Immigration (INS/USCIS) Appointment

I had the lovely experience of enduring some good old fashioned bureaucracy first thing this morning. I had to go to the Immigration office to submit my application to the government requesting permission to bring a child into the US. The process seemed easy enough. I was to go online and request an appointment time to ensure that I could get in and out in a timely manner.

So I followed the instructions and was granted a 7:30 appointment this morning. This was the first appointment of the day. The doors opened promptly at 7:30 and I went through the metal detectors and x-ray machines (just my purse was x-rayed, not me). The guards were very courteous and looked at my appointment confirmation and directed me to the correct window to be helped. Behind me in line there was a group of about 5-6 Vietmanese people who were directed to the other end of the room to wait for whatever it was that they came for.

I was very quickly serviced by the employee at the window. She looked over my form, verified that all the correct paperwork was attached (home study, birth certificate) and took my check. She then gave me a receipt and advised me to go to the other end of the room (where all the other people behind me had been directed) to be fingerprinted. And, oh by the way, that office doesn't open until 8:00. So my appointment was just to turn in my forms and check and didn't apply to the fingerprinting part of the process.

Well, I sat down and the crowd in the room grew larger. Promptly at 8:00 the window of the fingerprinting office opened and there was a mad dash for that window. Thankfully, I was sitting close enough and got on my feet quickly enough to gain position #6 in line. We then had to go through the line, show our ID, show the insides of our hands (to ensure there were no cuts) and received a form to fill out while we waited. You wouldn't think it would take too long to process 5 people's fingerprints but oh how wrong I was. Apparently, it takes longer if you don't speak much English because it took an hour for the 5 people in front of me to be processed. It only took me about 5 minutes to be processed. That was very frustrating. It seems like if they are going to issue appointments to turn in your paperwork (knowing that you also have to be fingerprinted) that they should issue an appointment for the whole process. But I guess that would be too easy. Would it be unfair to process US Citizens first? I know that sounds a little harsh but I sure did feel that way as I sat there listening to people speak in non-English languages.

Oh well, that part of the process is now complete. It takes 2-6 weeks typically for the approval letter to be received. After that letter is received, my dossier paperwork should be ready to be sent to Guatemala. My caseworker told me that part of my dossier paperwork has already been received back from the secretary of state and has been forwarded to the Guatemalan consolate. That was very quick!

Well, I need to get to bed so I can try to work a little more effectively tomorrow. I was discombobulated today arriving 2 1/2 hours late and going through the process at immigration. Just threw my whole day off.

I did stop at the library tonight to pick up some baby name books. I have a couple of names in mind but want to look to see if I can find the perfect name. Suggestions are welcome!

One step closer to bringing my daughter home.

Susan