Another step closer to travel!!!
The NVC office cabled Miao's information to the US consulate in China on 9/25!!!! Only 6 days after our I800 approval, which was 9/16. Another stop closer to Miao's homecoming!!!
We faxed the confirmation letter the NVC mailed us to our agency's office on Friday afternoon, which is Friday evening in China. So, the earliest anything can happed is on Monday.
What happens next? Our agency's courier will pick up the cabled document from the US consulate and hand-carry it to the CCAA. We are experiencing trouble getting answers from our agency in regard to timing, when the carrier will pick up the paperwork, if the CCAA is closed for any holiday etc. We plan to contact them again on Monday for the details.
Exactly how close are we to travel.....let's see:
Hand-carry NVC cable to the CCAA
CCAA to prepare the Article 5
CCAA to release the Travel Approval (our agency will notify us when TA arrives)
CA scheduled by our agency (American Consulate Appt.)
Book travel
We are still hoping to travel by end of year.....it will all depend upon the available CA appointments...there are a limited amount of appointments and a lot of major events occuring in Guangzhou that can greatly affect travel. Please be in prayer with us that we may be united with Miao by end of year.
Blessings,
Earl & Sharee
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Moon Festival
HAPPY MOON FESTIVAL!!
Today, 9/22/10 is the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in China. This is a national holiday, celebrated throughout China. We've been praying and thinking of Miao today, as she celebrates this national holiday. We pray she had a great day, enjoyed time with her friends and enjoyed the care package we sent in honor of this holiday.
This holiday is time for friends and family throughout China to gather and give thanks....similiar to the western holiday, Thanksgiving. In China, friends and family gather in the evening, under the Harvest Moon to eat together and give thanks. Today, we are giving thanks for the blessing of being chosen to be Miao's parents.
Blessings,
Earl & Sharee
Today, 9/22/10 is the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in China. This is a national holiday, celebrated throughout China. We've been praying and thinking of Miao today, as she celebrates this national holiday. We pray she had a great day, enjoyed time with her friends and enjoyed the care package we sent in honor of this holiday.
This holiday is time for friends and family throughout China to gather and give thanks....similiar to the western holiday, Thanksgiving. In China, friends and family gather in the evening, under the Harvest Moon to eat together and give thanks. Today, we are giving thanks for the blessing of being chosen to be Miao's parents.
Blessings,
Earl & Sharee
I800 Approval
YEA! ANOTHER STEP CLOSER!!
We're another step closer to Miao's homecoming!!! When calling the USCIS office today for a status on the approval, to our surprise, approval was granted on September 16!!!! AMAZING...amazing because we were told the paperwork would take 10-14 business to ship from the Texas lock-box to Missouri. Today was day 13 but approval was granted on business day 9!!!!
We anticipate recieving the hard copy in the mail, very soon. Tomorrow will be the one week mark and for some reason all of our USCIS paperwork has been received on a Thursday....so, perhaps we'll have the hard copy tomorrow!!!!!
Receiving the I800 approval is a big step in our thoughts....we now feel receiving the TA is "just around the corner." In reality, it's probably another 6 weeks or so......recently, TA's have been processed rather quickly but with the Moon Festival holiday in China, things may slow.
I'll post again when we receive the I800 approval in the mail. Let's hope you hear from us again, tomorrow.
Blessings,
Earl & Sharee
We're another step closer to Miao's homecoming!!! When calling the USCIS office today for a status on the approval, to our surprise, approval was granted on September 16!!!! AMAZING...amazing because we were told the paperwork would take 10-14 business to ship from the Texas lock-box to Missouri. Today was day 13 but approval was granted on business day 9!!!!
We anticipate recieving the hard copy in the mail, very soon. Tomorrow will be the one week mark and for some reason all of our USCIS paperwork has been received on a Thursday....so, perhaps we'll have the hard copy tomorrow!!!!!
Receiving the I800 approval is a big step in our thoughts....we now feel receiving the TA is "just around the corner." In reality, it's probably another 6 weeks or so......recently, TA's have been processed rather quickly but with the Moon Festival holiday in China, things may slow.
I'll post again when we receive the I800 approval in the mail. Let's hope you hear from us again, tomorrow.
Blessings,
Earl & Sharee
Sunday, September 19, 2010
I800 Status-10th Business Day Has Come
We finally hit business day #10 of waiting for our I800 to arrive the Missouri office!!! As you may recall from an earlier post, when calling for a status, we were instructed the I800 application had not reached Missouri...it was still at the lock-box in Texas and will take 10-14 business days to arrive the processing office, in Missouri.
Day 10 was on Friday, 9/17--mom's birthday! We are praying our I800 did in fact, reach the office and this upcoming week, we'll receive word it's been approved. We are trying very hard to wait until Tuesday, 9/21, business day 12, before calling the USCIS office for a status.
It will be music to our ears if when calling we are told it's been approved! Please pray with us the I800 is processed swiftly and without request for further information. We are hoping to receive the hard copy of the approval, no later than the last week in September.
Day 10 was on Friday, 9/17--mom's birthday! We are praying our I800 did in fact, reach the office and this upcoming week, we'll receive word it's been approved. We are trying very hard to wait until Tuesday, 9/21, business day 12, before calling the USCIS office for a status.
