We've been CABLED!!!!

Another small step complete today.  I had given up hope of being dropped off  at the Guangzhou Consulate on Monday for our Article 5.  There are so many new steps to the China adoption process, some of them I don't even understand.

So this is what we have been up to since our LOA on August 26th.  We sent our I800 application to USCIS on August 27th, they will review Sophia's file and deem that she qualifies as an orphan according to the Hague Treaty.  It arrived in Texas on August 30th and the approval was granted on September 15th.  From there our approval was sent from what is called the National Benefit Center (USCIS) to the National Visa Center (Dept. of State), it was entered into their system and we were given a GUZ number and then our information was cabled on September 24th (today) to the Guangzhou Consulate.  Luckily we received a PDF copy of our approval and we have forwarded it to our China Coordinator.  The facilitator in China should be dropping it off at the Consulate on Monday, they only allow drop offs or pick ups from agencies two days a week, Monday and Thursday.

I truely do not understand all of these new steps, personally it seems like a lot of people touching the same file over and over again.  I am all about one touch handling but our gov't hasn't asked my how to simplify it so I will keep my suggestions to myself!  I had given up hope of being dropped off on Monday last night when I was told that we hadn't been scheduled for cabling yet.  I don't think in the grand scheme of things that it will make that much of a difference because of Columbus Day but it at least makes me feel like we are moving.  I am predicting our TA about the end of October and travel mid to late November.

We are getting closer Sophia!