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i800-what you say?
i800a…It’s adoption-speak for one of the longest phases of the international adoption process. The i800a is a form sent to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Since I haven’t been the most timely blogger, let’s take a brief stroll through our adoption memory lane. Our i800a was received (via a lockbox in Texas) back in October. On November 14, the three of us hit the mean streets of downtown Cincinnati to get our fingerprints done at our local immigration office. It was scheduled to be a school day for Hannah but she ended up joining us due to a self-described “porcupine in the throat”. On December 23, Adam and I were excited to see an envelope from immigration. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a request for more evidence. Our agency caseworker contacted immigration on our behalf and our application must have been approved later that day. We received the hard copy today!
It means that we are (tentatively) approved by US Immigration to adopt a child from a Hague convention country (which includes China). The i800a approval specifies the age, disability, and even gender of the child we are approved to adopt. It’s a big step because the wait for this approval is one of the longest parts of the process. We still have LOTS to do but many of the other steps will (hopefully) move faster.
We’ve officially entered panic mode as we try to get our dossier completed as quickly as possible. The dossier is a compilation of a number of documents-everything from letters from our employers to medical check-ups. These have to be notarized and then authenticated at a state and national level. It feels a little overwhelming but I know we can do it. Should you be one of the fortunate few we’ll be hounding for paperwork, please forgive/understand. We don’t want Eli to wait a moment more than he has to.
I hope this adds a little clarity to this phase of the process. Questions are always welcome. If you wonder, feel free to ask.
Next up: a fundraising update. Stay tuned!
Our family just wrapped up an epic Christmas-celebrated no less than SEVEN times with family members and friends near and far. We are thankful, happy, full, and a little exhausted! While we had an amazing holiday, Eli was never far from our minds. I cannot wait to have even more turtles, ponies, or whatever he loves circling our tree and our fireplace really needs that fourth stocking. Even Hannah thought of Eli often this month. Her most memorable time being a false identification after swim lessons. She thought another child might be Eli and was suddenly extremely excited! In trying to head off what could be a pretty embarrassing/confusing situation, I tried to tell her quickly that A) That wasn’t Eli and B) We should not go embrace the child without asking! Hannah somewhat got the message and said, “Oh-are we not allowed to take kids?” She keeps us laughing…and alert!
A little before Christmas, an amazing surprise popped up in my inbox-an update on Eli. The adoption world is tricky. There’s a process for EVERYTHING. You are only allowed to request updates every few months. Each update also typically comes at a cost. We’ve been working hard to save and fundraise so while I’d love to request an update every day, we try to have some restraint! Updates also come with measurements, which can be helpful for planning everything from clothing sizes to car seats. After some serious practice in self-control, we finally submitted our request for an update around Thanksgiving. We were so disappointed to have our e-mails returned as undeliverable. I turned to our agency. They once again saved the day and I had an update by the next morning!
Our first realization was this: He’s grown so much! From the pictures and reports, it looks as though Eli is no longer in foster care and is back in the orphanage. This sometimes happens when a child is matched with a family. It could also be just part of a transition period or some children come and go from the orphanage to foster homes pretty frequently. It’s tough not knowing…..What I do know is that Eli has lost his front teeth! His nannies report that he is active, smart, and helpful. He is protective of younger children and loves the playground. His giggles are apparently contagious and I can’t wait to hear them echo our halls.
I’m eager to share several other updates in the coming days but I’ll start with the very best-new pictures of Eli:) 
