We have gotten through a couple more steps since the last update (when we got our LOA from China). After that we sent in all the paperwork for I800 which is a request to USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) to adopt OUR son - the specific child that China has now approved us to adopt. We previously got I800a approval which is permission from USCIS to adopt A child from China, but not specifically our son although we were already matched with him at that time.
So we sent all that paperwork off and it reached Texas on 7/31...and then we waited. It can take up to 30 days for this step but we got our approval 8/14 - yay! Next USCIS sends our information to NVC (National Visa Center). They issue us what's called a GUZ number. GUZ is an abbreviation for Guangzhou which is where the U.S. consulate is in China that we'll visit to get Cabot's visa to come to the United States. We have to have the GUZ # so we can fill out the DS-260 (immigrant visa) application. Then the DS-260 confirmation and the letter from the NVC (the one with the GUZ #) are sent to our agency's representative in China. They already have ALLLLL our other paperwork. They then take all this paperwork and drop it off at the actual consulate in Guangzhou (referred to as Article 5 drop off) then they'll be given a date to come pick it all up about 2 weeks later. This step is basically the U.S. consulate going over all our documents and information to make sure everything is on the up-and-up. They'll issue a document called the Article 5 and the agency representative will pick it up and send it to the CCCWA (China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption). They will review everything and then issue Travel Approval or TA. At that point our agency can schedule a consulate appointment and our Family/Gotcha Day and we can plan our travel.
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| I800 Approval - woohoo! |
We're currently at the Article 5 step.
Unfortunately our agency recently changed to only one travel group per month rather than every week. I don't think we're going to get travel approval in time for the October Family Day so we're thinking we'll travel at the beginning of November. I'm DYING to know exactly. I'm a planner and not knowing when we're leaving and meeting our son has been a HUGE struggle for me. I'm constantly trying to remind myself to trust in God's timing and everything will work out exactly as it's supposed to.
Just for fun if you got through all this, here's a couple pics we've gotten of Cab when he was younger.
