extant

Yes, we're still here!

Sorry it's been so long and I haven't given an update. We have received another referral and said yes. He was born in March of 2014 and is listed as having been admitted to the hospital for a couple of weeks shortly after coming to the orphanage. We're not sure what the infection's complications will mean, especially since we're dealing with Chinese documents that have been translated into English. Hopefully we'll know more when we bring him home and have a full checkup. He's located in the Guizhou province, btw, if you want to research that area a little bit.

We are all translated and logged into the computer, so that means we can look at a general timeline now. This is what our social worker sent us:

Receive Letter of Acceptance (LOA)*: This can take anywhere from 1 ½ - 4 months from Pre-Approval.  This letter is specifically agreeing to you being this child's parents, and that the CCCWA officially agrees to the match!

File I-800 (different than the I-800A) with USCIS: Usually takes 3 weeks.

Submit for & receive Article 5 approval from Guangzhou:  Usually takes 3 weeks.

Receive Travel Approval (TA): This can take anywhere from 3-4 weeks.

2-5 weeks later, fly to China to get your child!

Because we've not gotten this far before, I wasn't remembering that it was okay to start showing his picture off... Fortunately, a good friend asked when she'd get to see him and I now have one on my phone. I may still not remember to pull it up, as this part of the waiting is surreal (and we've been 'in waiting' for years now) and won't feel real until we're back home when everything's complete.

*Need another perspective on that LOA? Here's a blog post documenting another family's experience.