Garden Variety Family

paper push

Now the paper push.  I have chased down all the required paperwork now we are pushing it through the process with hope and faith in the hands that we must trust to handle it, and our future, now...we are DTC (Date to China) today, March 30, 2007!  I feel like I have joined a club.

stop increased uscis fees

Bureaucracy strikes again.  But we can strike back! I am passing along this important information about the increase of USCIS fees.  It is important that everyone respond to get you voice heard.  Please read this whole post and act right away.  The more responses the more likely we can effect the policy before it goes into effect.  Below is  the content I copied from an email sent by my agency Great Wall China Adoption.  There are only a few days to act, the deadline is April 2, so please do it now, whether you are adopting or not the creation of families should not be hindered by more expenses in an already exorbitant process.

Fee Increase Proposal

On February 1, 2007, USCIS published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the Federal Register that would substantially raise filing fees for most types of cases.  If the proposed rule is adopted, filing fees would increase by an average of 66% over current fees.  The proposed rule is subject to a 60-day comment period that ends on April 2, 2007.  At the end of the comment period, USCIS will review and consider the comments it has received on its proposed rule.  USCIS will then send its final proposal to the Office of Management and Budget for review.  The OMB will make a final decision on the fee increase and issue the final rule.

Timing of Potential Increase

Fortunately, the “adjusted” fees will not take effect until the public has an opportunity to comment. The comment period is 60 days beginning February 1, 2007, and ending on April 2, 2007.  The increase in fees should not become effective until June 2007 at the earliest.

Adoption-Related Petitions Affected by the Proposed Increase

                                       

Form	Petition Type	Current Fee	Proposed Fee
I-600/600A	Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative	$ 545	$ 670
N-565	Application for Replacement of Certificate of Citizenship (used for name changes)	$ 220	$ 380
N-600	Application for Certificate of Citizenship	$ 255	$ 460
	Biometric Services (fingerprints)	$  70	$  80

Together, Let’s Make a Difference!

Adoption is expensive enough already, and it is unconscionable to raise fees by up to 66% for adoption-related petitions.  This can be fought, but it needs action by everyone in the adoption community.  Please forward this e-mail on to anyone who would like to see the increase rejected.  You action is needed quickly as we only have a week left to voice our objections.

Submit Your Comments to USCIS by April 2, 2007

Anyone may comment on the proposed regulation. Those interested in commenting should take time to review the proposed regulation and formulate logical, potentially persuasive statements.  Comments will be made public, as they will be posted as submitted at www.regulations.gov.  One should NOT include any personal detail unless s/he is willing to share it freely.  While no one likes prices to go up, simply complaining about the increase in costs is unlikely to have an impact.

Comments must be received by April 2, 2007, and must reference the agency name (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), as well as the docket number (USCIS-2006-0044).  Comments may be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main, the Federal Rule-making Portal.Conclusion

Voicing your opinion makes you part of the democratic process, and this is how the U.S. government and legal systems are supposed to work.  Although most of us hesitate to publicly comment, the government really does carefully consider the content of comments, as well as the sheer number of those responding. When USCIS introduced regulations to reduce the time for B-2 tourist visits from six months to 30 days, for example, there were more than 10,000 comments. That convinced the USCIS to shelve the proposal.   Remember, the key is the QUANTITY of responses they get.  It should not be difficult to get at least 10,000 of us to comment.  Please take the time today to do this.

 

red tape, red thread, red cape

The "pregnancy" test is done!  Yes, I am DONE!!!!  It has only taken 5 months for the little positive mark to appear.  Our Dossier is finished!  I ExpressMailed it to my agency yesterday.  By 3pm today--it should be in review. 

I knew our authenticated I-171H was arriving yesterday.  By 1:30 I was off to the post office looking for it.  I thought it was guaranteed by noon but it was guaranteed by 3pm, the "guaranteed by" time is the one bit of information I couldn't find on the tracking tool on the USPS web site.

So in my panic I ran to the post office knowing they would be trying to deliver it while I was gone.  I walked into the post office as calmly as I could and started asking about it, before I could finish the post office lady said, "he is probably at your house right now, he just left about 10 minutes ago".  Of course, Karin's law.  My town is so small population-wise he only had 2 express mail deliveries to do. So I wouldn't be waiting long, thankfully.  Wow, there really are some advantages to living in a dinky town... (Tip: I don't know if it would have been possible to get it so quickly after a failed attempt, from say, FedEx or UPS and yes the small town part helps too.)

Naturally, in my frenzy to find out where my mail was I didn't bring my agency address -- back home I went and my I-171H was there by the time I returned, I  copied it and sent it out.   Now, I am told that it will be wired to China on Friday, there should be enough time for my Dossier consultant to go over it and get it out on that red thread to China. (another Tip: when researching agencies, ask how often they send dossiers to China)

Only, now, 18 hours later as I am writing this, is it starting to sink in.  All this happened on the day I was getting my taxes together. I scheduled our tax appointment thinking I would be waiting for adoption paperwork to be processed not knowing that this would be the day I would be done.  I managed to get our taxes done and get our dossier in on the same day!  I feel so effiecient, so organized, like a mighty multi-tasker, like, dare I say, a super-mom!--it just occurs to me that I am wearing this red cape that my grandparents sent for Christmas to keep me cozy.  dun-da-da!

signs of a spring

My eyes welled with tears as I hung up the phone just a few minutes ago.  I am overwhelmed with this  confluence of emotion that manifested itself in these tears.  Our documents came back from the consulate much sooner than expected.  My life's labor of the last 5 months is coming to a close.  My last of piece of paperwork that needs authentication is on its way to the Chinese Consulate in New York in the hands of a hired courier at Legal-Eaze.  I called my Dossier consultant to get everything squared away that I need for the completion of the dossier, like copies of our home study agency's license and non-profit status, our lifestyle photos, etc...  I was gathering final details and asking what to expect in the next month or so. 

