FINAL STEPS.....

Final Steps in our Adoption:
Things get very confusing from here, but there are several last steps required to assure we maintain the Hague standards of Adoption.  Here are a few acronyms and then our timeline/explanation:

• USCIS - United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
• CCCWA - China Centre for Children's Welfare and Adoption
• Hague Convention - an international agreement to establish safeguards to ensure that intercountry adoptions take place in the best interests of the child
• NVC - National Visa Center
• TA - Travel Approval - the official invitation from the Chinese government to come to China for the purpose of adopting your child

The process for obtaining approvals from China and the US is actually fairly well laid out - even if the process is arduous at best.  Our Article 5 is being dropped of tomorrow 3-17-14 and should be ready 3-31-14.  Then we enter a 2 week (ish) wait for TA.  

Here's how the US State Department describes the Article 5 process and our remaining steps:

1. After review of the visa application, the consular officer will send the convention country's Central Authority notification or Article 5 letter that states you are suitable adoptive parents and the child is able to enter and live in the United States.
2. Once you have the Article 5 letter you may complete the international adoption of the child.
3. The Convention country will issue an Article 23 Certificate. It may be an adoption or custody decree and may be sent directly to the consular officer at the Embassy or Consulate.
4. The Embassy or Consulate will schedule the final visa interview. The child must appear before the officer if the child did not do so at the initial visa application review. Be prepared to present the valid adoption or custody decree.
5. At this final interview the consular officer issues you a Hague Certificate to certify that the international adoption meets the Convention requirements, as well as final approval of the I-800 petition and will issue your new child a IH-3 or an IH-4 visa.

 
So basically, once we have the Article 5 letter, that will then trigger China's official invitation to us to come over and get custody of our daughter. That invitation, called the travel approval (TA), comes about 10 days to 2 weeks after the Article 5 letter is issue.

We hope this helps explain the last part of this paper chase journey, that is completely out of our hands now.  So, our next announcements will be that Article 5 was picked up and then again when we have Travel Approval and what our "Gotcha Day" dates will be.  Because both kids are in the same Province, we anticipate we will get them both the same day.  You do have to go to the child's city of birth to get their passport.  Levi's birth city is the Capital City of the Henan Province, Zhengzhou.  So we will get his in the city we are already in.  And we anticipate having to travel the next day, just a day trip to and from Elizabeth's birth City: Zhoukou for hers.  

It's amazing to us, that we first started this journey, officially on March 6, 2013 with our accepted application to Adopt with our agency, CCAI.  Here we are a year later and we are ready to bring our babies home.  Yikes! 

We feel like this journey has been blessed and we have seen God's hand in providing for Elizabeth and Levi in many ways.  We are so thankful for those who have joined our journey through support, encouragment, financial contributions, hand me downs of may varieties (remember, we had nothing and here we are starting over again!)  Our closets are full and most basic physical needs are nearly met, for both babies (ok, they are not babies, they are almost 3 and near 2 years old.... but they are babies :)  )