Closer to a Bun in the Oven

A little progress on the adoption that is making it feel real.

We received a fingerprint appointment from US Immigration (USCIS). AGCI's new requirement is that families must have immigration approval before going on the waitlist. After the homestudy is complete, this means approximately 3-4 more months of waiting before being waitlisted. I told my sister, in adoption world, going on the waitlist is like finally getting pregnant after a long time of trying. It doesn't quite feel real until you're on that waitlist.

USCIS scheduled our appointment for the second week of June. Dodd will be on a business trip that week and neither of us wanted to wait that long anyway. Many families on the AGCI listserv have posted about going to USCIS before the actual appointment, hoping to be fingerprinted early. We decided to give it a shot. We had nothing to lose.

I took Monday off from work. Bear and I met Dodd downtown. The USCIS woman was not thrilled when we told her our story but said they would try to squeeze us in with no guarantees they would have time. She warned it could take an hour, or it could take 3, there was no way to predict. We said we would wait. Then we walked upstairs to sit in the waiting room as our 22 month old rambunctious boy (who by the way is still not a US citizen, I MUST file those papers!) ran around to investigate as much of this new place as possible and jabber talked to the many hopeful immigrants in the room. I was not sure how we would contain him for 3 hours.

5 minutes later we were buzzed back downstairs. It took about 20 minutes for both of us to be printed. And then we were finished. That was it. Ah, one thing in the adoption process that went faster than expected.

The fingerprints go now to a central location that completes an investigation to determine if we are qualified to bring a foreign born child into the US. We have been warned that the investigation process is taking longer and it might be another 1-2 months before we receive the clearance that allows us to be waitlisted.

I left the next day for a business trip and, while traveling, received an unscheduled call from our caseworker. Because USCIS processing is taking longer than expected, AGCI made an exception and is allowing families who have been fingerprinted to submit their dossiers! That means the waitlist! Oh, but.....RATS....I was traveling and could not get our dossier paperwork pulled together! And there is one more step I've been waiting to complete so notarizations would not expire....state authentication. I called the Wisconsin Secretary of State Office as soon as my plane landed back on Wisconsin soil Thursday. I spoke with the woman who completes authentications. She said they would be closed 4 days for the Memorial Day holiday and then she is going on vacation. I asked to be transferred to the person who would be her backup while she's out. Without much concern she told me there is no such person. She's it. Ah, government services. How a state function can come to a grinding halt because one person goes on vacation is beyond me. My sister is having her reference letter notarized (thanks MB!) and we wait for this one last step with the state, maybe 2 weeks, then we can bestow a pile of paperwork on Toni at AGCI and finally get on that list again. Don't ya love adoption drama? I know this process and know there is much more difficult waiting ahead but it's hard not to get caught up in the excitement of it all.

Our new family picture infront of the immigration office in Milwaukee. We tried to explain to Bear that the first time we were there it was just Mama and Dada and we were getting ready for HIM. You can see he was more interested in the truck across the street. :)

After this was taken, Dodd went back to work and Bear and I played for a while at the Betty Brinn's Children's Museum. Lake Michigan was shimmery and the Milwaukee tulips looked like electric lolipops set against the open wings of the Calatrava. We ate an ice cream sandwich and delicious tamales from a street vendor. Then we went home and took a nap. Happy day!