Finally Filed....

Well, it's off! My I600 was mailed today by UPS! (No, we don't get a discout just 'cause Al works there! I was just too late for the post office!) I sent it along with a pathetic letter BEGGING them to process it quickly! (My homestudy expires in 3 days, my fingerprints in 6! I'm hoping that will all be overlooked. Unsensibly optimistic, I know.)



For those of you who don't endlessly stalk adoption blogs, let me clarify:



The I600 is a petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative. It is sent to USCIS (immigration) for approval. They say it should take no more than two months to be processed. Assuming it is approved, the approval is then forwarded (electronically) to the US Embassy in Accra, Ghana.



The Embassy then supposedly sends a letter or email to let you know that your child's visa packet is ready for pickup at the embassy. (I have a friend stuck at this stage, waiting for word from the embassy. So we'll see how that works out. Hopefully quickly.)



Once the visa packet is picked up, I think a visa interview is scheduled. (The interviews are currently being scheduled a month or two out. Hopefully that'll start moving quicker too.)



After the visa interview(s), the visas are printed in about a week. (As long as the children have passports. I need to check on that again.) At that time, you are free to take your children home!



So, that is the process as I understand it. I could be wrong. Or it could change (which happens more often than not). But it seems like we may be nearing the end of this whole process. Thank God. I am exhausted!