From the European board
Not sure what to make of it, but one poster says that someone on the August board contacted BLAS and was told the CCAA is moving and closed and they can’t ask them anything right now. They don’t know when referrals will be mailed, but they “think that it will not be very behind schedule”. They told this man that he may get his referral more or less at the end of August or September. (No mention was made of exact LID, just that he is on the August board).
Remember, this is going from Chinese to another language to English, and through several people.
July 18th, 2006 at 4:01 pm
What does BLAS stand for?
July 18th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
Bridge of Love Adoption Services. They share (shared?) an office with the CCAA and often provide answers to their clients.
Which reminds me - does anyone know if they are moving to the CCAA’s new building? Their website is down right now.
July 18th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
My (small/med multi country)agency said that BLAS is moving with them. BLAS translates our documents and provides our interpreters and all our travel plans. BTW, my agency usually only tells things that are for sure so they don’t say much, but they really try to emotionally support us through this tough times. I am usually telling them what is going on and I really think they honestly don’t know. I don’t think they hide anything.
July 18th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
I’d like to know more about this one.
BLAS reportedly told this guy with an AUG LID this?
1. CCAA can’t be bothered because they’re moving (thought we got past the being closed thing).
2. don’t know when referrals will go out but doesn’t think they’ll be much behind schedule.
3. More or less may get referral in Aug or Sept and he does have an AUG LID.
did I get that right? Can we get something alittle more substantial possibly? Do we think he’s just saying this or is BLAS a pretty good source?
so many questions… so little time… well, maybe more time than a little, but you know what i mean :)
July 18th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
I personally think they are closed completely for at least a couple of days. Some agencies say this is not the case, but many do. The question then becomes how long they will be closed, and how long it will take each department to get up and running. (and, of course, when TA’s and referrals will go out).
As for the rest of it, that sounds right. BLAS is generally considered to be very very reliable. However, this is like the telephone game on steroids - not only has it gone through several people, but several language translations as well.
July 18th, 2006 at 5:58 pm
Would make a big dif to know where in August this person’s LID is? Any way to find out?
July 18th, 2006 at 8:53 pm
Rumor Queen…I just love it when your rumors make me smile!! Okay we all have to take the bad with the good…but it was nice to see this little smidgen of hope after a few days of those other rumors…makes my day just a little happier!! Thanks as always for all of the work you do to bring us these rumors!! (the good the bad and the ugly…*grin*)
LID 2-24-06
July 19th, 2006 at 4:06 am
In addition to when in August this guy was logged in, what’s your thinking about “end of August or September”? Do you think that means “end of August or early September”, or “end of August or end of September”?
If anyone should see any marbles lying around..? They’re mine.
July 19th, 2006 at 7:22 am
I would guess it meant “end of August or end of September”. But, if they know (and I’m not saying they do) that this batch may come out in early August then it’s always possible they meant it the other way.
I know, that wasn’t very helpful. Sorry.
July 19th, 2006 at 8:06 am
ugh i hope that the referrals stay the course because if we’re hoping….thinking we’re going to make it with a September referral, and they shift/delay the time they release the referrals out to the beginning of the months…then that would put us at the beginning of Oct which would be just past our threshold on having to not re-do or re-do our I-171H. An early Oct referral would be cutting it way too close. :(
ugh. please please don’t let the referral release dates get pushed back like that.
July 19th, 2006 at 8:23 am
tg,
We just had our fingerprints re-done…in NC, they expire after 15 months…but I have blindly thought that would be the only thing we’d have to do…other than a hs update when we move…so tell me….am I naiive about the I-171H….if THAT expires in mid-December or so, and we (early Aug LID) do not get our referrals by September’s end…..would I need to re-do that too? Forgive me, but I don’t know what that entails…any insight? i.e. how long does it take, how much $ is involved….help?!?!? I have just put it out of my mind thus far, but seeing that you are LID 2 days after me, I thought maybe you knew EXACTLY what you were hoping to avoid. Any help would be appreciated.
