Today is A New Day

Well, there has been a lot on my mind the last few days. While the last few weeks have been about good news and updates and people getting their referrals and traveling...this week has been about the USCIS and the delays over there with families trying to get their kids home. Evidently, the office in Bangkok that has to approve of your child's visa to get into the US has been backed up and it's taking longer than usual... causing some stress to the families over there now.

I started a post yesterday complaining about it and even published it.  Then thought better of it and took it down. I am not going to let myself worry about it anymore. If there are delays, we will handle it. We will do everything in our power to have the right paperwork when we go and make sure we dot the "i's" and cross the "t's". I have to have faith that it will all work out. And ya know what? It usually does. In my fortieth year of life (b-day fast approaching) I have found that most things I worry about never happen. I just worry that they might. I also noticed that everything tends to work itself out and when I try to "fix" it, I just expend all this energy for nothing. So I am moving on from the subject, taking precautions, but trusting the it will all be just fine when we get over there. The most important thing is getting to meet that beautiful little girl of ours and loving her with all our hearts.

As far as precautions...we did do some homework. Jeff researched for hours the other night and found out the USCIS office in Hong Kong closed in August and after September 2nd all I-800A forms have been forwarded to Bangkok. That could be one reason for delays. Then there is the Hague Convention and the switch from the standard I-600A to the I-800A form and all the added paperwork and delays from that. We are lucky that we got in before April and are grandfathered in with the I-600A...or are we? Not sure which is a better process yet. Guess we will have to wait and see. From what we can tell, it seems that the biggest issue is the USCIS being satisfied that the child does indeed qualify as being an orphan. So we will have to do more homework on that and check and DOUBLE CHECK with our agency to ensure this is taken care of - BEFORE we get there. Jeff also found an email for that office in BKK where you could ask them if they received your application (I-600A or I-800A). We are still waiting for a reply to see if they have your form in.

When we get our travel dates we are going to go to Thai Consulate in NY and will get ourselves a tourist visa for $30 each. You can travel to Thailand and be there 30 days without a visa. However, getting a tourist visa guarantees you a stay of up to 60 days without needing an extension. The other option is if you are there for 30 days and then find out you need an extension, you can fly to a nearby country like Cambodia (or drive there), Vietnam, or Malaysia and get an extension from the Thai Embassy there. Personally, I'd rather get that taken care of ahead of time. To get a tourist visa you fill out an application at a Thai consulate office. You present them with your passport, a copy of your airline ticket and itinerary and you get a 60 day visa. One thing less to have to worry about. 

We are both VERY fortunate to be in a position where we could stay away that long if we really had to. If it's a more than a month, Jeff may have to go back for his work, but I could stay as long as necessary.  Another thing is we will try to book our tickets on Thai Airways. I have to check if it is still the case, but I remember them being much more flexible with changing dates then other airlines. I don't think I even had a change fee, but then, that was an in-country flight. So I will have to check around and see what would be the easiest way to go. 

We are also going to take every shred of paperwork we have on the adoption with us - in triplicate!  Not leaving a thing open to chance. We will have extra copies of everything and will not even leave it in the hotel to risk it being accidentally tossed. Making sure we have our bases covered sets my mind at ease.

And who knows? If we are tied up there longer, maybe it will be a blessing in disguise. A whole month in our childs homeland where we can completely submerge her in her beautiful country and culture would be great way to start out our lives together. The more I think about it, that would be a really unique and wonderful bonding experience for the 3 of us. Hmmm. I guess there really is a silver lining to everything. 

So yes, today is a new day. And I am going to be grateful for it and know in my heart in will all work out and we'll have our girl safely home soon!