I800a for Kanani

The past several weeks have been hard for all of us affected by Hurricane Sandy. During the storm I decided to get my mail before it blew away. In the mailbox sopping wet was an envolope from USCIS. Excitement took over and I rushed into the house to open it only to discover that the application with supporting documents were being sent to the NBC. OH NO, what does this mean........another delay.

I waited until the week before Thanksgiving to call the NBC, to be told my case wasn't assigned an officer and it could take up to 90 days to process Kanani's I800a. They told me to call back in two weeks.

I called back again, to be told the same thing. I prepared myself to call that NBC office every two weeks if needed until I had some answers.

Well, another call isn't necessary. My agency received Kanani's I800a today and the I800's for both my children were filed. I have been informed it should be about 10 -14 weeks for travel to China.

It's Here, YIPPEE

Ming's LOA arrived today and there are no errors.  I am so Thankful that this part of the paperchase is about to be completed.

Ming's LOA is on the WAY

Apparently CCCWA mailed Ming's LOA before they closed for the national holiday.  It's in transit, currently in Tennessee.  

What a difference a year makes!

 GORGEOUS!! 

 Gymnast

 Ballerina

Roller Blader

Amazing!!

LOA Issues

I knew there was going to be a problem with the LOA's having different orphanage names on the paperwork.  Apparently, Kanani's LOA discrepancy is between literal Mandarin Chinese spelling (Wulumuqi) and Uyghur, the local ethnic minority, spelling (Urumqi).

Ming's is misspelled in three different places.  Oh my, will I ever get to my children?!

Ming turns 12 in February, I really hope to travel and be home in time to celebrate his birthday in the US.  I missed his 11th birthday, I don't plan on missing another one.

Kanani's Package

I sent an e-mail to the orphanage alerting them to expect a package for Kanani.  I hope she likes her little gifts.

LOA's

The LOA's arrived and are ready to be signed.  There is a discrepancy in the spelling of the orphanage names.  I need to make sure that I put the correct information on the I800 application, I don't need any additional delays.

Letter Of Acceptance

MING AND KANANI'S LOA's HAVE ARRIVED  

Wouldn't you know, the one day I forget my cell phone at home, CCAI is trying to reach me.  I discovered the message last night around 8pm.  I didn't give it much thought and left a message for them this morning.  At around 11am, they called to say that both LOA's arrived at their office.

WOW, things are moving pretty quickly now.

     

Orphanage E-mail

I received an e-mail from Kanani's orphanage.  I have to thank my friend and china contact for this.  He contacted the orphanage to get updated information for me.  In turn, he sent me the orphanage e-mail address.

I received an e-mail from them and they are so happy to find out that Xin Huazhen has a family.  They assured me that they will start preparing her for adoption.

They have been informed that I will be sending her a package......that's my current project.

Updated Information for Kanani

I received updated information for Kanani.  She is now 63 lbs and 56" tall.  I had to run out an purchase a pretty little Hello Kitty shirt and a pair of jeans.

I'm working on putting a care package together to send to her.  I know, this time, I will send it FEDEX.  I sent Ming 2 packages and he only received one, in addition, he only received a couple of things that were in that box.

Beautiful and Sporty

You never know what you will find when you can't sleep and stay up all night combing through yahoo groups.  The night I found these 2 videos was certainly worth being sleep deprived the next morning.

Priceless

KANANI MINYI

~~HERE IS MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER~~

KANANI MINYI


She's a Princess!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Pre-Approval~~~~~~~~~~

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!!

Today, I received the call from my wonderful, amazing agency, CCAI, that I officially have PA for my little girl.  China has granted me that so sought after singles waiver.

She is currently residing Xinjiang province, which is the same province as Ming.  Both children will be coming home together.

Thank you:  CCAI

SARAH H. CCAI

SARAH S. CCAI

KARIN F. AdvocateWC Yahoo group, for without you I wouldn't have found her. 

ERIN  AdvocateWC Yahoo group

BAAS Adoption Agency for transferring her file to CCAI

Vicky for your prayers, encouragement and being the first single to obtain a singles waiver.  

