i-797c Notice of Action

We received the i-797c Notice of Action. Its not a rally big deal but every step and every piece of paper we receive is very exciting to us! Eeeeek!!!    The i-797c is simply a notification that payment has been taken, which indicates our i-800 application was successfully submitted. Next we will receive notice that our biometrics appointment has been scheduled at a local USCIS support center. Not sure exactly what the timeline is on that but I am thinking another 60-70 days.
Mean while we are getting our Hague training underway!

Hague Training

Thanks to Eva's Bags we are just about at our fundraising goal for the on-line Hauge training. We waited for this training because we wanted to take the training through Great Wall vs. another provider and the program through Great Wall was just recently launched. David and I are required to take at least 10 hours of  "parental training" which is  geared toward educating us on: becoming a mutlicultural family, healthy attachments,  life inside the orphanage, health and development of orphaned children, travel to China, etc. We are looking forward to the training while we await the response to our i-800 application. If you are interested in learining more about the courses, click this link....http://www.adoptionmomentsonline.org/main.php

Vital document authentications are back but not for long!

Our marriage license and my birth certificates arrived back from the California Secretarty of State on Friday and David's birth certificate came back from Minnesota Secretary of State today so they are officially authenticated by thier respective heads of State. The same documents are now being prepared for yet another journey...to the Chinese Consulates for authentication.

The two California documents go to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco and the Minnesota one goes to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago.  Bye bye...see you in a few weeks!

I-800 Application in Process

We are submitting the I-800 aka Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country. Here is a link or more information. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=af78b3dfc7c58110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=847d18a1f8b73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

The process timeframe is 60-90 days. Once we are granted approval we will receive an I-797 - Notice of Approved Action or Notice of Favorable  Determination. Then David adn I will receive instructions to go to a special location for more fingerprints. The I-797 notification of the approval will be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) to be kept on file along with our fingerprints for visa processing later. Here is a link for more information:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9fcd18a1f8b73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9fcd18a1f8b73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

We now need to start saving for the the second agency fee of $2,500 so that when we get the I-797 we can send all our paperwork (Dossier) to China and get our log in date!