sent to the CCAA which is the Chinese agency that will give us final approval from China. They will then issue our TA or Travel Approval. Times vary on how long travel approval takes. Step by step, we're slowly getting there.

Hum Dee Hum Dee Hum

I haven't blogged since the 15th because unfortunately there's been nothing to blog about. My agency declined to send the email copy of our Cable to Guangzhou. The Consulate in Guangzhou has been mum about letting agencies know if these email notices are acceptable. So, our paperwork languishes in Oregon while our "letter" languishes somewhere in the bowels of the NVC or out somewhere in a USPS truck!!! Any ground I may have gained - poof - gone! This is the hardest part of the adoption game. Learning to accept that you have absolutely no control over certain parts of your destiny.

In the meantime my dear kiddos have kept me busy with homework, going to doctors visits and getting orthodontia treatment off the ground. Seems like some months we have 2-3 visits per week!

Can't think of anything else to blog about right now other than I have become an RQ addict and I can't stay off these sites !!

Hallelujah !!!

I was told that it takes approximately 48 hours to have our I800 provisional approval entered into the National Visa Center (NVC)  system.  Then it takes an additional step to get the information cabled to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China.   At that time, NVC generates a letter to the adoptive parents stating that their case has been forwarded, i.e. "Cabled" to the Consulate.   Effective January 15th,  the process changed for Hague convention cases.   The letter to the adoptive parents must now be sent to the adoption agency then sent by them with the LOA and other Visa paperwork to the Consulate.

So what's a girl to do??   Our paperwork arrived at the NVC at 10 am on Friday.   I spoke to a very nice supervisor who flagged our account after I begged her pleaded our case at around 3pm.   Called back at 6:45 pm - nothing yet, but spoke with another helpful supervisor.   In the meantime, I "met" another adoptive parent thru R.Q. who had their I800 approved on the same day as us.  We were able to exchange ideas on how to get our Cables completed.    Ok, 10 pm -- (NVC is open until midnight) --  Our paperwork has been entered into the system but not Cabled.   Spoke with one of the same nice supervisors and groveled asked if he would help me get our paperwork Cabled as well.   Additionally asked him to please email me to notify me that our paperwork was in fact Cabled.    11:30 -  Called back again (btw, why can't they have a toll free # ??)   CABLE !!  We have a CABLE !!  11:47 - we have the NVC letter via email.  Yippee!!!  1159 - R.Q. buddy has her Cable too!!!  Woo Hoo!!

Help for Haiti

Help is needed due to the utter devastation in Haiti. If you or someone you know thinks you can help, please call or pass this information on to someone who might be able to help. There are orphans in Haiti too!!

****Red Cross needs Creole and French speaking volunteers for a 24-hour bank. Call 305-776-6900 ASAP. American Airlines is taking doctors and nurses to Haiti for free. Please call 212-697-9767.****

If I can only get through Friday!!!

Okay, so we finally got our I800 approved yesterday after emails from my agency to my officer (and her supervisor!!). I hope that it was Fedexed to the NVC (National Visa Center) yesterday. It probably won't happen, but now I am going to try to get our cable done by Friday to beat the Article 5 procedure changes (adds 2 weeks to the process - ugh.) Like a 4th place finish if I can't get it done :(

UPDATE--- 10PM 1/14/10
After twenty minutes holding on the phone this evening the NVC person said they have no record of our file yet. And according to my agency they have already been requiring their PAP's to send in the NVC letter just in case. So I am hoping to cut down the snail mail time with a email or faxed copy of our notification letter. I am not going to get overly stressed out about all of this because it will not do me or Daniel any good. (I am already obsessed with RQ!) We will get there. One step at a time, one day at a time. In the meantime, bedtime LOL.

Really shouldn't complain

It is 39 degrees here in "balmy Florida". We have been freezing our butts off for a week. In the summer my bedroom is the hottest room in the house as the French doors face south west and get full afternoon sun. Conversely in the winter, our room is the coldest in the house because it has three exterior walls. It is now 11 am in Datong City China. The temperature is a sweltering ~~7~~ degrees (Zero windchill.) OK I'll stop complaining now!!! Hope our Daniel is warm and cozy and enjoying the sunshine through the windows.

Dashed hopes?

What a roller coaster we are on!!   On Wednesday, the USCIS officer told me she might get to our file that afternoon but definitely by Friday.   Fast forward to this afternoon (1 pm)...  she still has four files to process before ours :o(   I was counting on being approved before this weekend and forwarded to the NVC in time to process next week.  I really thought for a moment there that we could get cabled before the 15th.    I blame this all on someone early in the process (whom I dare not specify)  who dragged their feet for well over a month so we weren't able to file the I800a for a month later than we had expected.   And because of that,  we've hit Autumn Festival, Christmas, New Years, Chinese New Years and now we are going to get caught up in this stupid change to the Article 5 process.   I know I am whining.   I know there are people who have waited 4-5 months for their LOA.     I just can't stand chasing the moving ball.    I want to KNOW about when we will be traveling.   There are a lot of other people impacted by when we travel since we are not taking the kids.   I'm gonna try not to chew all my nails off in the meantime.