A quick post regarding our adoption...
Leah and I went to the local branch of the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship & Imigration Services) two weeks ago to get fingerprinted and what a joyful experience it was. I will save commentary until after we recieve our approval to immigrate a foreign born child to the U.S., but let's just say is was a little test of patience. Regarding CIS approval, we think this will come in 2-6 more weeks, at which point we will be done with all the domestic leg work and our dossier can go to Ethiopia.
The wait time from then to referral is hard to know. Since we are requesting a boy, our wait time may be a bit shorter than the large majority of adoptive parents who request girls, but it could also be the same or even longer. There are just so many variables - not to mention the overwhelming increase in people wishing to adopt from Ethiopia - that make this part of the adoption difficult and lengthy.
Another slowly developing issue is the way our timeline is shaping up with the traditional 2-month closure of the Ethiopian courts for holidays in the late Summer to early Fall. We are starting to get nervous about this because we could end up with a scenario where we get a referral but then have to wait an extra 2 months on top of the normal 6-10 weeks to go get our son because the courts will not be processing any adoptions during the closure. It is never quite clear the exact date of the closure, but I think it is usually August to September. While a longer wait time is somewhat normal with other countries, Ethiopia is usually very fast (6-10 weeks) when it comes to the time between your referral and travel so I feel like we have expectations in that regard. Consequently, a four or more month wait time is a scary thought and we covet your prayers so that we don't get caught in the court closure.
Other than a few Ts to cross and Is to dot, this is about the only new news we have, so we continue to wait with great anticipation for the day we get to come home with our little boy.
Thanks for reading and please pray for Ethiopia and the orphans there when you think about it .
Leah and I went to the local branch of the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship & Imigration Services) two weeks ago to get fingerprinted and what a joyful experience it was. I will save commentary until after we recieve our approval to immigrate a foreign born child to the U.S., but let's just say is was a little test of patience. Regarding CIS approval, we think this will come in 2-6 more weeks, at which point we will be done with all the domestic leg work and our dossier can go to Ethiopia.
The wait time from then to referral is hard to know. Since we are requesting a boy, our wait time may be a bit shorter than the large majority of adoptive parents who request girls, but it could also be the same or even longer. There are just so many variables - not to mention the overwhelming increase in people wishing to adopt from Ethiopia - that make this part of the adoption difficult and lengthy.
Another slowly developing issue is the way our timeline is shaping up with the traditional 2-month closure of the Ethiopian courts for holidays in the late Summer to early Fall. We are starting to get nervous about this because we could end up with a scenario where we get a referral but then have to wait an extra 2 months on top of the normal 6-10 weeks to go get our son because the courts will not be processing any adoptions during the closure. It is never quite clear the exact date of the closure, but I think it is usually August to September. While a longer wait time is somewhat normal with other countries, Ethiopia is usually very fast (6-10 weeks) when it comes to the time between your referral and travel so I feel like we have expectations in that regard. Consequently, a four or more month wait time is a scary thought and we covet your prayers so that we don't get caught in the court closure.
Other than a few Ts to cross and Is to dot, this is about the only new news we have, so we continue to wait with great anticipation for the day we get to come home with our little boy.
Thanks for reading and please pray for Ethiopia and the orphans there when you think about it .
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3 comments:
Yay! You guys are almost there! Waitlist... here you come. it's an amazing feeling when paperwork is finally finished. Buckle up for the really hard waiting periods... I'm still asking God if it's worth it... I think it is! I'll be in prayer as you begin your wait. Please keep praying for us too... this court date wait has become extremely long.
Congratulations! Your this much closer to meeting your son :).
becca
I think that we were at the same USCIS office for fingerprinting.....Alexandria.
Oh yeah, let the fun times roll. Now they know how to have a good time there huh? :-)
The joy just oozes from that office doesn't it?!?!?
So glad that is over!
Blessings,
Kristy
I'll be watching and waiting with you. We are on the same timeline. We're waiting INS approval too. We are also requesting a boy 12-18 months. We are with Gladney too. We are stressed about the court closing. I was told 8/8 thru 9/30. Not only is the wait to travel frustrating, we'll have to redo paperwork too. Ahh...what can you do. Such is the world of adoption. Best of luck to you.
Jan
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