I-800 Approval!!

It’s here! I am holding in my hand the I-800 Letter of Approval! Michael’s I-800 took so much longer than Jacob’s and had many problems, but it is finally here! We are doing the “Happy Dance!” If you are following our process checklist, we just completed step 15. Our approval is being cabled to the Consulate in Guangzhou and they will issue an Article 5. It usually takes the Consulate two weeks to issue that. When CCCWA receives the Article 5 they will issue Travel Approval. We are just getting so anxious to travel and be reunited with our son. We think about him constantly and pray that he is ready for such a big transition. We’re coming Michael! We love you!!

Chili's Check

A HUGE thank you to all of our friends who ate at Chili’s on February Wednesdays!  I just received an email from the manager informing me that 15% of the purchases made with our fliers came to $220!  Thank you so much!  We really hope that you enjoyed your Chili’s food while you were helping to bring Michael home.  As I have told many of you…when you are eating to bring a little boy out of an orphanage, the food has no calories.  (Ok…no one quote me on that!)  J

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!