Fingerprint Time

Well....almost.

Let's go back just a little bit. Back on February 13th, we were able to put our I-600A Application in the mail via Express Mail to the Dept of Homeland Security/U.S. CIS (Citizenship & Immigration).  We were so excited to be able to do it so soon because the one thing we were waiting on was our approved home study report.

Then on February 21st, we received our receipt in the mail saying that they received it and were proccesing our application. I thought for sure that we were going to be waiting well into March to receive notice on our fingerprint appointment with U.S. CIS.

So this morning was just a regular day retrieving mail at the mailbox when I see this:

Could it be? A fingerprint notice? No. Maybe something's wrong and we didn't sign something or have everything that was required. Please note that I consider myself to be way organized and very efficient when it comes to paperwork. It's my thing.....it's what I do. So all of this internal dialogue was just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo because this is what was inside our envelopes:

Can you read that?

It says March 20th. Just 3 weeks away!!

This is very significant and very important. Aftern we go to have these fingerprints taken, the results will be sent directly to the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The fingerprint results will be valid for 15 months. This means that internationally our background check will be cleared and we'll be approved to adopt a child from Ethiopia.

It would be ideal if I could say that this paperwork was the only thing we were waiting on before we could send in our dossier. However, this time around, it's just not the case. If you remember from my waiting blog post, I mentioned that we were still waiting on our doctor's office in-house notary to receive her stamp kit. Well, that hasn't changed. So even though there are still pieces of paperwork that have to get notarized, passport photos that have to be taken, and our Power of Attorney form that has to be county & state certified (because we live in Ohio), they are still all things that take no more than an hour or two to complete. We are also waiting on two of the most important documents that are needed for the dossier: our letters of recommendation. I'm so glad that we asked who we asked and that they are diligent in getting those completed and notarized for us.

Now, having said all that, here is how I know that God is in control: Even if all of the paperwork were sitting right in front of me, waiting to be picked up by UPS or FedEx or whatever, the fact remains that we are just a few dollars short of our dossier fee. And in the end, even if the dossier is sent in without the fee, it won't be looked at until the money is in hand. So I know there's no reason for me to get all anxiety-ridden at this point because God is not ready for us to turn in our dossier, even if I am! J

To those of who who prayed for us to have a quick turnaround time with U.S CIS and the paperwork, thank you so much. Your prayers were heard and we are very grateful. Please continue to pray that all of our paperwork continues to move steadily forward and that by the time we have our full dossier fee, our medical forms will be notarized. J Thank you!