It will be music to our ears if when calling we are told it's been approved! Please pray with us the I800 is processed swiftly and without request for further information. We are hoping to receive the hard copy of the approval, no later than the last week in September.
Little Brother's First Holiday Season-The Fun of Halloween!
The weekend was spent searching out the right Halloween costume for Sterling. This will be his first holiday season and to start it off, is Halloween!
We are thrilled to be sharing the holiday season with Sterling and look forward to next year when Miao is home to share with us in the fun of Halloween, the gratitude of Thanksgiving and the blessing of Christmas!
Here are a pictures of Sterling in his Chef Costume:
We are thrilled to be sharing the holiday season with Sterling and look forward to next year when Miao is home to share with us in the fun of Halloween, the gratitude of Thanksgiving and the blessing of Christmas!
Here are a pictures of Sterling in his Chef Costume:
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Preparations for Miao
Preparing for our daugther's arrival!
To prepare for Miao coming home, we have been busy putting plans into place, possible considerations and researching all the information possible to help make as smooth a transition, as possible.
We learned last week, the largest Mandarin library outside of China is found right here in our hometown of Houston!! This alone is a great resource because our daughter has said in one of her letters, that she enjoys reading. Not only will it allow her to browse for reading material in her native language but she will have the opportunity to speak Mandarin to those working at the library. Praise God for this beautiful finding!!
We have a local Chinese Church in our area that we plan to attend with Miao. This will not only allow Miao to learn of Jesus Christ in Mandarin and a style that she will best understand but also allow her to communicate with others that speak her language. When researching this church, we also learned of an additional local Chinese Church that offers English lessons! Another blessing!!!
We've been communicating with Miao via letters through a care package service (Gifts To China With Love) and repeatedly she has mentioned the concern over the communication barrier. So....we want to expose her to as many people that speak Mandarin, allowing her the chance to communicate with others that speak her same language.
We have an electronic translater that Miao will use to help communicate with us, other family members, friends and at teachers at school.
We will continue to brainstorm ideas that will be helpful to Miao, as she transitions to a new environment, new culture, new language, new foods, new smells, the idea of a family, etc.
To prepare for Miao coming home, we have been busy putting plans into place, possible considerations and researching all the information possible to help make as smooth a transition, as possible.
We learned last week, the largest Mandarin library outside of China is found right here in our hometown of Houston!! This alone is a great resource because our daughter has said in one of her letters, that she enjoys reading. Not only will it allow her to browse for reading material in her native language but she will have the opportunity to speak Mandarin to those working at the library. Praise God for this beautiful finding!!
We have a local Chinese Church in our area that we plan to attend with Miao. This will not only allow Miao to learn of Jesus Christ in Mandarin and a style that she will best understand but also allow her to communicate with others that speak her language. When researching this church, we also learned of an additional local Chinese Church that offers English lessons! Another blessing!!!
We've been communicating with Miao via letters through a care package service (Gifts To China With Love) and repeatedly she has mentioned the concern over the communication barrier. So....we want to expose her to as many people that speak Mandarin, allowing her the chance to communicate with others that speak her same language.
We have an electronic translater that Miao will use to help communicate with us, other family members, friends and at teachers at school.
We will continue to brainstorm ideas that will be helpful to Miao, as she transitions to a new environment, new culture, new language, new foods, new smells, the idea of a family, etc.
I800 Receipt Notice
We received a receipt notice for our I800 with a receipt date of September 2!!!!! Basically, it confirms the I800 has been received at the Texas lock box. It will now be sent to the processing center, in Missouri. (I think it's Missouri)
I spoke with our USCIS caseworker on Thursday. She said our I800 has not been received by their processing office but it will take 10-14 business days and cannot count the recent Labor Day holiday. We are now waiting for it to arrive her desk.
She also added, once it reaches her desk, she reviews it within 24 hours and will either request additional information or approve it.
Okay, doing the math using the September 2 receipt date and only counting business days....10 days will be September 17 and 11-14 days is the week of September 20. We pray it is received by Friday, 9/17 on the 10th day and we receive the paper approval, week of September 20.
Receiving approval the week of 9/20 will help push things along, as we are sure hoping to travel by end of year. We really need the approval before end of September for this to happen because there are still 2 more steps before the TA. (NVC wiring approval + Article 5 = Travel Approval)
We are sharing in the joy of another family who is currently in China and in a few short hours, will be meeting their older daughter in person, for the first time!!! She is at the same orphanage as Miao!
I spoke with our USCIS caseworker on Thursday. She said our I800 has not been received by their processing office but it will take 10-14 business days and cannot count the recent Labor Day holiday. We are now waiting for it to arrive her desk.
She also added, once it reaches her desk, she reviews it within 24 hours and will either request additional information or approve it.
Okay, doing the math using the September 2 receipt date and only counting business days....10 days will be September 17 and 11-14 days is the week of September 20. We pray it is received by Friday, 9/17 on the 10th day and we receive the paper approval, week of September 20.
Receiving approval the week of 9/20 will help push things along, as we are sure hoping to travel by end of year. We really need the approval before end of September for this to happen because there are still 2 more steps before the TA. (NVC wiring approval + Article 5 = Travel Approval)
We are sharing in the joy of another family who is currently in China and in a few short hours, will be meeting their older daughter in person, for the first time!!! She is at the same orphanage as Miao!
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