WooHoo! We got our 171H from INS which means....

[ssmeest]

we'll be bringing our girls home soon!!!

We applied for our INS approval way back in September LONG before we accepted the referrals for Marta and MaryJo and we just got the coveted letter last week!!

It only took INS a month to give us approval when we adopted Marianna, but for some strange reason, it took forever to get it this time. But now that we've got it, the attorneys in Guatemala can proceed with the next step in the adoption process; DNA testing. (without this letter, the whole process stops!)

The agency is saying that we should (operative word here is SHOULD) be able to bring the girls home in June!! I'm trying hard not to get my hopes built up too high and will be happy if they come home by the end of August, but June would be fantastic!!


Thanks for letting me share my good news!

Sandra

[DarkHorseMama]

Good luck! I've had my dealings with the INS (of course, now known as BCIS) and we are at the last stage of having to fiddle around with them for good. DH came over on a K (fiancé/e) visa several years ago and we've had to go through several processes with them. Now, we're at the stage that he is completing his citizenship song-and-dance so I won't be unhappy to not have to deal with them anymore.

They are *so* backed up...I feel for you, mama.

[DalaiMama]

Congratulations, Sandra! It sounds like you've been waiting a long time for your girls. Can I ask, why do they do dna testing? Just out of curiosity....

[EFmom]

Sandra, from one IA mom to another, YAHOO!!!!!

BCIS can be the worst. I hear it is much slower now than it used to me for my office, too.

Hope you have your little ones in your arms ASAP!

[Irishmommy]

That's wonderful!

[Irishmommy]

But I need to move this to the Adoption forum...

[DreamsInDigital]

I am so happy for you!

[wemberly]

Hoo Rah!!!! I'm so happy for you all!

[Dakota's Mom]

Congrats on getting the 171. I've heard it takes a lot longer now than it used to. We got our first one within weeks of sending in the homestudy. We had to get a second one due to changing countries and the first was about to expire. But we had it in days after the updated homestudy was hand carried in by our agency. We brought our son home from Guatemala in December 2002.

DNA testing is part of the process in Guatemala. It is one more way that they strive to make sure that there is no corruption. This proves that the woman who is placing the child is really the child's birthmother. They also take a picture of the birthmother holding the child. That way no one can say the babies were switched or anything.

Ssmeest, are your girls bio sibs? I've heard that older kids can take a while longer, but not if they are being adopted with a bio sib. Anyway, congrats. I hope you'll be picnicing with those girls real soon.

Kathi

[ssmeest]

Hi Kathi,

No, the girls are not related at all. They both just need homes are are considered hard to place because of age (Marta) and malnourished (MaryJo). Marta was relinquished personally by her biomom in Sept. which should make it easier for us to adopt.

BTW- We just got MaryJo's DNA results yesterday. It's a match!!!
Now we need to wait for Marta's DNA results.

It's so hard waiting. Marianna keeps asking each day when can she hug Marta and MaryJo or when do we fly down to get them. It's so cute.

Sandra

[Dakota's Mom]

Congrats on the dna match. That's a major step. I hope the rest of the process is smooth for you. We brought our son home at 5 1/2 months. He was 19 days old when we accepted his referral. We got kicked out of pgn twice for minor details on the Guatemalan side. So it was a pretty smooth process. But this was after changing countries nearly 2 years into the process and then losing our first referral in Guatemala. But he is so worth the wait.


Blessings to you and your family.

Kathi