Immigration 101...tiny, update

No real news right now. I have had additional correspondence with our social worker and I now understand we will still need to wait for Immigration approval before we can be matched with a referral. Immigration clearances 'usually' come within 12 weeks of the official filing date, which for us was July 27th...so I'm hoping for October. There is always the possibility it could come earlier, but with anything government related it is better to expect delays and be pleasantly surprised.

Immigration approval will come in the form of a document called the I-171-H --if you want to know "International Adoption Lingo" then this term should be on your list. The I-171-H is a cause of celebration (if it comes early or on time), and frustration (for the delays of course). Visit any on-line forum related to International Adoption from any country and it will be peppered with headlines that read "Woo-Hoo---I-717H approval today!"....or "Venting--TRIED to contact Immigration about I-171-H". It is a monumental milestone in the International Adoption process because without it, an International Adoption cannot occur. Some may think of it as the equivalent to seeing the heartbeat on the ultrasound (I apologize if that offends anyone for any reason). I should also make you aware that the whole Immigration approval process carries with it a bit of mystery because there seems to be little consistency in time frames, there are miraculous reports of 4 week approvals and nightmare scenarios of lost paperwork and 6 month waits for the I-171-H. Accordingly, you will hear of prospective International Adoptive parents doing the "I-171-H" chant, dance, or other miscellaneous ritual in an attempt to speed the process.

SO....that whole explanation is why you should be happy for us when you see the headline "Woo-Hoo...received our I-171-H approval today!" in our blog :)

We plan to attend an agency sponsored picnic on September 15th so will have another opportunity to talk with our Social Worker at that point...will definitely post again after that if we don't receive any new news until then.

Oh...check out our new photo (under the favorite links on the right of this blog)...it is among several that will be sent with our homestudy to Korea...thanks to Alex's best friend Brennan for snapping the shot!
Thanks for reading!