Uncharted Territory

Our agency has never experienced a situation in which multiple families have received exactly the same RFE.  Usually they are individualized and show evidence that is specific and unique to each adoption.  In fact, that's what we were promised on the conference call with USCIS and USDOS, but I guess they changed their mind.  Our agency sent us two e-mails yesterday telling us of their discussions within the agency and the ideas that they have for helping us to  get this resolved.  Before any other steps are taken, they want to ask USCIS if everything that the two representatives did while they were in Vietnam will be enough, and if not, they want to find out what more needs to be done.  They did suggest that we look into hiring an attorney who specializes in RFE/NOID cases.  They gave us a list of possible attorneys, and some of the PAPs made some phone calls and spoke with them.  We were hoping that we could all retain one attorney together since our RFEs are exactly the same (Have I mentioned that?), but so far, the largest number that an attorney will take at once is 10-12 families.  Since the final bill could range anywhere from $10,000.00-$25,000.00, dividing it by 10-12 will cut the cost significantly.   We are still hoping that the report from the representatives who traveled to Vietnam will be enough to prove that Caroline and the other children are orphans, but if not, we are prepared to do whatever it takes to bring her home.   

44

This is the actual number of families from our agency who have children in Caroline's orphanage.  (We originally thought it was 46.)  Two of these families have received a NOID.  Please keep them in your prayers.

And They're Off!

Yesterday, Dave began his 24th RAGBRAI adventure.  If you'd like to keep track of where he will be each day, click here:  RAGBRAI XXXVI.  You can view maps of the ride as well as new photos and videos each day.  You can also visit this site:  QC Online - photos or QC Online - videos.   One of the newspaper's photographers is riding RAGBRAI for the first time and requested contact information for anyone from the Quad Cities who is on the ride.  I e-mailed him Dave's cell phone number, so maybe we'll spot him on at least one of these sites!  If you see him, please leave a comment and let us know. :-)

30

This is the number of families who have verified that they received an RFE this weekend.  I am sure that our agency will contact us early this week to help us figure out our next step.  Many friends/family members have asked us how we can possibly prove that Caroline is an orphan.  On our own, we would have to hire an investigator and/or an attorney to do the research for us. However, the two representatives from our agency have been working very hard to help us from the day that they arrived in Vietnam.  As I mentioned in a previous post, they have found at least two problems with the USCIS investigations, both of which show that the investigations were not thoroughly completed.  They have also been trying to get the names of possible birthmothers and running radio and TV ads encouraging birthmothers to come forward.  We will receive a copy of their report once they are back in the States, and we hope that if Caroline's birthmother does not come forward, their report and proof that the ads were run will be enough to show that a good and faithful attempt was made to locate her.  If that is not enough, hopefully our agency will have some other ideas.        

Hang on tight...here we go

You know that feeling you get when you're sitting at the top of the track on a roller coaster, just waiting for that downhill plunge? That's kind of what it's been like waiting for news from USCIS. Well, now the waiting is over, and the rest of the ride begins.  We received an e-mail from HCMC this morning at 2:46 a.m. that states the following:  "We regret to inform you that your case cannot be approved by this office.  Attached is the request for evidence (RFE) and supporting affidavit.  You have 84 days to respond or withdraw your I-600 application."  While this is not the absolute worst case scenario (NOID), it's not really what we were hoping for either (approval), and even though we pretty much knew what was coming, seeing it in print gave me a very sinking feeling.  I found out that others from our agency received their RFE this morning also, and the attachment is identical, so at least our agency will know where to start.  I think that it is fortunate that the two representatives are still in Vietnam so that they can try to help us resolve some of the points listed in the attachment.  Please pray that thy are able to quickly gather all of the evidence necessary to prove that Caroline and the other children are indeed orphans.    Update:  Dave called from Missouri Valley, the starting town of RAGBRAI, and I told him about our RFE.  His response:  "Game on."  Another Update:  See that part that mentions a "supporting affidavit"?  Nobody got one, so we e-mailed USCIS to ask about it, and we received this reply:  "Please be advised that there is no supporting affidavit..."  Sigh.  

A Proposition

Update:  Based on the e-mail described above, this may not be necessary after all.

