"LOA! LOA! LOA!"
After waiting 72 days, our LOA finally arrived! Technically it is called a “Letter seeking confirmation” and was sent by China to us saying that all of our paperwork has been reviewed and we are officially approved to adopt our baby boy. We are supposed to check the box saying we will accept him as our son, sign it, and mail it back to China. There is actually a box to check saying that we decline the match. Can you believe it? I couldn’t imagine after all this time, checking the “No” box.
So what’s next? Now we go through a very convoluted and confusing process of applying for Visa approval for Carter to enter the country as our child (at which point he will become a U.S. citizen.) After this approval, the US Visa Center, the US Consulate in Guangzhou, and the Chinese government have to communicate to each other that this approval has been granted. After the last two steps will be when we receive “TA” or travel approval from China to travel to go get our boy. After TA, we schedule our appointment with the U.S. Consulate in China where all of Carter’s final visa paperwork will need to be issued. Our trip will be scheduled backwards from our consulate appointment. (So hypothetically if our consulate appointment is on May 19th, we will leave on May 8th and get Carter on May 11th)
Confused? That’s ok because you really need an advanced degree to follow all these steps. Here is a chart that I borrowed from a friend’s blog (not sure where it originated from) that lays out all the back and forth steps. Essentially we are at step #9, waiting for #10 (I800 approval).
The short of it is, now that we have LOA, we are past all the big waiting times and should be leaving in about 9-10 weeks! (Maybe longer depending on whether or not we run into a road block during these next few steps.) We won’t know our exact dates of travel until about 1-3 weeks before we actually leave. So, if you see a crazy lady in a black SUV running around town in March and April, please just look away. It is hard to believe but we are in the homestretch of one of the longest, most emotional, and amazing journeys of our life. It is also hard to believe that on the other side of the world is a precious little boy who is busy being a toddler, learning how to walk and talk, and completely unaware that his family is racing towards him with our arms wide open.
Please pray that the next steps go smoothly, that we get an update from Carter’s orphanage soon (with pictures!) and that Carter’s heart is somehow ready for our arrival. I don’t know that you can prepare an 18 month old for something as traumatic as being scooped up and carried away from the only world you’ve ever known. But at the very least I am praying that all of the pictures we have sent are being shown to him every day so that when he sees our faces he will think, “Oh, there you are.” I am also praying for his foster mother who has been caring for him since last summer. If she loves him (which I believe she does) then this must be incredibly hard for her, too. I have been praying for her every day since we found out Carter was moved into a foster home. I know that the day that can't arrive soon enough for us is likely the day she is hoping won't come for a long, long time.
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