LID 8-08
July 19th, 2006 at 9:12 am
waitingforAllie-
well, the LID date difference isn’t so much the question as when the I-171H is to expire. The way it was explained to me by our agency was this: the I-171H expires, as you know, 18 months from when it was issued. as the adoptive family, you have to have been referred, traveled, and be back in the States BEFORE the expiration date. Our agency gave everyone the guideline of having to have referral 10weeks prior to the expiration of the I-171H. The thing I gather is that they use the period of 8weeks from referral to travel and 2weeks for the time in China and the return home. Now lately it seems that everyone’s traveling well before 8weeks has gone by since their referral, so I guess that 8week number is “worst-case” (?). Our I-171H expires 12/6/06 and 10weeks prior would be 9/27 if I remember correctly. This is where I’m coming up with needing to have referral by end of Sept.
As far as what needs to be done for re-doing the I-171H…your agency would be your best source for that. The requirements differ by State apparently. For us to re-do the thing, we’d have to have police/FBI clearances and medical exams done again. We’d have to have a home-study update (which shouldn’t be a big deal because nothing’s changed for us), and of course we’ll need to be refingerprinted and submit a new I-600A. And there’s all the costs and time associated with that. I really would suggest talking to your agency about what you guys will need to do and their estimate of how long it may take. We were told 2-3 months. I plan on having the police and medical forms done by mid next month. Hopefully it will look good for us to get our referral in time…but if it looks too close or not sure… all we’d have to do is touch base with our SW and send in the documents to the USCIS for getting a new I-171H. It really is alittle frustrating and ‘nerve-wracking’ to be so close…on the bubble…and just wanting to be confident about not having to do it, but still not wanting things to go awry and get stuck waiting for the new I-171H and possibly being delayed in traveling to get our babygirl.
I hope that helps. :)
July 19th, 2006 at 9:32 am
WaitingforAllie,
We are in NC (Chapel Hill) too, with a 7/25 LID. If you don’t mind my asking, where are you all? Are you using a local agency?
July 19th, 2006 at 9:39 am
WaitingforAllie -
Since you are in NC and so am I - I’ll tell you what my agency and SW said. tgred and I have the same agency so ditto on his comments. They notified us 6 months prior to I-171H expiration to start looking into re-filing and talk to our SW. My SW contacted NC’s USCIS office and they (USCIS) stated to re-file 4 months prior to I-171 expiration. Mine expires mid Dec with a late August LID. I’m going to wait until August referrals and then re-file. My SW told me to go ahead and get the update done (which is a medical, criminal check, a new employment letter and my latest 1040) and then hold off as long as I can for the I-171. But - Charlotte’s office is notoriously slow (it took 15 weeks for the last one) so I can’t hold off past early September.
July 19th, 2006 at 9:52 am
that’s odd because our N.C. agency told us that they would contact us 3 months out prior to our 171 expiring… for us that would be Nov. and that’s if we don’t have a referral by then. i wasn’t sure what exactly to expect to have to do with N.C. — and with the charlotte office being SO S-L-O-W we are also wondering if we should wait until Nov?? we are having our fingerprints redone though for sure… ours expire end of Oct!! any idea on how to do that a little faster than the first time we had to go thru them??? does the appt letter come much faster than the original letter???? i’m just curious since it’s a renewal if they don’t give you some sort of priority?? geez… i sure hope so anyway….
July 19th, 2006 at 10:09 am
I’m with you guys worrying about referrals switching to the beginning of the month because of the move–it sucks and I really hope it doesn’t happen. If it does my I171-H is also in risk of expiring–I think 10 weeks before our date (Oct. 20) is late July. So if referrals don’t come in the next week or so I am going to start freaking out!
