Closer to "The List"

A rep from the Citizenship and Immigration office called early this evening. My initial reaction was, "Oh no - we have to redo our fingerprints!"

However, it turns out she was processing our application and was about to issue approval (!!!!) when she realized we were missing one form from our home study agency. She was kind enough to call and ask us to fax it to her in the morning instead of going through the usual mail notification process. I think she could tell I was a bit excited - I acted like she was my new best friend. I would have invited her over for a sleepover, complete with a round of Girl Talk, if I thought it would move things along.

The missing form is our DHS child abuse clearance. I'll call our home study agency on my way to work tomorrow and beg/plead for them to fax it asap. Wow. I'm so pleasantly surprised our fingerprints have already cleared! I've seen several bloggers have to redo theirs. I'll never complain about the gritless-Orange Glo again.

The most recent addition I've seen to the list was about #253. However, due to a couple of referrals and some families changing to other countries (due to issues I'll blog about another time), that family has moved up about 15 places in the last month (that is certainly not usual). That family was added to the list weeks ago, and I don't know how many have been added after them.

Once we receive our I-171H, we'll overnight it to CHI with the biggest check we've ever written, other than for our cars or the down payment on our house. Money well spent. :)

CIS Visit

Hubby and I happily met at the Department of Homeland Security Office today for our fingerprint appointment. We were greeted by two stern guards at a security station much like you'd pass through at the airport.

Their serious demeanor didn't last long, though. Straight from work, I was wearing a dressy black knee-length skirt, sweater, and knee boots. The security guard asked me to remove my boots to pass through the metal detector. I complied... only to reveal hot pink striped knee socks that were originally part of my Strawberry Shortcake Halloween costume. Oops. Plan ahead, plan ahead....

While waiting for our fingerprints, we were instructed to scrub our hands with overscented lotion pumped from an industrial-size carton. Hubby commented that it smelled like Orange Glo cleaner, and we were told that's exactly what it was, minus the "grit." I felt like a citrus fruit for the rest of the afternoon.

We hit it off with the gentleman who took our fingerprints. He redid several of our prints multiple times to make sure they met the computer's specs. He and Lance discovered that they both became Catholic within the last few years, and they had a good chat about the Church and their classes.

A citizenship ceremony was about to commence as we left. One lady I met seemed absolutely giddy about gaining citizenship. I was excited for her.... I know it's not quick or easy to do so. There were dozens of people there, many of them with flowers and cameras. What a big day they were having!

As for us, we're so glad to have another step out of the way. Now we will watch the mail for our I-171H. Once we receive that, we'll overnight it to CHI and officially be added to their list. Based on other blogs I've read lately, we expect to be in the mid-200's. Let the waiting begin!

Fingerprint Appointment

WOOT! We have a fingerprint appointment! I received an email this morning that they have us scheduled for 12:00 tomorrow.... a bit of a short notice but I'm thrilled it's so quick. I couldn't tell from the way the email was worded if they had mailed us a notice that we never received, or if they just squeezed us in. I've been pleasantly surprised by the CIS office's responsiveness to email.

With a quick dental appointment switch for Lance, we can both make the appointment. I promise I'm not hiding a felonious background. For some reason they won't just take my word on it.

Fingerprint Appointment

Happy New Year everyone! Here's to a great 2008....

Due to wee bit of impatience, plus my concerns that our fingerprint notice may have been lost in the mail, I've been trying to contact someone - anyone - at CIS for several days.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive an actual email response this morning. They said our info has been forwarded to the ACS (whatever that is) for processing, and that we should receive a notice of our appointment time within the highly definitive time frame of two weeks "or so." Not exactly speedy, but at least it's moving!