It's that time...renewal time!

I never really dreamed we'd have to wait so long for Chelsee that we'd have to renew our fingerprints and I-171-H approval document but the time has come...no more denial, no more wishing for an extension to materialize, no more hoping for someone else to do this dirty work for me! Nope! Nada! Nothing! Just me and my paperwork - again!!!!! And this time, I even procrastinated! Yep, you heard me right, procrastination is my new middle name! Maybe if I waited long enough, some new rule would come up or there would be an automated, less painful way of getting this all done again. But I finally tackled it! I gathered up the dusty birth certificates, fished through old emails to see how the process works again and sent off about a dozen notices to the proper authorities to get the ball rolling.

So, on the 1 year anniversary of our LID, I mailed the new I-600A application to the Charleston Citizens and Immigration Services Department. It contained the application, a cover letter, birth and marriage certificates, the old I-171-H approval, and another large money order!

I also gathered some of the same documents for the Home Study update. Our social worker needed additional information like updated medical clearance statements (thank you Dr. Johnson), current tax forms, Dept of Social Services clearances and updates to the actual text of our original home study. She will then forward the updated Home Study to the Charleston CIS. Once all that is reviewed, we will be given a new fingerprint appointment in Charleston. After a hopefully short wait, we will be issued a new I-171-H approval document (good for another 18 months). Then, maybe, we will be all set...again!

Oh and while making some of the updates to the original home study, I changed the age of our request to 12 months to 4 years. The reason I did this is so that if we are referred a younger child than our original 3-7 year old request, we will not need to have a new home study done. See, if you are referred a child who is 10 months younger or older than your requested age range, you need an immediate home study visit and update! I am just hoping to preempt any problems. While China doesn't know of the age range change, the home study will be ready for most ages that are referred when the time comes.

Here's to a quick turnaround on this renewal process. It feels like 1 step forward, 2 steps backwards. Chelsee, we are just barely hanging in there, just waiting for you, sweetheart!