USCIS update

Thank goodness for distractions, right? We've had so many different things going on lately (selling the house, searching for a new one, adoption related matters, trip to South Africa, etc.) we've barely had time to sit back and breathe, let alone get impatient about anything.

Well, I emailed Los Angeles USCIS today to check on the status of our I-600A application. I'd been told I could check the status online, but my receipt didn't have the proper number code on it and I wasn't able to. So, I emailed the Orphan Petition Unit to ask for the correct number and an update. To my big surprise, I actually received a response within an hour! And, better yet, the response told me that our application had been approved and our I-171H was being sent to us tomorrow! Holy smokes, that was fast! Just over two weeks from application to approval! Way to go LA USCIS! I'd tried to prepare myself for it taking anywhere between 1-5 months!

Of course, this also comes as a bit of sad news in a way. Now that our I-171H is ready to be mailed to us, we are able to travel... except that bit about at least one of us needing to be 25 before we go. So, that means at this point we will just be waiting to go. I do have to do a homestudy update (very short, updating the HS to state we're adopting from Zambia and not Ethiopia), and if/when we move do our address updates and homestudy update. I'm holding off on having our homestudy updated to be Zambia specific until the move happens so we can hit two birds with one stone. ;-) Smart thinking, I know!

On the move front, we put in our first offer yesterday morning on a very nice house. We were worried it wouldn't be worth the effort since the sellers don't seem to be ready to accept the condition of the housing market and were priced quite high. Nevertheless, we gave it a shot. The response we got was that our offer didn't deserve a response. Yikes! Their realtor also proceeded to lecture and insult us in every way possible. Kind of makes me want to tell her what kind of person she is, but instead, I guess I'll just have to enjoy it when we find a much better house at a good price and they can't get that one sold cause they won't pull their heads out of you-know-where and get their price to be market sensitive!

Enough for now! I'm off to see some more properties and then have a LONG overdue visit with a Semester At Sea friend I haven't seen since I walked off the ship for the last time in December of 2003!