Last Step State-Side

I was so nervous this morning. I asked a few friends to pray for me and I called my mom to have her do the same with me over the phone. Then, hands shaking, I dialed the number for the National Benefits Center (NBC) and entered opion #2 for adoptions.

Because the agency we are working with in Korea is so fast, we were concerned that waiting for USCIS approval might delay our travel call. Hence the call to the NBC to ask if there might be something they could do to help us out with the approval of our I600A and the I600.

I got my first dose of good news....we had finally been assigned an officer to our case after 2.5 weeks of waiting for someone to even look at our paperwork. I was glad for that. Once transferred, I expected to get the Officer's voicemail. Much to my surprise, she answered the phone. I'm sure I sounded like a bumbling idiot...I was so nervous. I didn't want to say the wrong thing, not ask the right questions, lose my one chance to plead my case. I won't lie to you...the first part of the conversation didn't flow smoothly and based off of her voice, I wasn't so sure she was going to (or be willing to) help me out.

With the phone shaking against my face from nerves, I told her the reason for my call. The Officer then asked for my receipt number and told me that I still needed to get fingerprints done. I told her that we went in early, Feb 22 to be exact, and we were all done. "I don't get updates so I would have never known that unless you called to tell me. I see your appt wasn't originally until March 15, so I wouldn't have looked at your file for days from now" was her reply. Whoa. Sooo glad I called if not for this reason alone! She told me she would take a look at our petition. But before I could let her go, I needed her to know that we also had the next step (I600) already there at the NBC as well...just under a different receipt number. After a long, long pause...she said that it would only make sense if she tracked it down and just approved both of them at the same time. Whew! That's exactly what I wanted to hear. :)

I don't know how fast it will get taken care of, but at least I know we are not at the bottom of a pile anymore. I didn't dare ask for specifics in case I made her mad and she changed her mind...so I thanked her profusely for what she was doing and told her I was grateful she had taken my call.

I most likely won't know about approval until the notice comes by snail-mail. But no matter how slow the US Postal Service is, by the time I get that piece of paper, our notification will be sitting at the Embassy in Seoul.

Can't wait to check off this last step state-side...then everything will be on Korean soil!

I can not wait to get my newest daughter home!! Mama's coming, Cora!!