I-171H / More Fingerprints / Our First Baby Things

Well folks, the I-171H form showed up in the mail Friday! This is fantastic, but it has completely changed what our "golden ticket" will be. Now, the very last piece of paper we will need for our dossier to be complete is our FBI Background Check Clearance. We got our paper fingerprints done for that today at our friendly neighborhood police station. We should receive the clearance notice within 2-3 weeks.

Here's a photo of Frank getting manhandled by Officer Magwood. I must say it's unsettling when you walk into a room with a big cop and he starts snapping on rubber gloves. We were already in a silly mood and grinning like idiots even before the rubber gloves. We felt like such nerdy, non-criminals in that dingy, cheerless and very worldly police station. The Barney Miller theme song started running through my head as I glanced around the room: Bad fluorescent lighting, puke green tiles and putty colored metal filing cabinets everywhere. I had the uncontrollable desire to put heart-shaped lollipops in all the officer's mail slots and sprinkle gold glitter around the place! But despite the dreary, industrial surroundings, the receptionist and Officer Magwood were both very friendly. It's always nice when you encounter pleasant people during this process. It may seem like a small thing, but it really helps make it a positive experience. (Sorry the photo is fuzzy...I keep forgetting my camera and having to use my cell phone camera.)

So on another note, we bought our first official BABY THINGS this past weekend on a trip to Portland, Oregon! (By the way, Portland is such a nice city... and it has this amazing, huge, authentic Japanese Garden that is absolutely breathtaking.)

The first thing we bought is a baby sling. It's a new incarnation of a very old child-carrying device used in many cultures. It's what all the "granola moms" use. (Yes, we are going to be a natural-minded parents even though we don't wear Birkenstocks or tie dye!) We came across them at the big Saturday Market in Portland, and the woman who makes them was so sweet. Here is her web site: www.activespiritbabyslings.com

Then we ducked into Finnegan's, one of the largest independently-owned toy stores in the country. It was fun, even if it was a bit of sensory overload. The items we couldn't resist were:

"Lencho the Lion" - Plush Toy/Pillow/Blanket Combo: I dig things that are multi-purpose (such as reversible clothes) and this little guy is so perfect for our travels to Kazakhstan because he's not only freaking adorable, but efficient too -- three things in one. I think we're going to rename him Orion. Orion the Lion! See how he works, and see more of his friends at www.zoobiepets.com




Wind-Up Toys: We could not stop playing with these hilarious vintage-style toys in the store. And we still can't stop playing with them now that we're home! We really must put them away so we don't wear them out. Frank and I both love vintage toys, so no doubt our child will have all the classics, from a Radio Flyer Wagon to the Schoolhouse Rock videos.

(Reminder: Click on any photo to see it larger.)

Here are links to videos of some of these wind-up toys in action:
- Robot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYdyTFLPeCU
- Clown on Horse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUKqsSSX-dE
- Duck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJNSsSRR4xw
- T-Rex: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lah-wg8r19Y
- Tick: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2-M9fdvEk

Oh, and we've started calling our little Ruopoli-to-be by a new nickname. It's "Habibi" which means "my darling" or "my sweetheart" in Arabic. It was the name of a Lebanese restaurant we dined at during our Portland trip. It's pronounced Ha-bee-bee. Try saying it and not smiling! :-)

Pleasant Surprise

I received a very surprising e-mail from our social worker on Monday. She forwarded me an e-mail she received from USCIS that read:

As a courtesy, this is to inform you that I have adjudicated the Ruopoli's Form I-600A; Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition and it has been Approved. An electronic Visa 37 transmission has been sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) in New Hampshire for the Ruopoli’s adoption from Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Ruopoli's will be receiving their I-171H approval notice in several days.

Have a wonderful day,
District Adjudications Officer
SC's Inter-Country Adoptions Officer
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services


What the... WOW. Shocking. Really shocking! I must have read it 20 times. This is big, wonderful news! It is extremely rare that the I-171H comes this quickly. It's practically unheard of. But what it means is that, as long as everything else goes smoothly, we could actually be traveling to Kaz this winter rather than in the spring -- many months before we thought! Perhaps even before the end of the year if we're lucky. Holy Ruopoli!!! And because the minimum adoptable age is 6 months, this would also mean that our baby has most certainly been born already, is at least a few months old right now, and at this very moment is waiting for us to become a forever family.

Wow.

If I didn't think it was corny as hell, I would post the lyrics to the song Somewhere Out There. It's already bad enough that I'm using way too many exclamation points throughout this blog. :-) And smiley faces. But how else can you convey such intense emotion? How??? A linguist would have a field day with adoption blogs.

This news made me feel like somebody pushed a giant, cosmic fast-forward button. Not that I mind. It's just a little disorienting and gave us both that "zoinks!" reaction you see in cartoons. But the best part is that this precious child is beginning to feel very real to us. Adding to that feeling, we bought our very first baby things this weekend! I'll write more about them and post photos of them once we get them downloaded.

So the I-171H form should be in our mailbox by the weekend. Zoinks!

Fun with Fingerprints

We had our fingerprints taken last Friday, the 13th! Here's a photo of us outside the USCIS office in West Ashley just after we finished. They wouldn't let us take photos inside -- it is the Department of Homeland Security after all! We had to sign in, get wanded for weapons, and leave our cell phones in the lobby with the security guard. The other photo is of the main entrance to the building, which is a very nice, large office building with beautiful landscaping. Makes for a pleasant experience, and I must say the staff was very quick, professional and courteous.

Funny, they call it having your “biometrics” taken, which is very appropriate since it was done electronically. You place your fingers on this futuristic piece of glass and your prints appear on the computer screen and are captured digitally. First they do them all together, and then one at a time. I felt like I should have gotten into my flying car afterward and jetted off to another galaxy -- or at least another time zone (cue music from the Jetsons.)

We now have to go down to the police station to get more fingerprints done -- but using old-fashioned ink and paper. These will be sent off for an FBI Background Check. These are also the fingerprints we will carry with us overseas, but since they expire after 6 months we may have to get them re-done before we travel. Yes, very redundant and strange I know, but we're just trying to go with the flow and not question the inefficiencies of this process too much.

Frank's renewed passport came in today! It took 3 weeks longer than mine, although we applied at the exact same time and place. Weird. Speaking of weird, his passport photo looks so funny because there is a big shadow that makes his neck look as thick as a linebacker's. We're just glad it's here, and would gladly put a neck-thickening prosthesis on him if we had to in order to get through security!

We are getting so close to completing our dossier, we can almost taste it. We have just a few more items to complete, but the biggest thing we're waiting on our elusive I-171H Form, also known as the Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition. (Who names these forms???) The USCIS will mail this form to us after they marry our Homestudy with our previously submitted I-600A Form and our Jetsons fingerprints. The I-171H will most likely be the last piece of the dossier puzzle -- the Golden Ticket!

Once we have everything, and then have it all notarized, we will send our entire dossier off to our coordinator to proof. Then she will send everything off to be Apostilled, which is a process by which the state verifies that all the notarizations and documents are valid. I know, it's overkill, but again that's just how it is. There's no need to waste precious energy lamenting about it.

Our adoption coordinator says we're coming along very quickly on our paperwork. That was certainly nice to hear. We have so much more to go, but progress feels good!