Good News!

This is an email that I received from our adoption agency on the ruling of the
I-600A from USCIS:

Dear China families,


We are writing as a follow-up to an email you received last week from Keith Wallace announcing a Call To Action regarding the “grandfathering” of families that had applied for CIS approval prior to April 1, 2008. We are more than pleased to announce that the USCIS has heard our voices!!


Today the USCIS announced that families who had started the adoption process using an I-600A approval, and who had received the one time free extension, may now file one additional form I-600A as long as they file before the current approval expires. Families will have to pay for this additional approval. If a family does allow their approval to expire, they will need to reapply using the I-800A form with a home study that meets all of the Hague requirements.


For more information on this topic, please refer to the USCIS website at: uscis.gov and go to “What’s New.” There is also a list of Frequently Asked Questions that appears below the announcements.


Many thanks to the families who participated in this Call To Action!!


Sincerely,

Your China Team

Even though we have to pay for another extension it it still good news! Praise God!

I-600A Issue-Your Help Needed

This is in the Hot News from our agency. My previous blog touched upon this subject but hopefully this will help make the importance of the matter more clear.

I-600A Issue - Your Help Needed

We are asking for your assistance/advocacy to address the serious concerns that families presently in the process of adopting from China - and other countries with long waits for referrals - will face if the current CIS policy of only one (free) extension of the I-600A is permissible. Right now, if the family does not complete their adoption before the one extension expires--which is not likely given the current wait for referrals in China--families will have to file an I-800A. There are many unknown implications of what filing an I-800A will mean to families but will undoubtedly cause additional expenses and delays for families and children.

You can follow the links below to see what FTIA in cooperation with JCICS is asking of families. Please read the letter from JCICS that lists 5 ways to help. The JCICS position paper provides a clear explanation of the issues & concerns.

As Step #3, JCICS is asking families to sign on to a petition that was initiated by some parents in process of adopting from China. Notwithstanding our concerns about the accuracy of some information in the petition (e.g. the number of agencies denied Hague accreditation, the implications of switching agencies, etc) we still support the fact that families in process of adopting from China who submitted their original I-600A prior to the effective date of the Hague Convention on April 1st 2008 should be able to complete their adoptions without having to file an I-800A. Therefore we are asking you to support this advocacy by signing on to the petition, along with the other 4 steps suggested by JCICS in their "5 Ways to Help Us."

Link to JCICS letter: http://www.jcics.org/I600A.htm

Link to JCICS position paper: http://www.jcics.org/I600APosition.htm

Link to what you can do: http://www.jcics.org/5WaystoHelp.htm


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Petition

We are currently facing some issues with our adoption and immigration. Since we started our adoption, new rules and regulations have come into effect. The Hague convention which I wrote about in a previous post could have some serious effects on some adoptions waiting to take place. The concern is that our paperwork for immigration will expire and we will have to file under the new laws. This may exclude some people. It may also add addition costs to the adoption and in the long run, it may slow down our adoption even more. Please go to this website and sign the petition:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/adoption-for-all.html

Thank you for supporting our adoption.

Fireproof

Lt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter's adage: Never leave your partner behind. Inside burning buildings, it's his natural instinct. In the cooling embers of his marriage, it's another story.

After a decade of marriage, Caleb and Catherine Holt have drifted so far apart that they are ready to move on without each other. Yet as they prepare to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's dad asks his son to try an experiment: The Love Dare.

While hoping The Love Dare has nothing to do with his parents' newfound faith, Caleb commits to the challenge. But can he attempt to love his wife while avoiding God's love for him? Will he be able to demonstrate love over and over again to a person that's no longer receptive to his love? Or is this just another marriage destined to go up in smoke?


This is a great movie and I would like to encourage everyone to see it. Make sure to take plenty of tissues!