                     

~~~~~~~File Locked~~~~~~~~~~

At 5:10pm, CCAI notified me that my LOI has been submitted for the little girl I am pursuing.  Her file is officially LOCKED.

CCAI decided to take a different approach prior to submitting my LOI. CCAI requested that I submit my professional experience that I have working with the little girls non-correctable special need and supports.  CCAI in turn submitted the information to their Beijing staff, who would advocate on my behalf.  CCCWA requested that my LOI be submitted, while CCAI's Beijing staff is standing by to answer any question working from the information that was previously sent.

I pray for pre-approval and that my next blog post will be that I was granted a single's waiver, have PA and can introduce my daughter.

The Time Has Come!!

The first draft of my home study update has been completed.  It was submitted to CCAI for a quick review and they have given me the green light to proceed with submitting my LOI.  They will need to request a single's waiver, in order for me to do a concurrent adoption.

Certain waivers are easier to obtain than others, and I aware of only one (1) other parent who received a single's waiver.

I will pray and leave it in God's hands that this little girl is meant to be a part of my family and that I will bring her home with my son Ming.

Creative Photo by Pingping.

My darling 10 yr old has created her own website and wants to do a fundraiser for Ming.  It's a creative photo website and here is a sample she did of Ming. 

Updated Photos
of
Ma Ming

  

Concurrent Adoption?!

A concurrent adoption is what I am seeking to do.  This began back in April when I saw a beautiful little girl listed on one of my yahoo groups.  Someone was strongly advocating for her because of special need.  There had been inquiries about her, but nothing promising because of her special need.  I contacted that person and asked for more information.  She promptly sent me her file.

I contacted my agency to inquire about adopting 2 children at one time.  They, then contacted their china team, which in turn told them, the policy is that a single can only adopt one.  I was disappointed and let it go at that, but I couldn't get this little girl out of my mind or heart.

I e-mailed the advocate, she suggested that I speak with my agency about a singles waiver, so I did.  There were several hurdles to consider; the little girl was listed with another agency and I would need to have my home study agency perform an update to approve me to adopt 2 children.

The agency that currently had the little girl's file had agreed to transfer her file to my agency.  One would think this is the best news, and it should have been.   All the joy and excitement that came from reading the e-mail  my agency sent, stating  that they *NOW* had her file would quickly dissipate.  Since, I had not received any response back from my SW, I decided to contact my home study agency directly. I don't even how to begin to describe the conversation  I had with *****.  She is the most unprofessional  attorney that I have ever encountered.  She stated and I quote " how are you going to send 3 children to college, how will I feed and buy clothes for 3 children, where will you find time for 3 kids"?  In closing, she stated, if you want the girl, then leave the boy there, if you want the boy then let someone else adopt that girl, I don't think anyone should be adopting 2 children at the same time, couples or singles, unless they are related sibling group and even then it's a problem.  She was extremely heartless and callous.  When I hung up the phone, I was in total shock.

Later that evening, I contacted the SW and spoke with her.  Although gentle, she was now stating it's ****** agency and I have to follow what ******* says.  The home study agency is a one woman show.  There are no committees or anyone else that she needs to confer with, she is the be all end all. She ended it for me.

I immediately contacted my agency and alerted them to the disappointing news.  They were all so sad, and understanding to my plight.  At this point, they felt is was best to get Ming's dossier to China as to not delay his paperwork any further.  They gave me another option, submit my LOI for the little girl as soon as I returned with Ming.  Doing it this way doesn't come without risks; my agency can only hold her file for 3 months and my adoption is no where near being completed in that time frame.  It's a risk that I would have to take.

I contact my yahoo group advocate and explained what happened.  She in turn brought in another advocate, the original advocate for this child.  She e-mailed me and suggested I seek a different agency to do my home study.  Maybe, just maybe, I can turn this around. I e-mailed my agency, explained this to them and they sent me a list of home study agencies that they recommend.

