Well, I can now say I am officially FRUSTRATED with this process!! After the initial paperwork taking three months I am now embarking on part of it again. Our approval from USCIS ( ie. immigration) expires on 1/9/11 and obviously we are not going to have our child home before that date. We are allowed a free, one-time, extension of that approval but it requires a home-study update. Stupidly, I thought it was nothing more than a simple letter from our social worker stating nothing had changed. WRONG!! We have to redo almost our entire home study! Not only do we have to have another home visit but we have to have another fire inspection, get our medicals redone, get our child abuse clearances again (which I was told is taking two months), get another reference, and get fingerprinted AGAIN---for like the tenth time!
When we began this process it was 4-6 months for a referral, hence, we would have been there and done that with our child home before any of this became an issue. Now that we have been waiting almost 16 months it is a different story. Aside from the additional paperwork, we are also looking at more unanticipated expense--cost of fingerprints as well as the home study update. Our agency is also increasing their fees the middle of this month for those that don't have a referral yet. I'm not holding my breath on making that cut-off.
I know this will all be worth it in the end but let me tell you, adoption is not easy! I would almost rather go through labor and delivery ten more times than have to jump through all these hoops! Sorry for the venting but sometimes you just have to let it out. Hopefully my next post will be a happier one!
It's been a LONG while
1 year ago
1 comment:
Hi Kim....thought I'd stop by this morning...
I remember those feelings well when I realized what we had to go through AFTER waiting all this time. I was like "ARE YOU KIDDING ME???" It's like telling a pregnant woman in her 8th month that she has to go back and start with month 2 again!! ugh.
Just think...we had to do medicals again for 8 family members!! =( We also had added Hana to our family last December, that was a big change and one of our daughters had just turned 18!! Yep...she now had to get the background checks and to be fingerprinted!! =( The first time around we were forced to do that for our oldest daughter who was living her at the time but we knew wouldn't be here when our little one arrived home. What a waste of money!!
I felt like we were starting at the beginning again and I hear ya, it was slightly depressing. But we took it one step at a time and made it through. Just an FYI ...you don't have to pay for the re-fingerprinting either....USCIS gives you one time free for that and the I-600A. =)
Hang in there.....I know it's painful.....but look on the bright side.....you've done it before so now you know just what to do and this is also keeping you busy and getting your mind off the WAITING!!
Peace....
Post a Comment