I've read so many blogs of people who are in the referral phase of the process and in a way it has seemed that was a place I would never be.  Not because I am pessimistic, just because it seemed like a different life all together. 

I don't know what to expect I have never been a parent before I'm on the edge of a new life and I am doing it in a way that nearly no one around me can advise me on.  I don't have any know-it-all, been-there-done-that adoptive mothers who offer the all knowing advice like these high powered moms who dispense pregnancy knowledge at baby showers as if they had some certification, maybe it would be a MMA (Master's of Mommy Administration).

I am on new ground and I can't wait to start this waiting phase. It still doesn't seem real that there is a baby girl, my baby girl waiting for me at the end of all this effort.  I will graduate from this paperwork to the nesting phase preparing for a girl who will fill our lives.  From the cold sharp edges of the paper process to the gooey fun of decorating and shopping!  WooHoo!!

for next time

I have been quite busy since my last post.  I rushed to get my I-171H notarized and certified so I could send it off to good 'ole NYS to get it authenticated.  I noticed later how badly written my last post was.  Forgive me, I was excited.   

The notary I used received her certificate in a different county and insisted that since she was doing the notarization in my county it would be ok.  Against my better judgment I let her do it.  Of course, she didn't know what she was talking about and once I got to the county clerk they wouldn't certify it.   It turns out that all this time I have been going to a notary and then to the county clerk I could have just gone to the county clerk and they would have done both the notary and the certification for me at the same time.  It makes sense but it never occurred to me and they never offered until I was against the wall with this invalid notarization.   They were so helpful, they made a new notarial statement out of the bad one I had by whiting out and blocking out the other notary with white paper and then making new copies so I could have it re-notarized by them.

So now at this point I am waiting for the Chinese Consulate to do their thing.  The New York Consulate is slow, I shouldn't expect anything until the end of the month.  I am going to hire a courier to handle my I-171H so I don't have to wait any longer than the time it takes for the pile of documents they already have.

i need a tissue

Someone lend me your ear and a tissue please! 

We are having a bit of a thaw today so I thought I'd go outside a scrape off the slushy build up that is on our drive.  It was a thick layer of ice last week.  The mail truck went by so I wandered out to the mail box, and wonder of a most amazing wonders...Our I-171H!  We only filed our I-600A on February 20th!  I can't believe this!  I am so excited and I have no one here to talk to except a blog post page and the answering machines of my friends, my sister, my husband and dossier consultant.  No one is available!!!  I want to run to the city now to get it notarized etc. Oh beautiful New York bureaucracy! 

My god I don't have my lifestyle photos done yet.

This is so smooth so far, my baby girl is getting more real every day.  I am going to be a mommy!

thousand helping hands

As I begin to see the signs of the winter fading--our dossier phase is waning.  Being released of the weight of all that paperwork is like a springtime for me.  I have collected all the necessary documents, 13 in all.  I had each one notarized, county certified, state authenticated and now with a pit in my stomach they are on their way to be authenticated by the appropriate Chinese Consulates.  Even though I am nervous and I am not completely done, I do feel a sense of relief that, even if just for a little while, the paperwork is out of my hands. 

I found this oh, so appropriate video over at the awesome lipsticking blog--had to have it here. 

Here is the description of the dance:

As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
A thousand hands will naturally come to your aid
As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
You will reach out with a thousand hands to help others

The dancers represent Guan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion, revered by Buddhists as the Goddess of Mercy. Her name is short for Guan Shi Yin. Guan means to observe, watch, or monitor; Shi means the world; Yin means sounds, specifically sounds of those who suffer. Thus, Guan Yin is a compassionate being who watches for, and responds to, the people in the world who cry out for help.

The dance was performed by the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe.
All of the 21 dancers

on the verge

Well, here is the last pile of paper work that needs yet another  authentication, this time the Chinese Consulate in New York.  Of course the New York Consulate is the slowest, so I can't expect them to be returned for 3 weeks. 

Requirements for this application remind me of those tests you would take in middle school.  You know the one's that said "read everything before completing this test".  Many students would rush through is answering questions right away and then when they got to the end the final direction of the test was not to answer anything but to hand in the test completely blank, aside from your name.  The New York Consulate website is kinda the same.  As you scroll and read more and more there are many "dos" and "don'ts". 

If it isn't done just right they threaten that the whole thing will be returned, or even worse you threaten the status of any future applications. There is a warning that hearkens to old Communist days.  You screw up once your are black listed for life.  It cracks me up but at the same time I just want to get everything right because this paperwork NEEDS to leave.  I want to hurry up and wait already--Is that too much to ask!?!?!  This is America after all!