Just an update...

Many of our family members and friends have asked about Michael and how the adoption process is going, so I thought that I better write an update.  We sent in our I-800 application for Michael to the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services at the end of January.  Jacob’s I-800 was approved in just a little less than a month and we anticipated that Michael’s would take that same amount of time.  Along with our application, we sent in a check for $720 for the filing fee.  Strangely, we received the check back in mid-February, along with a letter stating that we didn’t need to pay the fee.   On Friday of last week I got so excited when I opened my mailbox and discovered an envelope from Homeland Security.  However, it was not the approval letter but rather a letter from USCIS stating that they could not process our I-800 because they hadn’t received the $720 filing fee.  I emailed and called the Hague officer and was told that the application would not be processed until they had received the new payment along with proof that the new check had been cashed.  I sent in the new check immediately but this has delayed the I-800 by several weeks.  There is nothing that can be done and we are getting increasingly sad as we realize that Michael will have his 8^th birthday in the orphanage rather than with us.  So for now, we just wait.  Thank you for all of your support and prayers.  It really means so much to us!