Another Update

(originally posted to our family blog on 5/15/13)

Guess what the FedEx man dropped off on my porch today?  Our LSCA's (Letters Seeking Confirmation of Adoption)!!  This is the official form from China saying that they have reviewed all our paperwork and our requests to adopt E and G and we are approved to adopt these specific children.  We've been waiting 72 days for these!!!  The wait was seriously awful.  We had no idea where our papers were in the process.  There was no one to ask or call to find out.  I was positive that our file had fallen off a desk somewhere in the deep dark recesses of a Chinese government office and had been lost, never to be found again.  Seriously - these are the crazy places your mind goes to when you're waiting.  For 72 days.  Without any update.

 

But they're here now!  YAY!!  

 

So what's next?

 

Next we have to sign these precious papers we've been waiting for and send them right back.  I'm a little sad to see them go so quickly.  They're all official and half in Chinese and they are tangible proof that these girls will be ours - soon.  Then we get to wait on the American government.  After we moved our situation changed so we had to have a home study update and re-apply for the I-800A from the US. That is a form that basically pre-approves you to adopt internationally.  Once we get that pre-approval (again!) we can turn right around and apply for our I-800 which is applying for approval to adopt specific children.  And remember we get to do everything twice since there are two of them.  ;)  Then we wait for that approval and once we get that we send it over to China to show them the US says it's OK for us to bring home these girls and then we wait for our TA (Travel Approval).  This will tell us exactly when we will go to China and we can start booking flights, getting Visas, and gathering everything we'll need for the long trip.  We are in the homestretch people!!!

 

 

 

 

(I promise I'm not drunk in the above photo.  That's just my picture-taking face.  Always.  Ugh!)

 

Here's a list to make things a little easier to understand:

1.  Sign LSCA and send to adoption agency

2.  Wait for I-800A approval from US

3.  Send I-800A approval with I-800 forms to US; wait approx. 4-5 weeks

4.  Receive I-800 approval, send to IFS; wait for TA (approx. 4-6 weeks)

5.  Assemble Provincial, Consulate and IFS paperwork while waiting for TA (to take with us to China)

6.  Receive TA

7.  Order Chinese Visas

8.  Buy plane tickets

9.  GO TO CHINA

 

Our adoption coordinator, Kim, called to tell me the LSCA was on its way yesterday and mentioned that most people receive their TA 8-10 weeks after the LSCA.  And most people travel about 2 weeks after the TA is received.  That means we'll more than likely be traveling in mid to late August.  Almost exactly a year from when we started this whole process.

 

So today was spent making copies and filling out government forms in preparation for receiving our I-800A approval which should be here any day now.  Now I will be stalking the mailman.  The FedEx guy deserves a break.