July 19th, 2006 at 10:22 am
FWIW — one thing that might help with the I-171H — contacting your local representative. When we wrote to ours about the extension, his office called and said that while the extension was under consideration, they would assist us in getting the I-171H expedited (and implied that they could get it turned around pretty quickly). At least in our district, they are aware of the delays with IA from the PRC and are willing to assist those caught in the crunch. We are LID 7/26 and ours exp 12/26, but even if we receive our referral in August, if travel is delayed, we could be caught in a crunch — yikes — so we keeping our rep’s number handy. Hope this helps.
July 19th, 2006 at 10:38 am
Thanks for that info, Sunshine. You look like you’ll be okay regardless–if you get your referral in August there’ll be four months between then and your expiration.
I’m guessing that the rep’s offices won’t help with the cost, though…..I’m not so nervous about the turnaround time as I am with the fact that it will cost so much and I will have to do it all while working a full time job and getting ready to travel. I just don’t want to have to think about it, so I’m not. Lalalalalalalalaa.
July 19th, 2006 at 11:13 am
I also am hoping things do not slow down. Our LID is 7/8 so we are very hopeful for this next batch. Our I171 doesn’t expire until 12/6 so that should be okay, but our homestudy in the state of Mississippi expires 10/1. Our SW said that if we didn’t have TA by mid-August that we would need to renew it. I hope it is simply a simple update. Now, according to our agency - it doesn’t expire as far as China and the US gov. are concerned - just the state.
Sitting on pins and needles.
July 19th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
Someone (person B) is asking him (person A, from above) his LID, and stating that {the agency that is sometimes right} has told him (person B, 8/29 LID) to expect a November referral.
So we have the Australian prediction of 18 months within a year (5 more than current), and now this new European prediction would be 15 months within 4 months (2 more than current).
I don’t like either one.
July 19th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
And the answer is, Person A’s LID is 8/18.
So, BLAS is predicting that 8/18 will get their referral at “more or less the end of August or September”
I’ll take it. It’s way better than the other predictions. That has them holding just about steady with the current wait.
I wish we could just pick and choose which will be true.
July 19th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
tg and others,
Thank you so much for taking the time to give me your imput. I printed off this page!
I am feeling completely overwhelmed with things to update….things that MAY, or may NOT need updating…all the while trying to sell our current home and build a new one just over the state line. I’ve been told to wait until Sept. or so to do an update in NC, and then find a new HS agency in SC (the state to which I will be moving)….to do the post placements. It all scares me that I am going to do something wrong, or something late….but I really need to get my ducks in a row and just do it. Right?
Unfortunately, my family coordinator at my agency is leaving. After 19 months of getting to know the in’s and out’s of my family’s situation, I fear that her replacement will not be as knowlegeable. SO, I have THAT to worry about too. Hmm.
kimava,
I am in Charlotte. No, we are not using a local agency. It is a pretty big agency in VA (am I allowed to say that RQ?)
jmlance,
Our fingerprints expired before (by like a week or two) before our actual appt. We requested an appt back on April 24th and (I don’t know when we actually received the actual appt. letter, but) they scheduled us for a July 11 appt. So, really almost 3 months for the actual appt. I guess what I would say is to request the appt….soon, afterall, the new prints will be good for another 15 months, right?
Thanks for all your help everyone. I need to start pluggin’ away.
This all stinks. I just want my baby girl.
LID 8-8
July 19th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Okay, so if person ‘A’ is 8/18, and person ‘B’ is 8/29, where does that put a person with oh, say, 8/25???
Mary
LID 8/25
July 19th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
Depends on whether you want to believe BLAS or the European Agency that is sometimes right.
Because I think this is an either/or thing, I don’t think both are right.
July 19th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
I choose to believe the one that says I’m getting a referral sooner rather than later. Yeah, I know, it’s a recipe for a major letdown probably. But a girl can dream right?
July 19th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
Waiting for Allie,
I thought it sounded like we were at the same agency. I checked your website and we are. I’m sorry that in the midst of all of this, you have to add moving and a new family coordinator. Hopefully it won’t be long now. Let’s go with the positive thoughts!