Two Rumors
The first rumor is that the CCAA is preparing to match. If you don’t know what that might mean then you may want to check out the “How the Matching Room Works” link in the right hand column under “Important Posts”.
The second rumor is that the USCIS plans to begin requiring that home study updates be submitted along with I-171H renewal requests, or at the most, within 30 days of the renewal request. I don’t believe they’ve given a date that they will begin requiring this, it sounds like they are just putting it out that it’s going to be coming. If anyone out there has more information on this one, please share.
March 18th, 2010 at 7:19 am
Regarding the 171H updates, we’ve always had to make sure our homestudy was current within 6 months in order to submit. Is this going to have to be even more current than that? We are letting our homestudy expire –yet again– so that we can be within the 6 month rule. LID 9/1/06 171H expires for the third time on 12/10/10. Homestudy expires May 2010. We weren’t planning to renew our homestudy until mid summer so it would be current enough for the 171H renewal. Will it need to be even more current than that?
March 18th, 2010 at 7:21 am
The rumor does not say when it needs to be dated, it just says it must be submitted either along with the request, or within 30 days of the request.
March 18th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Oh how I hope the first rumor is true!
rjnux
LID 5-18-06
March 18th, 2010 at 8:49 am
I agree with babygirlsmom–I’m not sure what’s different about the second rumor. Maybe this varies by the USCIS center, but here in the Washington D.C. area we’ve been required to submit an updated home study with each I-171H extension or renewal.
By the way, for those renewing, did you lose time the last time you updated your I-171H? When we did our first free extension, it expired 18 months from the time the extension was approved, so a couple of months longer than 18 months after our first I-171H expired. But then when we applied for the grandfathered I-600a, they backdated our expiration date so that it was exactly 36 months from the time our first I-171H expired, meaning that our new “18 month” period turned out to be only slightly more than a year. Did others have this same experience?
March 18th, 2010 at 8:55 am
When we filed for our free extension in November, I had to submit an updated home study. It didn’t have to be recent to the renewal, just updated since our original. Our state requires a home study update yearly which we have to do every February. So, when we applied for our free extension in October, I used the updated home study we had completed in February.
March 18th, 2010 at 9:23 am
I know that different states have different rules. We did NOT need to do a HS update for our first renewal in CA. We would not have had to do one for the second renewal IF we hadn’t moved. But we did move, so we filed before the expiration date in June of last year, and had six months to submit the completed homestudy. Our renewals/paperwork have always been back-dated to the appropriate expiration/start dates.
Really keeping fingers crossed for a referral before December 31st of this year as to not renew yet again!!
We likey part one of RQ’s post–refer through April 20th please!!
RRyahoos
LID 05/11/06
March 18th, 2010 at 9:51 am
Our LID is 9/26/06 and we let everything expire. I’m freaking out because I don’t know whether we have to start from the very beginning, scrapping everything that was done all those years ago!
Has anyone been in my position? I’ve emailed our large China-only (are they still? I don’t even know), but haven’t been given any guidance other than a link to the I-800 forms and USCIS website.
Thanks for any help!
March 18th, 2010 at 9:56 am
The second rumor is no big deal here. We live in Southern California and do a new home study every time we renew our I-171h which will expire this coming November. I will start the renewal ball rolling again this July/August. This will be our first Grandfathered free renewal if they still give you the free extension.
LID: 06/22/06
March 18th, 2010 at 10:04 am
daddyjac, same thing happened to me! I lost a couple of months on the third renewal. The new 171H has some asterisks near the dates and indicates that it is ‘Grandfathered’. But the dates really didn’t jive at all until I looked at the Original 171H. They seem to have back dated it and measured 36months from the expiration of my Original 171H. Hopefully, with a June 06 LID, I won’t have any issues, but will most likely require a fourth (free) extension. Ugh!
