More Problems

The crisis continues to escalate...as the time continues to shorten until we are supposed to be on our way to China. Now, there is a new problem with my paperwork, that I just learned about yesterday.

If you read the previous post, you know that I have to do an addendum to my home study because I have moved from California and because I have changed the age and so on of the child that I am adopting. I asked a local licensed social worker to do my addendum. She did, it was great. As soon as I learned of this new problem, I FedEx'd the addendum to L.A. (because that is where my file was initially processed) so that I could get this 'update' for my pre-approval. Yesterday, I finally got ahold of the CIS worker who said that I had two main problems:

First, the LA office couldn't do my update because I was no longer in their jurisdiction, so she would have to send the file to Salt Lake. She had no idea how long it would take to even reach them, but she would send it.

Second, my addendum wasn't valid, no matter what...even if she could do it. She said the addendum has to be done by a social worker with some kind of approval to do international home studies for my state. I'm like....what????? no one told me this. I can't find that specific rule anywhere, I read the CFR, the instructions on the forms, everything, it all seems to indicate that a licensed social worker is all that you need...but when I called my agency about it, they somehow seemed to agree. So, it appeared that not only did I now have this issue of the update, but I couldn't even use the addendum that I had!

I guess I could go on hope or faith that my addendum, which is done by a licensed social worker, qualified to do home studies in my state would somehow pass through the Salt Lake USCIS office, once my file arrives there (whenever that is)...or, I could just jump through the supposedly 'required' hoops to get a new addendum.

Of course, I want to do all I can to make it happen, so I spent all afternoon yesterday trying to arrange for the 'right' kind of social worker to do a new addendum as an emergency. The only social workers in that 'special category' that my agency knew of were 4 or more hours drive away from me, up in northern Utah. Finally I found one good soul yesterday who said she would make the 4 hour drive down to see me (and of course, 4 hours back) on Monday and she would do all she could to get it done. She seems like an angel!! OK....a little hope.

But then, in the course of our talking, she asks about my criminal clearances/fingerprints. I tell her that they were all up to date in California and the FBI (for the adoption renewal), etc. But, of course, I never did one in Utah, because no one ever told me I needed to!! So, just one more problem with even getting the addendum, if she can't find a way to use my FBI/USCIS fingerprints or my California ones, or the ones that I did here in the state of Utah so I could take the bar exam .... or something....then, I will have to do new fingerprints, because I have to meet state requirements, and that will take around two weeks. So, all that has to happen before I can even begin the fight with USCIS regarding the update.

My agency told me that they really didn't see any way that I would be able to go on Thursday. What a tough day it was. I felt defeated and ready to give up...but then I got home and looked at that little picture of that beautiful boy....and thought NO WAY am I letting some ridiculous government agency get in the way of my family coming together. I don't know how I will do it...but I am not giving up yet!!