I-600A - check

On Wednesday I called the Adoption agency and chatted with Lesley about our I-600A (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition) which goes to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (US CIS). I wanted to make sure that everything was filled out properly - otherwise they will send it back to us and I just don't want to play that game. So now our forms are all filled in - I went to Kinko's last night (after reading online on another adoptive parents blog that this "helps" speed them along because typically salmon paper = baby) to have our forms photocopied onto "salmon" paper. Yes it gets THAT picky! You just wouldn't believe?! So now our I-600A form is all filled out, I'm waiting for Dean sign it when he gets up, then I'm off to the bank to get a certified check and then off to the post office with copies of our birth certificates, marriage license, and all of the other necessary photocopies they require when submitting this. Our finalized Home Study will be sent separate, since we don't have it back yet.

Backtracking a little - earlier this week we got our next 'checklist' from Lesley at ATWA. Our note from her says:

Welcome to the Japan Program!

Hi Dean and Jennifer: Here's the next step and I'm so glad that you're with us. Cheers, Lesley

Now that your home study is well under way, on to the next step! (Attached was a list of documents that we have to supply to her.) When you submit any of these items, the next payment is also due.

Only really waiting on the home study so that we can send that off to US CIS and hope that they don't reject our paperwork. Once our paperwork is "approved" by US CIS, they will send us an appointment to have more fingerprints done, I think we have to go to Phoenix for that, but I'm not positive, the fingerprints have to be taken by one of their people, unlike the others, we just went to the Security office and had them do 3 sets of fingerprints - the luxury (?) of working for the Government. We have started our "Dear Birthmother" letter, but need to "fine tune" it with some particulars that Dean wants to include...gotta love my husband!

I don't think that I had mentioned previously - in the Japan program we aren't allowed to specify gender (or complexion ???), and we are required to choose two Japanese girl names, and two Japanese boy names. From these names that we have chosen, the birthmother will ultimately choose one name (depending on the sex of the baby) - which Dean and I will include in our baby's name. I have a list of about 10 girl names, and only a few boy names. I would like to use Dean's middle name (Masayuki) as one and his Dad's (Masao) as the other, but we will have to see what Dean wants, I guess he should be included - Just Kidding!!! LOL!

Well I think that I have covered all of our happenings this week.