I'm starting this post with the positive news...look at that sweet baby girl! She turned 4 months old on Sunday. These photos are beautiful and also heartbreaking because we just heard from our agency yesterday afternoon that we have to postpone our travel. The U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS aka Homeland Security) has just decided to implement a new policy in the way one piece of the legal paperwork is filed. The form is called the I600 or the petition to classify orphan as an immediate relative. The way that this has been working is that families take this form with them when they travel, then file this with the US Embassy in Vietnam. The Embassy then looks over all of the legal documents that have been gathered for the baby and makes sure that everything is legit. Then they issue the baby's passport and visa to come home. Now, the USCIS wants this form filed in the states before families travel. As far as our agency knows, they plan to implement this change on Oct 29th...one day before we are scheduled to travel. At this point our agency is telling all families that were scheduled to be in Hanoi by Nov 3rd (I believe there are five families) that we need to cancel our travel plans, submit our I600 to USCIS and then travel. This means that we need to wait for all the documents for baby girl that are in Vietnam to get here, then send in the I600 with the documents, wait for approval (which at this point they are saying will be about 3 weeks, but who knows), then we can travel. I cannot even begin to express how disappointed, saddened and angry we feel right now. There are so many negative things that I could say right now about what I think about the USCIS office...but none of it will do any good. I have done a lot of crying and now it's time to look for the positive and move forward. I'll keep you all updated.
I'm starting this post with the positive news...look at that sweet baby girl! She turned 4 months old on Sunday. These photos are beautiful and also heartbreaking because we just heard from our agency yesterday afternoon that we have to postpone our travel. The U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services (USCIS aka Homeland Security) has just decided to implement a new policy in the way one piece of the legal paperwork is filed. The form is called the I600 or the petition to classify orphan as an immediate relative. The way that this has been working is that families take this form with them when they travel, then file this with the US Embassy in Vietnam. The Embassy then looks over all of the legal documents that have been gathered for the baby and makes sure that everything is legit. Then they issue the baby's passport and visa to come home. Now, the USCIS wants this form filed in the states before families travel. As far as our agency knows, they plan to implement this change on Oct 29th...one day before we are scheduled to travel. At this point our agency is telling all families that were scheduled to be in Hanoi by Nov 3rd (I believe there are five families) that we need to cancel our travel plans, submit our I600 to USCIS and then travel. This means that we need to wait for all the documents for baby girl that are in Vietnam to get here, then send in the I600 with the documents, wait for approval (which at this point they are saying will be about 3 weeks, but who knows), then we can travel. I cannot even begin to express how disappointed, saddened and angry we feel right now. There are so many negative things that I could say right now about what I think about the USCIS office...but none of it will do any good. I have done a lot of crying and now it's time to look for the positive and move forward. I'll keep you all updated.
4 comments:
shoot. i've been reading a lot of blogs today with families affected by this. i am so sorry.
your dd is adorable in those new photos.
Katy, Dan and Aiden, I am sorry to hear of this, what a disappointment. I will keep you in my thoughts, maybe she will be a christmas baby! I know this must feel like time standing still and very frustrating, just know how many people are thinking of you. She is so stinkin cute!!! When she gets older, you will have quite the story to tell her of your patience, and how much you loved her before you even met. Call if you want to chat--Susan
The new photos are amazing! I am sorry that the new rules are affecting your travel dates, but I hope that you are able to travel soon.
Your 4 month old sweetie is absolutely beautiful. My heart breaks for you and all the families who were affected by this news today. Please know we are praying for you tonight and in the days to come.
Post a Comment