I 800 Approval

Just got off the phone with USCIS (immigration services) & our I800 application was approved 2 hours ago!!! Another semi-major step in this process.
These next steps are a bit confusing for me, but I'm learning as we go.

From here, our approval notice is mailed to the NVC (natl visa center) in Washington, DC. A copy will also be sent to us. They should receive it by Monday or Tuesday.
The NVC will cable the approval to the Consulate in Guangzhou, China. The next step is waiting for the Article 5.
Basically, the Article 5 signifies that the US Consulate agrees that the child you are seeking to adopt qualifies as an "orphan" under the Hague Convention and is therefore legally free to be adopted internationally.

Then, we wait for the travel invitation.

Here's a photo just for fun :) Our family of three, taken on Bria's 12th birthday last August.

I'm currently without a camera, ours crapped out a few months ago. I ordered a new one, so I'll have newer pictures in the next few weeks.

Bria is taller than me now & very proud of it, she's probably about 5'4, lean & tall, will be just like Aunt Manda!

"The Call" - long post

It dawned on me that I never wrote about the night we received Harper's referral.

First, one must understand how the SN program works.

This is a simplified explanation of the special needs list:

There are hundreds of children on the SN list of all ages, gender & minor-severe needs.

Families can match with these children at any time. Periodically, China will add new files to the list, sometimes hundreds at a time.

China notifies the adoption agency's when new files for the special needs shared list will be added. They add new files aproximately every month.

The agency matches the child with the family based on the age, gender & what needs the family is open to.

If the agency has a family that they feel is a good match with a child, they can "lock" the file. Within 48 hours of locking the file, the family must make the final decision whether or not to move forward with the child.

In those 48 hours, a family would have the file reviewed by a doctor & make their decision.

If the family chooses to move forward, they write a letter asking to adopt the child, this is called a "letter of intent" (LOI).

It's pretty competitive, especially for the younger children with minor needs.

We knew that new files would be added to the list on January 18, but not sure when we would get matched. We had been on our former agency's SN list for almost 2 yrs with out a successful match.

Neil wasn't holding his breath. I was excited & was desperately hoping we would get matched with the January list.

Ok, so it happened to be on Monday of MLK weekend, 3 day weekend for us.

We're in bed, almost asleep when the phone rings @ 10:15, yes we go to bed pretty early.

Oh, caller ID said "private caller"....who could this be???

"Hello"

"Hi Anne, it's X, sorry to call so late but I found a beautiful baby girl's file for you to review"

"Um, ok"

"Can you open your email & look at the file?"

"Yes, but my computer is really old & takes forever to boot up" I say this as Neil & I are running to the basement to fire it up.

X proceeds to fill me in with the pertinent info, age, gender, special need.

X says "She looks like a Gerber baby".

We make small talk while the computer is booting up. She tells me that she's been online for 2 hours trying to match families, the files were being "locked", "unlocked" & "locked" again so quick by other agencies that it was "crazy" & "fierce competition".

After what seems like an eternity, I open the email & see this gorgeous baby girl. Did I tell you my hands were sweaty & shaking?

When Neil & I saw the photos, we didn't see a child with a defect, we saw a beautiful, healthy, happy baby with bright eyes.

Needless to say, we submitted our LOI the next day!

Golden LOA

Here's what the LOA looks like. It basically says in Chinese & English that we are officially approved to adopt Dang Yanyang.

We had to sign the original, make a copy of it & send the copy to USCIS, & the original to BAAS along with other documents.

Of course, it's always a "hurry up & send" moment & then back into another line.
After signing the documents, time to Fedex them. I was sure Fedex's last pickup was around 7pm....wrong, it's 5:45pm. I arrived at a fedex branch at 6:20 only to find out that I was too late :( I was told that we could drive to the main Fedex building here in Columbia, on the other side of town for their last pickup @ 6:45. Could we make it across town in time? We're gonna try.

As we pulled up to a main intersection, we just happened to be right next to a Fedex van! I was feeling pretty bold & sassy so I rolled down my window & asked the fedex guy if he could take my envelope & mail it for us....He did!

Neil asked, do you trust this guy? Yep, I trust him.

I tracked my package this morning & it was delivered today! How lucky are we????

LOA!!!

I guess my whining paid off. We got confirmation that BAAS received our LOA & will fedex it to us today!

This piece of paper is basically China telling us we are officially approved to adopt Dang Yanyang.

This is a huge step in the China adoption world. The next big step is waiting for travel approval.

Of course, there are a few more baby steps between LOA & TA, but I'll keep it simple for now.

Do you like my artwork?

LOA Rumor

Rumor is our LOA is in route to BAAS. They should receive it today & will send it to us soon after that!
I won't believe it until it's in my hot hands.
I should hear from our coordinator later on this afternoon to confirm they received it.

I'm hoping to post more later!!!

Day 50

AAUUGGGHHH!!!!

It's day 50 & we're still waiting on our LOA. China usually mails them on Fridays & the agency's will receive them on Mondays & notify us. Alot of people got their LOA yesterday (monday), but not us :( boo hoo.


Yes, I'm whining. I know there are other people who are waiting longer than us, but this is worth whining about. People with an LID the same as our (4/20/10) & even behind us got their LOA. There is no ryhme or reason as to how they are sent. Just another uncertainty of the adoption world.

Imagine being in the waiting room at your doctor's office. You've been there quite awhile, & other people walking in after you are being called back before you. There's nothing we can do, just wait our turn patiently.

Maybe next week will be our LOA week.....

Memorial Day

We enjoyed our holiday weekend at my parents lake house on Table Rock Lake. The kids LOVE going there. I wasn't able to capture a photo of the kids, they were just too active & running around, but here's a picture of my best friend, Brittany & I. We've been friends for 20 years! Man, we're getting old.

We'll go back to the lake for July 4th with a ton of family & we'll also be going to Lake Michigan in late July with some friends.

It's nice to have these little vacations to look forward to while we wait for the big "vacation".

Hope everyone had a wonderful & safe holiday!