a long overdue update (and finally some news)

It’s been many months since I have written here, mostly because we have been USCIS purgatory this whole time. It has been a long anxiety filled wait, but we are finally starting to make forward progress again. Let me give you a very brief update about what has happened over the last four months (taken from our timeline post):

november 29 - home study completed/sealed/apostilled
november 29 - file i800A with USCIS
november 29 - all dossier documents sent to agency for approval/translation
november 30 - dossier sent to Bulgaria
november 30 (arrived December 9) - uscis lockbox
december 27 - uscis biometrics
march 8 - i800A approval (arrived march 15)
march 16 - i800A approval sent to Bulgaria
march 19 - i800A approval arrives in Bulgaria

We are now waiting for the International Adoption Committee (IAC) to meet in Bulgaria (they meet weekly-ish) and for our dossier to come up for approval so we can be officially matched (right now we are considered soft-matched, which means they have held her file for us while we gather all documentation). Once we receive this match, which we hope happens in the next couple of weeks, we then wait for something called Article 16 (which is the written referral) so we can accept it and start the next round of USCIS requirements (I-800 application). We will also then be waiting for trip one dates - which we still anticipate will be virtual. Things slow down and the IAC doesn’t meet for most of April because of Easter/Orthodox Easter, so our hope is we will be matched and have trip one dates locked in before then. Keep your fingers crossed and prayers coming.

Just a couple of proud parents celebrating their long awaited I-800A approval (it’s important to celebrate every small step forward).