March 18th, 2010 at 10:09 am
daddyjac, same thing happened to us when we filed for our third approval (second extension). they had made a mistake when they had essentially given us more than 18 months approval on the first renewal so they corrected the error by making the second renewal (third approval) less than 18 months in length. So now, in total, our approval has been extended to a total of 54 months. Our agency posted a statement about this recently so it must not be that uncommon for people receiving their second renewal (third approval period).
March 18th, 2010 at 10:11 am
We too have always had to submit an updated homestudy with our new I171-H. My agency had also never charged us for it either, which I still can’t believe.
As for matching beginning already is just wonderful news even if it is just a rumor, I am loving it.
LID for Maizi: 6-2-06
http://www.babyjellybeans.com/web/do/site/home;jsessionid=EA542BAAA0E20A7667DB6F6B487015DD?ID=148897
March 18th, 2010 at 10:22 am
lightiv-
Keep us posted on the Free grandfathered extension. My agency has said that there is no longer a free grandfathered extension. Then again, our agency has been thru 3 or 4 China coordinators since we started, in November 2006. So, by the time I talked with the LAST China coordinator, I was told no, but then we got another NEW China coordinator.
I think every aspect of this process is growing stale before anyone really knows what it’s “supposed to” be like.
On another note, if they are matching right now, at least that part is going to be wonderful.
March 18th, 2010 at 10:27 am
daddyjac and eleanor, the same thing happened here in Detroit too. I was pretty steamed.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
In all fairness, I am on my third renewal and I always got 18 months from the date the last one expired. It didn’t seem exactly fair that some of the USCIS offices issued the renewal sometimes months later. I think they figured this out and put everyone a level playing field. I understand you were steamed, but techinically you initally got away with something most of us didn’t.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
With a LID of 5/16/06, those lost months really matter. Right now our I171-H expires in October. Even under the best assumptions we would be right at the line and will need to get an extension just to be safe. If they had given us a true 18 months we would have a cushion even if we didn’t get a referral until the end of the year.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
My agency put out a notice recently that the USCIS was NEVER supposed to give an extension of more than 18 months past the original date. The USCIS offices that did that were breaking the rules and that’s why some people are now seeing their 2nd renewals backdated a bit to make up for the first mistake. 1st renewal should be dated exactly 18 months after the first. 2nd renewal should be dated exactly 36 months after the first. It was unfair that some people were getting a few free months thrown in and other weren’t. They took 8 months to process my first renewal – that was 8 months past my exp. date. It would have been great if they had just pretended those 8 months hadn’t existed and given them to me for free, but they didn’t. No one else should be able to get that free time either.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
I am just happy to see that there maybe some babies on the way sooner! I just got my new I171-H, so we are set for awhile…Keeping fingers crossed!
March 18th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
mom2ping,
We are in the same exact boat. We are LID 9/12/06 and let our orginal 171H expire the first go aroun, to the recommendation of our agency (same one? large, once “China only”). We were adopting our son (domestic) at the same time it was expiring and our “free” extention was going to cost too much at the same time as adoption costs for our son. Anyway, I have not stressed. If fact, it’s been quite liberating in my opinon not to worry about new fingerprints, homestudies and renewal forms every 12-18 month. Your stuff that went to China is still all good, it’s just the US stuff that will need redoing. You do have to do the Hague training but we did all of our online and it was easy. Acutally interesting. So you are not alone! I am looking forward to working on the I800 (only b/c we’ll be closer to referral), but we’re going to let our date get just a little closer. I only want to do it once! Maybe we’ll travel together one day – I think the gap (12-26th) will be covered in batches by then! I’m starting to feel good about it :)
March 18th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
We hope the first rumor is true too!!! We also hope Rumor Queen is spot on for the prediction of 4-20-06!!! We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!
Jackie & Chris
LID 4-24-06
http://www.myadoptionwebsite.com/babybrianna
March 18th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Can anyone answer a question please…If we went SN, can we keep our origianal LID of 1-07 and go again in the NSN program in 2013?? Or is it once you switch programs, you can no longer keep in the NSN line and go later?? Thanks!
