We have less than 48 hours until we start our 8,000 mile journey to meet our child! Patti called me at work yesterday morning to tell me that our visas had just arrived! Her hands were shaking so much; she had all she could do just to sign for them! This is such an exciting time for us. We just wish we weren't so nervous so we could enjoy it a little bit!
We still have so much more to do to get ready. Patti is upstairs packing the suit cases while I just finished doing our 2007 taxes and getting our 2005 & 2006 income taxes together and photocopied for our trip. There are numerous other forms that we are required to bring with us. We went through a checklist last night and saw 2 forms that I'm not familiar with. I called our agency in a panic asking about these new forms. Unfortunately, due to the storm in Boston yesterday, our agency had closed at noon!! From what we can determine, these forms are not needed until our second trip (I hope)? If there is anyone out there who has made this trip before could comment on the Immigration form I600 (we did the I600A last year) and the I864 (Affidavit of Support), we would greatly appreciate it. We will sleep much better to have confirmation that these forms will not be required until our visit to the Embassy in Almaty (and that they do not have to be notarized, approved by the county and apostilled before we leave??)! Since these are Immigration forms, I refuse to even consider that they had to be approved by I.C.E. before we can leave on our trip. That wouldn't be good at all!
Patti and I will be stopping by her mom's house tonight to drop off Molly. Her mom and sister will be taking care of our cat while we are away. Molly is in for quite a surprise when she find out she will be sharing a house with 2 other cats and a dog! She will probably find a good hiding place and won't come out until we return!
Well, I've got a lot of things to do! Bye for now!
10 comments:
sorry my phone died. I am home the rest of the night if you have more questions. If not, good luck and have fun!
As overwhelming as it is, every once in a while in Kaz, take a deep breath and look around. The memories that you bring home will be the stories that you will tell for a lifetime. Best of luck, and I am so happy that another Kaz baby will find the happiness and love that they deserve.
The final countdown begins. We just happened to have some extra time to get ready since our LOI wasn't in a first round issued for our region a month ago. Fortunately it has allowed us time to tie up all of those loose ends - and even do our taxes! Now we are more than ready for that LOI though!
You shouldn't need those I600 and I864 forms until your last stop at the US embassy. However, they are really easy to get: just go to the USCIS' website, click on forms and print a copy or two of both. You can fill them out in country if needed and they only need to be notarized if you won't be there in person to sign them.
Good luck with the last minute preparations! I'm sure that once you get on the first plane all of the stresses will soon melt away to giddy anticipation!
I believe we needed those on the first trip...only because our translator was helping us with much of the paperwork that we would need for court, second trip and stuff. Don't hold me to that though!
Good luck with getting ready. I know it is all very overwhelming right now!
Sonya
We just returned from Kaz in January with our daughter. The I 864 was no longer necessary they told us, so we did not use this one. The I 600 we had to have on the first trip because our translator helped us fill it out. If you need a copy of this please let me know and I will e mail it to you. My e mail address is dawn_101497@hotmail.com
Good luck and enjoy this amazing journey it is something that you will never forget.
Miranda
Thank you Miranda, I just went to the Immigration homepage and downloaded a few copies of each form just in case.
Muriel, thank you so much for the phone call last night. You were very helpful!
You need your I600A to bring your child in to the country. If however, one of you stays to bring the child home and the other leaves the one who leaves will have to sign it, so take it in case you get there and one of you decides to stay.
No matter how much you read and think you are prepared, nothing can prepare you for the actual experience itself of being on the other side of the world and then finally finding your child!
Best wishes for a smooth trip and first meeting with your child. Congratulations on beginning the real journey!
Hi Brian & Patti... we just started reading your blog (found it linked from Christy's) and want to wish you a great trip! My husband and I are just starting out on the adoption road. Reading the blogs helps a lot. And my mom lives outside of Albany (in Warrensburg) so I was very excited when I saw you were from that area. We'll be following your journey, and best of luck finding your new son!
Heather
CONGRATULATIONS!! I am so looking forward to seeing that first family photo. Travel safe and try to relax so you can enjoy every minute.
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