So sorry that it's been so long since I've posted an update...2 months since my last one. People keep telling me (and I keep telling myself) that I need to update or I'm going to forget what has happened. Which is now the case. The details are starting to get fuzzy and run together, but I'm gonna do my best to recall them accurately.
Guess I better go back to the end of March. We received our completed home study on March 28th and realized at that point that there was more paperwork to do in order to submit that completed home study. The complete set of paperwork that is sent to Ethiopia consists of about 15 different things, only one of which is the home study. Thankfully, some of those things we already had (like birth certificates), so we set to work on getting the rest put together. And, in typical fashion, there were plenty of hiccups along the way. I found myself asking more than once, "why can't anything be simple??" I won't go into all the details of all the headaches, but to show you what I mean, I'll explain one. We have banked with the same bank for 18 years, and needed a letter stating simply that we have an account with them and that the account is in good standing. Very simple. Two sentences. And it had to be notarized. You'd think that would be quick and easy. You would be wrong. The bank said they can't write letters like that. What?? They can't write letters of any kind apparently. The lady I was talking to tried to help; she printed out a form letter that had the information I needed and way more that I didn't. It was signed by her. So I asked if she could please have someone notarize it.
"Yes, I'll notarize it", she said.
"Um. You can't notarize it if you also signed it", I say.
"Sure I can. I notarize stuff all the time."
"Yes, but not if you're THE ONE WHO SIGNED IT"
"Yes, but not if you're THE ONE WHO SIGNED IT"
I'm thinking the lady doesn't know what a notary is actually supposed to do. I was tired of trying to get what I needed so I agreed to whatever she wanted so I could leave. Figured I'd just call the main number for the bank and see what they could do for me. I can't be the only person who has ever needed such a thing from this bank!
So she signs the letter, and notarizes it(!!), and I leave. I decided to call the branch manager once I got home. I explained the situation and she was very helpful and got me exactly what I needed. I was so happy to go pick up the letter. But once I did I realized that the notary commission expired in just a few months. One of the things that we have been told many times is that the commission of the notary CANNOT expire within a year of signature. If it does, and someone looks at paperwork that has an expired signature, they will sometimes throw it out and ask for another. Didn't want to go that route. And definitely didn't want to deal with the bank to get ANOTHER letter from a different notary.
Next step: talk to someone I know who works for our bank in Corporate. They were able to get me a letter. BUT they couldn't have it notarized. So, I hired a notary to meet me, Bret, and this person on a Sunday afternoon so that it could all be official and finalized. Whew!
This is just one example of all the hoops of craziness that you have to jump through sometimes.
To continue: At the beginning of April, we mailed off our I-600a to Immigration. This is a form you need in order to get an appointment to have your fingerprints taken. I was under the impression that it would take awhile to get that process completed. At least two months or longer was my assumption. About two weeks later, we had a letter in our hands stating they had received our form. The letter also included our appointment time. The appointment was exactly one week later. One week later after our fingerprints were done, we received our Immigration Approval. The whole thing took a month.
All of the necessary dossier paperwork was completed, on it's way to our agency, and our last payment to the agency was made by May 4. That means our part of the process, the paperwork part, took 4 months and 2 days. And even better, that means the bulk of our paperwork part was done. And that makes me happy.
The next step was to have our agency look it all over and make sure everything was there and correct. It was. They sent it to the agency in Utah who actually holds the Ethiopian license and they are looking it over as well. Last I heard, that is where our paperwork is at, but I'm not sure if it is still there or has been sent on. It is supposed to go to DC and then on to Ethiopia, where we wait.
The agency has told me that the wait once we get our dossier to Ethiopia will be about 9 months. But I know that God is in control of the time table. It might be 9 months. It might be 3 months. It might be 19 months. I have no idea, but He does, and I know the timing will be perfect if He's in control.