March 18th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
amykate,
I’m sure we can all agree that the expiration dates are completely out of whack to the current wait times for China adoption. Why are you so sure that an I-171H, which is supposed to be good for 18 months, should not expire 18 months after it is issued? After all, if it took 8 months to issue your first I-171H that time isn’t counted against you, and if it took 8 months to process your renewal you would still have to wait the 8 months before you could travel if you received a referral in the mean time. In every practical sense, you do not have approval during the time between the expiration of your I-171H and the approval of your extension.
Even if you’re right, why should it matter to you whether some other family is relieved of some of the unnecessary hassle USCIS puts us all through? If you got an extra 8 months I would say good for you, you shouldn’t have had to renew in the first place. (And don’t even get me started on the fingerprints)
March 18th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
mom2ping,
Our LID is Oct 06 and we did the same thing. It was a scary decision at the time, but I’m glad we went that route. We’ll start the whole updating thing when we think we’re within 10-12 months of referral. Now THAT will be exciting….counting down MONTHS instead of YEARS!! :)
March 18th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
May 29, 06 LID here and also let expire- and agree- it was liberating to be freed from the expirations. I am collecting all my paperwork for my sw to start the hs again. It took me about 3-4 hours to collect and copy the stuff required. I still need to get our police clearances and medicals- but knowing how it worked last time- they were done within days of asking for them, so not worried there. My agency does not want me to file too soon as they want this filing to last throughout the travel. I am getting the footwork for the HS done and then will wait for my agency to say the word for me to submit it with the I800A application. I am hoping to hear from them soon!!! Let’s go referrals!
March 18th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
I can’t believe that half way across the world…someone is looking at and possibly touching our Dossier about to complete our family…with God’s hands helping! Do i even let myself think about this rumor?? How will i be able to work the next week if this is true?? Good thing we set our fingerprint redo appointment for April 9th!!
LID 4-12-06!!!
March 18th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
we’ve always had to do that in the LA office Christy.
wBw
March 18th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Defintely liberating to let it all expire. And as one who was the agency guinea pig for I-800A I can tell you it is truly not that bad…YMMV, but in our case definitely not the nightmare that some have made it out to be. I think it’s key though to have an agency that will work with you on finding out what the different states require for the clearances, etc.–or better yet obtain the clearances for you (ours did).
Steph
March 18th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
guangximom,
I totally get you in terms of the fairness issue with USCIS (although we all know that the different district offices in the past pre-Hague worked in their own ways and make their own decisions.) I totally agree that everyone should get 18 months approval per renewal. What I neglected to elaborate on when I responded to daddyjac (in a hurry, didn’t feel the need to go over the miserable complicated details) was what occurred to us and what I’m guessing occurred to other families who were some of the “first” to apply for their second renewal (the third 18 months approval) and were in one of the offices that had essentially “extended” the second period of approval. The old USCIS forms did NOT have an expiration date listed on the form. They only had a date when the approval was granted. And on the form and all other USCIS documentation, it said this approval was valid for 18 months from the date of approval. We had submitted our third renewal within the 18 months from the date of approval on the second renewal but we were not aware that this date was no longer valid due to their decision to “extend” the second approval. I know this makes NO sense, it is so complicated, but basically we had to fight it hard to get them to realize how wrong this was (they told us that we were no longer eligible and needed to start all over as a Hague case.) Everyone went to bat for us, agency, social worker, congressman, etc. and it was resolved. But we were guinea pigs as we were apparently one of the first people to have this happen to as usually people have not had to re-file this many times. Now the forms have been changed to include expiration dates and offices have been charged to be consistent with the approval dates, especially with such a long wait for adopting from China. Sorry about the long winded response–I just wanted to explain why the issue isn’t as simple as “fairness” among waiting families.