I got right to work making phone calls.  Yes, I found an agency that would do an update to my home study and not request that I do a whole new stand alone home study for the girl.  I faxed over the paperwork for them to review.  They quickly to responded and informed that I would have to new clearances for their agency and there shouldn't be any problem.  They would mail out the agency application and provided with the fee for the update.  The conversation was progressing smoothly until she stated my SW also does home studies for them.

Long story short, several days later, I received an e-mail from that agency stating, after consideration, they WILL NOT do the home study update.  Once again, my home study agency stepped in and built a brick wall in front of me.  This was a crushing blow to me.  I still have the option of completing Ming's adoption;, and then submitting LOI for her.  If this is what needs to be done, then I'll do it.  I have to believe if I am the family meant for her, then it will be.

Decisions, decisions!!  After all that has happened with my home study agency; the unprofessional conversation and the stone walling, I have decided to seek an new home study agency to perform my post-placement  reports.  Going forward, thinking that I will submit LOI for the little girl, if she is still available, upon my return from Ming's adoption.   Another agency can perform the post placement reports and write the new home study for me to use a copy of my dossier.

Several months passed, time is nearing for Ming's LOA to arrive.  I had to make a decision on which home study agency will perform my post placement reports.  I looked up information on my FCCLI group and found a name of  a local SW.  I decided to contact her, to speak with about post placement reports. I explained why I wanted another agency to do them.  What she would go on to tell me, blew my mind.  She said and I quote, "that's  ridiculous why not just bring the children home at the same time".  I recounted the entire story to her and she is well aware of my home study agency. She informed me, there have been others that have complained that ***** is difficult .  She provided with an agency name and phone number, and told me to call them on Thursday.

Thursday couldn't come quick enough!  I called early in the morning and was greeted with a  woman who was extremely professional.  She listened attentively as I told her my long drawn out story.  She requested my adoption agencies number and contact person, at the end of the conversation she stated she would call or
e-mail later.  Given all that I had been through, I wasn't sure she would call or e-mail, I braced myself for another let down.

She didn't let me down!!! As promised the call came, and she said. "don't worry about anything, we'll do your update". The application was put in the mail and the compilation of paperwork started again, and only one home visit was needed.  The paperwork compilation shouldn't be that bad as it was for just an update.

Wouldn't you know, Ming's LOA arrived July 30th. My son is on a delay, once again.  I wish I had found this home study agency months ago.  Some how, I know that this was the path I needed to follow to get to JCCA.

The home visit was scheduled for August 10th, this past Friday.  The SW is going to expedite it as fast as she can, it should be done this week for my review.  She is an amazing woman, who said to me, we were destined to meet.  I believe we were.

The next hurdle is the singles waiver.  My adoption agency is prepared to bat for me and I can't wait to submit my LOI for little girl I have fought so hard for.  I only hope and pray that the CCCWA will approve me for the waiver.  If not, I know that she is meant for another family, but I had to try everything within my power before giving up.  There still is my second option, file for LOI upon completing Ming's adoption.

MORE PHOTOS!!

Ming's orphanage recently sent me a couple of updated photos.  I feel like I watching my little guy grew up digitally.

Letter of Acceptance

I received the e-mail from, CCAI, my agency on July 30th that my LOA, letter of acceptance, has arrived.  It's been 67 days since my LID.  It appears that LOA's are coming in at varied times, some families have received theirs in as little as 41 days and others continue to wait.

Unfortunately, Ming's LOA is going to be delayed.  I can't believe the timing of all of this and keep asking myself, why, why now, when the LOA has finally come in.   This is the second time Ming's paperwork has been delayed.  The first time was back in May, Ming's dossier was delayed in an attempt to get a home study update to obtain approval to do a concurrent adoption.

The decision was made to delay sending the dossier onto China until it was determined whether or not my home study would/could be updated.   The update didn't take place and two later Ming's dossier was off to china.

