US Final Approval Granted!

It has been a great day!  I called USCIS this evening and found out that our I-800 application as been approved today!   Today is my birthday, so that was a GREAT birthday gift!!  I came home to a great dinner made by John and the boys, a cake in the shape of an eyeball :)   (I am an optometrist for those who don't know!), and beautiful flowers that Kyle and Emily picked from our back yard and arranged!  We also received our visas in the mail today!  Whew!!  What a great day!!

Didn't they do a great job! So pretty!

 

This week, we sent a package to Shay using Ann of Red Thread.  We sent her a photo album with pictures of all of us, a blanket, PJ's, a backpack and stuffed animal of a well known Chinese character, Mei Yang Yang or pleasant goat as it is called here, a camera so that she can take pictures of her friends and favorite things, a journal that we hope the orphanage nannies will share stories in, a USB drive that we hope they will fill with pictures of Shay, and a bag of lollipops to share with the other kids.  We are also sending clothing for the other children.  Shay should be receiving it any day. It makes us a little nervous honestly!  We wonder what she will think when she sees our photos.  Will it make her sad to realize she is leaving the only family she has ever really known?  Will she be excited to come to America?  I'm sure we look nothing like she would expect.  There are so many emotions to process.  We are hoping for a new update of photos.  We did receive a written update on Shay.  It sounds like she is a happy little girl as well as pretty strong willed!  Hmm.....we have a few of those personalities in our household....Yep!  She should fit right in!  :)

 

 

So now we are on to our next steps.  These are quick, but a little more confusing! (I am copying some of this info from Emily's blog!) 

 

First the USCIS (US Citizenship ad Immigrations Service) will send our I-800 approval by 2-day air to the National Visa Center.  It takes a few days to log the information in and then the NVC will "cable" (email) our file to the US Embassy in Gaungzhou, China.  This is the paperwork we need for Shay's visa petition.

 

The next step is getting our Article 5 letter.  We will get a copy of the NVC cable and send it by email to our agency who will forward it the their in-China representative.  In the meantime, we will fill out Shay's visa application online.  The in-China rep will hand deliver the NVC letter to the US Embassy along with our LOA (Official Letter of Approval from China). The US Embassy only allows representatives to drop off the paperwork on certain days  The consulate takes a standard 2 weeks to review Shay's visa application, make sure it meets the qualifications for an immigrant visa and then signs off that everything is in order for our adoption to be completed.  Whew!  That is our Article 5.

 

Once our Article 5 is picked up from the consulate it will be delivered directly to the CCCWA for Travel Approval!  It takes 1-3 weeks to get TA.  Once we have our travel approval, our agency will set up our Consulate appointment which is our last stop in China prior to coming back home with Shay.  As soon as we know our CA date, we can book our travel and GO!!! 

 

Shay's update said that she loves to dress up in pretty clothes...I can't wait to have two of these little princesses home forever!!!  :)