Keep Praying for That I-171H

Well, it's been seven weeks since we sent in our I-600A application and we have not received our I-171H yet. :::: sigh :::: My poor mail carrier, I am going to have to start stalking her again.

After two phone calls last week to USCIS and no reply, I sent an email over the weekend and received a prompt, but generic response. It stated, "All adoptions were just centralized here at the NBC as of July 1, 2010. As a result, we have a back log. Cases are handled in the order they are received and fingerprint dates do not necessarily determine that order." That was good to know. I was wondering how they determine the order and was disappointed when Kira had to wait so long to get her prints taken.

We sent in our application on July 10, so it looks like we made it just in time to be with all of the other cases that are back logged. Oh joy.

I had also asked about getting our case expedited because I am starting to freak out about cutting it close by getting our dossier submitted to Aly's country before they stop accepting them for the winter. That request was met with, USCIS policy is "to expedite for life threatening medical emergencies where the child needs immediate medical treatment".

I did appreciate this part, "please know that our officers are working hard, even extra evening and weekend hours to process these cases as quickly as possible." I do feel sorry for everyone working at the USCIS, I really do. I can't imagine doing your job and having someone come in and change things around. You fall behind, and watch your never ending stack of work continue growing right before your very eyes. We've all been there and it can be very frustrating to be in that situation.

I'm curious what their current average time is. From what I'm gathering it sounds like it is somewhere between 8-12 weeks. When I heard it took one family three months, I was shocked. If we didn't receive ours for three months that would be too late and we would have to wait until February to submit our dossier. That would mean having to wait until possibly April to see my little Aly.

Bottom line... keep praying!!! God can do great things and He can get us that I-171H so we can bring Aly home asap.

- - - - - - - - -

Good news. I just found out that Aly's country will still be accepting dossiers through November! They still close down for two weeks during October (they shut down every quarter for two weeks), but this is such good news. Aly won't have to wait until spring to come home. I can't believe we are getting so close!