And it’s off!!!!!

A little backstory for you:

 

I called USCIS this week to see if they had received the Request for Evidence our agency sent on April 24^th. As of Tuesday, they had not. Our USCIS/NBC caseworker suggested we resend it as “it’s likely lost in the mail”.

 

I called our agency to request that they resend it Express Mail. Our coordinator told us they received a letter that it had been received and we should give ituntil Friday. KC and I agreed.

 

Yesterday, I called and left a voicemail for our caseworker to let her know I’d call her back on Friday or Monday to see if they found it. KC and I figured our file would be sent over next week at the absolute earliest. We were kind of bummed, but it would only set us back a week or two, which is really nothing in the grand scheme of this whole process. Ha!

 

And then this morning, I check my email and see this:

 

From: "Addis, Adoption"
Date: May 8, 2014 at 9:00:36 AM CDT
To: "Sandia Collins"
Subject: Notification of Receipt of PAIR Filing from USCIS

 

Yeah. I honestly think my heart stopped for a few minutes. I instantly thought, uh, no friggin’ way! I just talked to her Tuesday and left a voicemail yesterday! It can’t be… can it?

 

So before I got too overly excited or told my husband, I immediately called our coordinator at Bethany only to remember that Miss J is off on Thursdays. Boo. SO I call our local social worker to see if she can get me one of the other Ethiopia team members and she gives me an email address. To which I forward the email with the question of “Does this mean what I think this means?!”

 

Miss C’s reply?

 

{Yes your case has gone from UCSIC onto the Embassy in Ethiopia for their investigation of the orphan status I-604. Big step, good news!!!}

 

I immediately forward the email to KC and text him to call me. He calls me and, much to my excitement, shows the proper level of enthusiasm at this BIG step. Pretty much the last BIG paperwork step before we travel!

 

Here’s our final steps:

 

1.       The US Embassy will take 2-5 weeks to make a determination and issue our PAIR letter

2.      We upload our PAIR letter to our coordinators at Bethany so they can

let the Ethiopian office know to get us a court date – those are normally 4-6 weeks out

3.      We travel for 1^st court date

4.      We come home and wait for Embassy court date – those are normally 2-4 weeks out

5.      We travel for our 2^nd court date

6.      WE COME HOME WITH BERTIE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Guys. Guys. GUYS. This is HUGE. I honestly freaked out and was shaking I was so excited. It’s been SO long and I cannot believe it’s finally here! For those trying to add it up, at the absolute earliest, we could travel in 6 weeks. That would put us around June 20^th. At the absolute longest, we could travel in 11 weeks. That would put us at July 24^th.

 

God has been so good to us, and we’ve been clearing so many hurdles so much quicker than we thought. So, we’re praying we’re traveling at the end of June! We are ready to meet our baby girl!