Has summer boredom set in?  Don't know what to do to besides watch TV or play on the computer?  Well, I have a suggestion for you...  Okay, this sounds like the beginning of a bad infomercial.  So here is my proposition:  My thoughtful letter-writing friend e-mailed me and wondered if it would be helpful for others to write to Congress on our behalf.  Honestly, I don't know if it would help, but it sure couldn't hurt.  After all, during the conference call with USCIS/USDOS, the comment was made by one of those parties:  "Everyone on The Hill is well aware of the situation in [Caroline's province]."  This means that USCIS and/or USDOS have been contacted by members of Congress on our behalf, which has to be the result of all of the letters that have already been sent, so maybe if we keep reminding them, things will go even quicker.  

If you are interested in jumping on the letter-writing bandwagon with us, here is what you can do:

1.  Find the e-mail (or snail mail) address of your senators and/or representative.  

To find your senators' addresses, click here:  Senators  

To find your representative's address, click here:  Representative  

2.  Write a letter that includes the following:  

     - your name and relationship to us:  friend, uncle, cousin, etc.

     - your concern with the time that it is taking USCIS to process I-600 applications for Caroline's province in Vietnam for us and for the 45 other families (If you do intend to write a letter and need to know the name/spelling of the province, please e-mail us so that we can send it to you.)

     - your request that USCIS issue letters (approval, RFE, or NOID) to each family as quickly as possible so that they can respond to whatever decision has been made with as little delay as possible (Some of the families have been waiting since March for some type of communication or decision, and they have already lost too much time with their children.)

     - anything else that is on your heart to say

3.  Include your address somewhere on the page.

4.  Give yourself a big hug from David and me.  You can get one from Caroline in person as soon as she gets here!  Paula, you get to be first in line!

Thankful

Throughout this adoption process, David and I have been overwhelmed by all of the love and support that we have received from our family and friends.  After the conference call last week, we got a text message from Verizon warning us that we were dangerously close to exceeding our minutes.  Three different sets of friends offered to let us use their phone for yesterday's conference call, and two of them probably were not even going to be home at the time - "We'll just give you a key."  The other day, I found out that one of my friends from work had written our Congresspeople on our behalf.  I can't tell you how touched I was that she took the time to take a stand for us.  It is one thing for us to send a letter, but I think that a letter from someone who is not one of the waiting parents must speak volumes to those in charge: It's not just the 46 families who are concerned; it is much more far-reaching.  And I know that there are many of you who are pulling for us, praying for us, and checking our blog frequently, hoping for more good news.  Thank you to all of you who are helping us make it through all of the uncertainties.  This would be so much more difficult without you.   

Conference Call: Part IV - Q & A

Okay, if these conference calls keep up, I'm really going to have to come up with a new title; this one is getting a bit old.  It's starting to resemble the old Rocky movies (yes, that dates me).  Anyway, we were on the phone today for two hours with our agency and the other 45 families for what was mostly a question and answer session.  We all had the opportunity to submit questions, which our agency compiled and did their best to answer.  We really didn't get much new information, but our agency did suggest that we contact our Congressmen again and encourage them to help make sure that we get our letter from USCIS as quickly as possible.  This is the letter that will tell us that we have been approved (best case scenario), issued an RFE, or issued a NOID (worst case scenario - an attorney who specializes in international law will have to be retained to help us).  Anyway, the sooner we get that letter, the sooner we will know how to respond.  We did learn one thing that we actually suspected:  of the 46 families on this roller coaster ride with us, we are indeed #46.  That means that we probably have a good long wait ahead of us, but not nearly as long as the PAPs who have been waiting since March to hear something.  I think that we will all breathe a sigh of relief when those letters start arriving so that we can start the next step...whatever that may be. 

Communication Update

We have received another positive e-mail update from our agency, and we have another conference call scheduled for tomorrow afternoon with the agency and the 45 other families.  We are getting to know many of them pretty well by now, and this whole situation has created an incredible support system that has been such a blessing to us.  We have been through so much together, and it will be an amazing experience to finally get to meet some of them in person when we travel together to bring our children home.     

Doin' a Happy Dance

We got a very encouraging letter from our agency this afternoon! As you know, two representatives recently flew to Vietnam to help resolve the problems that the U.S. government found in Caroline's province.  The letter outlined what they have done so far, are in the process of doing, and plan to do in the near future to help us get the evidence that we will need to bring our little Caroline home.  We are very impressed with their plan of action on our behalf, and it is truly amazing how much they have accomplished in the short time that they have been there; they have even found some errors in the investigations done by the U.S. government. Our agency is also working with an attorney here in the U.S. who has been succcessful in defending families who were in similar situations.  Indiana Dave may not have to jump on that plane after all!