Log In Date

It's official, I have my official log in date (LID) 5/24/12.  It's one year and one day after receiving pre-approval (PA) for Ming.

DTC

After a several updates and a few minor delays, CCAI has sent me the long awaited e-mail.  I am officially DTC.  DTC means my dossier to China.  It could be upto 3 weeks for my dossier to be logged in.  


This is by far the Best Mother's Day Gift.

The Dossier Has Landed!!

It arrived at CCAI, Friday, 3/30, in the afternoon.  The dossier is now headed for Check in, Critical Review, Translation, Binding and last, but by no means least, mailing to China via international express mail!


CCAI stated, the critical review process can take up to 11 days.  I find myself, once again, at another hurry up and wait process.  Let the process begin quickly.


At the end of the day, and all is said and done, there is only one hand truly guiding this journey and that is the Lord's hand.  This part of the journey is a but a small portion of time to arrive at a lifetime with Ming.

  

The Dossier has taken Flight!!

Maura overnighted the consulated authenicated docments, which were in my hands by March 16th.

There were a couple of loose ends that needed to be tied, which were knotted up this weekend.

Today, March 26th, my dossier is in flight to CCAI.

Now, once again,I wait.  The dossier must go through critical review three, yes three times before it's on an international flight to China.

To hear that we have an LID (log in date) will be music to my ears.

Chinese Consulate Certification

My dear friend Maura offered to take my dossier to the consulate to be authenticated.  She walked the documents in on Thursday, March 8th. Well, did they do a number on her.  I told her it wasn't going to be easy, they are never nice at the consulate.  Maura's a super trooper and has the patience of a saint.


Maura will pick up the docs this week.  I really hope to be DTC and LID this month.


Hang in there Ming, we're come to bring you home!! 


Thank you, Maura!!

Chinese Consulate Certification

My dear friend Maura offered to take my dossier to the consulate to be authenticated.  She walked the documents in on Thursday, March 8th. Well, did they do a number on her.  I told her it wasn't going to be easy, they are never nice at the consulate.  Maura's a super trooper and has the patience of a saint.


Maura will pick up the docs this week.  I really hope to be DTC and LID this month.


Thank you, Maura!! 


Hang in there Ming, we're come to bring you home!! 

The Certifications Have Began

The certification process has begun.  County certs were completed on 2/21.  Off to NYC we went on 2/22/12 to the State Dept for the state certifications.  

I800a Timeline

There has been some movement in this endless paper chase.  It's a never ending hurry up and wait process.
Here's the time line for my I800a.


I800a application FEDEX 'd 12/30/11
Receipt notice 1/5/12
Appointment notice 1/12/12
Fingerprint Appt 2/2/12
I797 in Hand 2/10/12


Total of 42 days


One small step in the adoption process, one giant step in bringing Ma Ming home.

******MY ROCK******

My Rock has a name, Bonnie.  Bonnie is truly a wonderful, encouraging woman.  I hope she knows how much I appreciate the on-going encouragement she has given to me throughout this journey.


When I am ready to throw in the towel, she never let's me give up and provides uplifting words of encouragement.


Bonnie is on a journey of her own, adopting a son as well.  We had hoped to travel together, but she will go before me.  


Her little girl is from Ming's orphanage, so our children are already have their own red thread connection.  We live in the same state so I know, without a doubt, once our China journeys are completed, then the in state travel journeys will commence.


Bonnie, you really are a WONDERFUL person and a true friend.

Winter Fun

Ming turned 11 on Feb 1st.  I couldn't be there for his birthday and he isn't here for us to celebrate it.  This will not never happen again.  We will not miss his birthday any more birthdays, next year he will get the warmest, happiest birthday ever!!

He seems to be enjoying, himself, this final winter in Xinjiang.

An Amazing Week

This has been such and amazing week.  I received two new pictures of Ming from the orphanage director.


Yesterday, I received my I-797 approval.  I can't believe it.  I just did the fingerprinting on Feb 2nd, eight (8) days later, here it is in my hands. WOW!!  It all seems so surreal.


Now, it's time to get busy and start the county certifications.  Those certifications are relatively easy.  The State and Chinese Consulate certifications are a whole other journey in and of themselves.


I hope to be DTC and LID in March.  Certainly a summer travel to China would be majestic.