USCIS Appointment

Last week we received our packets in the mail, with instructions and an appointment for finalizing our children's United States Citizenship! We were very excited to receive this, after no communication from USCIS after we'd sent in the additional documentation they'd requested. I'm glad that they did, in fact, accept our scanned photocopy of our Haitian adoption decrees, and classified us into "Category 1".

We have a lot of paperwork to complete before our appointment. This includes USCIS forms I-485 (and its hefty fee) and I-864W, one of each for each child. We have to have a "civil surgeon" (a physician from USCIS' approved list) see our children, review their immunizations and TB test results, and fill out a form for each child - which they are to seal and we are to bring to our appointment. We have to bring two passport photos for each child. We also have to bring our own IDs and passports, plus any airline and hotel receipts and photos of us with our children in Haiti to prove that we'd met them before our Haitian adoption decree was finalized.

We have been asked to bring along copies of our children's birth certificates, IBESR approval, and judgement papers, and their English translations. These are the additional documentation papers that were requested of us in August. We submitted them via email as we had our adoption decrees back in July, but received no response, so I'm more than happy to make another copy of them if that's what it takes.

The one piece that I'm concerned about is the I-94. I understand that this is a small white card, about the size of a business card. It is what USCIS provides non-immigrants as proof of their arrival into the US. It should have the person's name, date of birth, Alien registration number, and a stamp noting their entry status - which for our children, is Humanitarian Parole. People that enter the US with a passport apparently have this card stapled into their passports, but since our children did not have passports, we were told it should have been handed to us when they released our children to us.

This was not handed to us. I was sleep deprived at the time our children were released to us, having been awake for over 40 hours at that point, but I remember those last few hours like they were yesterday. I remember the officials in charge, saying to keep the documents they gave us safe, as we would need them later on. I remember them having us to sign one last document as we walked back out of the secured area. I remember them handing us the two white sheets of paper for each child (they are each 8 1/2 x 11 size papers), and immediately putting them into my blue folder and into our backpack so they would be safe. There were no small white cards given to us.

So, I'm concerned that we don't have these cards. I've emailed our local immigration office, and our officer has emailed back that he would research the issue. He recommended that we bring whatever documentation that we were given, to our appointment, and that he would get back to us with any further instructions. I did a little research myself, and there is another form that people can fill out to get "Replacement" I-94 cards. There is a hefty fee, which we would have to pay per child, if this is what is required for us. My issue, though is that we were not given an I-94 to begin with, so I hope they don't require this. If we do, we do, but we shall see.

We are praying that this doesn't cause us any unnecessary delays in processing Elijah & Josephine's citizenship. We are praying that we go to our appointment on October 20th, and come out of the Neal Smith Federal Building with Elijah & Josephine's Certificates of Citizenship in our hands and our two newest US Citizens in our arms! If all goes well, we'll definitely be celebrating!

We are currently checking into the process to get our children's names officially changed to Elijah and Josephine once they become US Citizens. We will also be able to get them US birth certificates, then social security numbers, and then passports if we so choose. Even though Iowa does not require readoption, we are considering doing it, for many reasons. After speaking with an adoption lawyer, it would be an option to finalize Elijah & Josephine's readoption on National Adoption Day, as we did for Kaylen's adoption. That was such a blessing to us, but we're still working on decisions and details, so stay tuned!

And please keep us in your prayers, that all of the above goes smoothly. There has to be SOMETHING about this adoption that goes right, doesn't there? And to GOD be the glory! Thank you Jesus, that they are home and thriving. I cannot wait until this is all behind us and we can move ahead without worrying about further paperwork and red tape.

This Psalm was shared by another adoptive mom, who will be bringing home her son this week. It's one of my favorites, and I was reminded of why. God is so good - my hope is in Him!

Psalm 146
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.

2 I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.

4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,

6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,

8 the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.

9 The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.