I-600a / I-171H delays

One of the reasons our dossier to China was delayed was due to the ridiculously long wait for our approval by US immigration to process our I-600A. The I-600A is a form you file with USCIS (department of homeland security) to get approval to bring an orphan into the US. I am not excactly sure what kind of threat to national security an 18 pound toddler represents but we have no choice but to wait.

When we submit our required forms and fees it is January 30th 2007. The Cleveland USCIS processing center's web site says they are running 6 months behind in processing these requests. This is also the month that US citizens are required to hold a passport for any travel out of the country. Although I am assured this will have no effectt on our wait time I am not optimistic.

So when did we finally get our approval? JULY 17,2007. For those of you keeping track that's five and a half months.