March 18th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
Okay, let me clarify. I think I misspoke earlier. What happened to us was that our former I-171s were set to expire 18 months from the date of our application. This last one was actually back dated to the date on our homestudy update. So, for example, our homestudy update was dated (let’s say) June 30, 2009. Our I-171 expiration date was August 6, 2009. We sent in our application on August 4, 2009. Instead of our 18 month expiration being 18 months from August 4 (our application date), it was set to expire 18 months from June 30. So we lost a month. This is why I’m angry.
I’m all for everything being fair across the board for everyone, but I’m not okay with paying for the same dog-gone paperwork over and over again. And, while getting ripped off with ridiculous fees by both the government and my agency, I’m now losing time in the process! This especially hurts because this is our last time to file our I-171. After waiting four years (and what looks like at least another 24 months)…. yeah, I’m steamed.
March 19th, 2010 at 8:48 am
Thanks for taking the time to explain your USCIS frustrations :-) I’m still steamed at them for taking 3 months to approve our first I-171H back in 2005. Who would have ever thought that delay would translate into years of extra waiting. Heavy Sigh.
March 19th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Yes, if it was not for that 3 month delay on my I171H we would be getting our referral the next round. I had always planned in sending my dossier the day I turned 30 in mid April of 06 and that is the reason that did not happen. Who would have known it would meand many more months of waiting then.
March 19th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Ray & Shannon: WOW….. it must be so exciting to be next in line. I am so happy for you and your family! Do you have a blog or website? SHARE!!
Jackie P
LID 4-24-06 for our first child!!!
March 19th, 2010 at 10:12 am
wait4ever,
If you switch to SN then your dossier will go with your SN referral. With an LID of 1/07 you can travel quickly. We traveled in 2.5 months from LOI with an LID of 9/07, but you will have to file another dossier with CCAA if you want another referral after that.
March 19th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Here is what everyone is getting excited about “We believe CCAA is starting to prepare to work on the next set of matches.” This was posted by our agency which posts once a week and does not post rumors. However, as Ray & Shannon said, it is exciting to think our Daughter is finally being Matched with us after waiting four years!!
4/12/06
March 19th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Daddyjac said:
“Why are you so sure that an I-171H, which is supposed to be good for 18 months, should not expire 18 months after it is issued?”
I don’t even know what you are talking about here. I never said that an I-171 shouldn’t expire in 18 months. I said that everyone’s paperwork should be on the same expiration schedule – 18 months from one renewal to the other. Giving people “free” time isn’t fair. The USCIS paperwork says that it’s good for 18 months. Not sure how you can argue that it isn’t. I am currently going through my third renewal and will probably need a fourth even though I’m switching to the SN program. Had I been given those 8 free months, I probably could avoid the 4th renewal. I would love to not have to go through the paperwork hassle over and over, but I have to. I don’t have any sympathy for those whose “free” months are being taken away. Now, I DO have sympathy for anyone who might be shut out of renewing their paperwork because of the wrong expiration date being printed.That totally isn’t fair. But as long as that’s not happening and no one is being forced into the I800 process over the revocation of the “free” months, then that’s how it should be.
March 19th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
fortheloveof…china Says:
“Okay, let me clarify. I think I misspoke earlier. What happened to us was that our former I-171s were set to expire 18 months from the date of our application. This last one was actually back dated to the date on our homestudy update. So, for example, our homestudy update was dated (let’s say) June 30, 2009. Our I-171 expiration date was August 6, 2009. We sent in our application on August 4, 2009. Instead of our 18 month expiration being 18 months from August 4 (our application date), it was set to expire 18 months from June 30. So we lost a month. This is why I’m angry.”
Now THIS is something I would be livid over. That’s not fair. Your renewal of your paperwork should be 18 months past the last exp date of your I-171, not your homestudy. Have you tried to appeal it?
March 19th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
wait4ever:
We were logged in 10/13/2006. Switched to SN Aug 24, 09 and traveled to China on 12/2/09. If you leave one list for another you are out of the 1st list. You would have to start the process over again for the next child.
Hope this helps.
Matt, Laura, Tianna L I NY
http://journeytotiannarose.blogspot.com