Life with Ava

2005

06/02/05 - Requested A's Birth and Divorce Certificates from VA and Marriage Certificate from Nevada

06/06/05 - A attended mandatory informational meeting with Bethany Christian Services adoption agency

06/17/05 - Requested J's Birth Certificate from NY

06/20/05 - Submitted China International Adoption pre-application to Bethany ($50)

06/24/05 - Received A's BC from VA and MC from NV

06/27/05 - Fed-Ex'd BC to Richmond, VA and MC to NV for state seal

06/28/05 - Pre-application approved! J drove down to local office and picked up formal application packet

06/30/05 - Received state sealed BC from VA

07/02/05 - Mailed notarized Child Protective Services and VA State Police Records Check Requests

07/06/05 - Received state sealed MC from NV

07/08/05 - Received J's BC from NY and FedEx'd it back to NY for state seal

07/08/05 - Mailed I600A to USCIS ($665)

07/13/05 - Submitted local police records request

07/14/05 - Received notarized local police records

07/15/05 - Submitted formal application and application fee to Bethany ($950)

07/21/05 - Received J's state sealed BC from NY

08/09/05 - 1st homestudy appointment - joint visit in office with social worker

08/10/05 - J & A physical appointments ($185)

08/12/05 - Physicals notarized and mailed to Bethany

08/15/05 - A's employment letter received and notarized

08/22/05 - A's individual homestudy appointment with social worker

08/25/05 - J's individual homestudy appointment with social worker

08/29/05 - J's employment letter received and notarized

09/07/05 - 3rd and final homestudy appointment in our home ($1800)

09/08/05 - Required Bethany education class

09/12/05 - Financial statements, power of attorney, and petition to adopt notarized

09/12/05 - Homestudy approved and mailed to USCIS from Bethany

09/13/05 - A's 35th birthday

09/14/05 - Received original homestudy from Bethany and made a USCIS Infopass appointment for application assistance

09/15/05 - FedEx'd homestudy, POA, financials, and petition to adopt to VA for state seals

09/16/05 - Received fingerprint appointment for 10/20/05 from USCIS

09/17/05 - Received VA state sealed documents from 9/15

09/20/05 - USCIS Infopass appointment - begged for mercy and requested fingerprints be taken at this time due to potential military deployment. SUCCESS! We were Fingerprinted!

09/20/05 - Required Bethany education class

09/30/05 - Scheduled just in case Infopass appointment for 10/18 (first available)

10/18/05 - Went to USCIS on Infopass appointment to inquire as to status of I-171 and discovered that my fingerprints had been misfiled

10/25/05 - Received approved I-171 from Norfolk USCIS

10/26/05 - J's 34th birthday

10/26/05 - I-171 copy notarized and sent to VA for state certification

10/27/05 - Brown envelope sent from American consulate in China

10/28/05 - Received state sealed I-171 from VA

10/31/05 - Hand carried dossier and 3 copies to Bethany office

11/01/05 - Dossier sent to Bethany office in Grand Rapids for review and Chinese consulate certifications ($3000 agency fee, $610 China Adoption Center fee, and $367 consulate certifications)

11/18/05 - Dossier sent to China!!!!!

12/05/05 - Log In Date

2006

1/13/06 - 10th wedding anniversary

6/14/06 - J & A physical appointments. Updated medicals required for upcoming homestudy update

8/29/06 - Home visit for annual homestudy update with new social worker ($300)

9/13/06 - A's 36th birthday

9/13/06 - Homestudy Update completed

9/19/06 - December 2005 LID's out of review room

10/26/06 - J's 35th birthday

12/19/06 - Fingerprints expired

2007

1/5/07 - Requested fingerprinting appointment from Norfolk USCIS ($140)

1/13/07 - 11th wedding anniversary

1/17/07 - Emailed Norfolk USCIS inquiring about status of print renewal and received return email notification of fingerprinting appointment

1/23/07 - Re-fingerprinted

1/27/07 - Received I-171H with updated fingerprint expiration dates

1/31/07 - Mailed I-600A (#2) to USCIS ($545)

2/9/07 - Bethany mailed homestudy update to USCIS

2/17/07 - Received new I-171H (expires 8/15/2008)

6/8/07 - J's physical appointment. Updated medical required for 2nd homestudy update.

7/11/07 - A's physical appointment. Updated medical required for 2nd homestudy update.

9/13/07 - A's 37th birthday

10/5/07 - Home visit for 2nd annual homestudy update ($300)

10/26/07 - J's 36th birthday

11/5/07 - Got the CALL!

11/6/07 - Received pictures and referral information and immediately signed Ava's acceptance letter

11/15/07 - Expedited Chinese visas in preparation for travel ($260)

12/28/07 - Ava's 9 months old today!

2008

1/13/08 - Leaving for Beijing (Our 12th Anniversary!)

1/14/08 - Arrived in Beijing

1/21/08 - Gotcha Day!

1/22/08 - Adoption Day

1/28/08 - Consulate Appointment

1/30/08 - Return to the US and Ava becomes an American citizen!!

8/1/08 - Filed VA readoption paperwork

11/07/08 - Submitted additional documents (Criminal/Child Abuse Clearances) requested by judge to VA court

11/10/08 - Adoption finalized in the Commonwealth of VA