This is the place where we are have documented the road we have walked in order to adopt our four children from Brazil and the road we are now on as a family. We are keenly aware that adopting is not just a process we've chosen to go through, but part of God's plan for us and for our children. May He be glorified through the process and through our family!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Still...


Well 90 days have come and gone and I'm told by a lovely gentleman at the Hague Adoption Convention customer service center that we're "one of the next several dozen cases to be looked at by an officer."  While this information was somewhat less that helpful, the 800 number I called to get this tidbit of pseudoinformation has real live people on the other end and they are quite willing to help in any way they can.  If you call the general USCIS customer service number, you get someone who tells you that if your application is less than 180 days old, they can't look at your file.  They also tell you that the only ones who can tell you about your case are the people at the field office your application was submitted to--and no, they don't have the field office's phone number, and the number listed on the field office's website is the same one that can't tell you anything unless you call the field office.  

The USCIS Hague Adoption customer service number, on the other hand, is answered by  people who are perfectly willing to look at one's file and answer as many questions as you can throw at them.  In case anyone who reads this is adopting internationally and is waiting for USCIS approval, this contact information has been very helpful:  nbc.hague@dhs.gov or 1-877-424-8374.  They service anyone who has filed an I-800 or I-800A.  I found it here, on the USCIS website under the "adoptions" heading. 

In the meantime, I guess we're still waiting.  Maybe before Thanksgiving.


2 comments:

Julia said...

Well, that sounds GREAT to have found a way to get more concrete information, although not quite ideal that things are still in the never-ending holding pattern. Walking this path must really be teaching you about trust, giving up control, patience, and a whole slew of other things. More waiting...

Michelle said...

Hang in there friend.. I'm so glad that the Useless organization has a different call center for adoptions. That's really nice, it's like they consider adoptions to need their own dept. I like that :) I'm quite sure that you will have your USCIS paperwork back LONG before my green card friend :) We'll have a race on our hands very very soon!