Just another delay - ugh!

I thought it would be good to write a quick update as to where we sit with the process.  So many of you have been with us on this long, life-changing journey I think it only right to keep you updated on the status of getting Mighty and Agbesi home.

 

 Yesterday (Monday, November 21) was day 63 since our I-600 petition application was filed by Brandie and our attorney at the US Embassy in Accra.  At that time we were told the processing time for our application would take between 30 to 60 days with a maximum 60 days.  Maybe I’m optimistic or just a little diluted, but when someone tells me it’ll be between 30 and 60 days – but a maximum of 60 days, I just figure that means they won’t start on our process on day 59 ½….but apparently when dealing with the US government (in any country) that’s just the norm and to be expected.

On Thursday (November 17^th) I finally received the following email from the US Customs & Immigration office in Accra:

Dear Jason & Brandie:

Our concluding investigations indicate that Martilda and Emmanuel are not siblings.   Payment will therefore have to be made for the I-600  filed for a 2^nd child.   Payment can be made at the embassy. 

Additionally the guardian of Matilda is said to be a relative of her father - please provide either the death certificate of Martilda’s father (Samuel Bedzrah) or evidence from the guardian to show unconditional abandonment of Martilda.

We will conclude and make a determination on the I-600 once the above is complied with.

Thank you,

USCIS, Accra

WHAAAT?   We had known about the additional fee for the processing of the non-sibling kids (and paid the fee while in Ghana – easy fix)…but that second paragraph really threw me for a loop!  We’ve been told from day one that Mighty’s biological father was “unknown” and had died before her birth – NOW HE HAS A NAME?  What in the world????

I immediately contacted Anita and asked for her opinion on what was going on.  She’d already been CC’d on the reports and had already begun to dig into the situation.  Through this whole adoption process the one constant is that AAI has always been on top of things and was the best support system we could have asked for.  This time Anita and I threw out several rhetorical questions as we talked – Where in the world did they get information on the father?  Why didn’t his information come up before or at court?  What else do we know about him?  What else can we find out about him?  Since we actually DO know who he is do we know other relatives on his side?  Possible cousins, aunts, uncles?  These are all important questions which we’ll want to know and for sure Mighty will ask in the months and years ahead.

After a little investigative work Anita figured out the report filed with the I-600 application was the Social Welfare Director’s Report which information was obtained from a final interview with the families and guardians prior to court.  This made sense why Agbesi’s mom and Mighty’s aunt were in Accra when we arrived in country.

I went back to the Social Investigation Report (the report from the SW investigator’s initial meeting with the family to determine the child’s eligibility for adoption) and re-read these two pages I’ve read nearly a dozen times to see if maybe, just maybe I’d missed some information.  Nothing.  Now I was really confused.  Did the initial investigator forget to fill in some of the information?  Or maybe the aunt KNEW the dad’s family and was worried they may say something to the investigator which would disqualify Mighty from adoption?  Either way, we didn’t know what happened between the first interview and the last interview that changed the story.

Anita requested a copy of the Director’s Report from their representative in Accra.  Once we were provided the report it was evident the story had been changed.  Our guess is the aunt – seeing that now the kids were matched and the adoptive parents were flying over for court – was more comfortable with providing the REAL information on the biological father.  OR – just like I’ve always told my kids – once you’ve told a lie you’ll have to tell another lie to cover…and at some point you’ll forget the first story you told!  Maybe her mother never taught her that lesson?  J

In any regard, we now have to confirm the story in the Director’s report and, if proven correct, we’ll need to supply the USCIS with a copy of the father’s death certificate.  Anita has passed along the request to their ‘boots on the ground’ in Accra and assures me it will be handled with priority…but of course, we’ll need to discount that priority with Ghanaian Standard Time.  Here in America it’s easy:  Pick up the phone, make a couple of calls, talk with the right person, find out the real story, and consider the story confirmed!  However, in dealing with the rural parts of Ghana – not so much.  Phones are available, but they’re certainly not a commodity or common among the working-class.  The AAI representative may just have to drive all the way out to the village and try to find the aunt in order to confirm the story and then search down the death certificate.  So, who really knows when we’ll have the necessary documentation – could be a week, could be three months – we don’t really know.  This is the part of the adoption that I absolutely loath – waiting on something or someone without knowing exactly what’s going to be done or when.  So frustrating!

Once the documentation is received and forwarded to the USCIS they’ll HOPEFULLY quickly approve our I-600 petition and pass the file off to the other office in charge of the kid’s visas.  We’re told the visa approval process could take 30 – 60 days.  Not this again!  Can’t at least ONE part of this adoption process go smoothly or at least more quickly than the “typical” timeline?  Is that so much to ask?  I mean, it’s not like we’ve been waiting for two years or anything!!!

The most frustrating part of this is that we were REALLY hoping to have the kids home for Christmas – it was one of those ‘perfect dreams’ where we’d have the whole family together for this special time of year.  I guess we should have known better considering how this whole process has been for us.

Please don’t misinterpret, I’m trying to keep on the positive perspective of things – so, at least this last delay has provided us some information for questions we’ll surely have later.  We know how her father is – at least his name for now – that’s more than we had before.  Hopefully, when we finally do get to go back to pick the kids up we’ll get to meet some of his relatives so we can learn more about him…at least for Mighty’s sake.

But in the end…it’s still ANOTHER delay and we still don’t have a definitive answer on when we’ll get the kids home.  All we can hope (and continue praying for) is that it will be soon.

Thank you for your prayers and concerns on our behalf.  We appreciate it.