What Exactly Is LOA? And Now What?

LOA stands for Letter of Acceptance.  Most people still call it that, although it is actually now called LSC (Letter Seeking Confirmation).  It is exactly that - a letter from China asking me if I accept this child's referral.  I did, of course, accept his referral.  And then it is sent back to China as fast as it can be sent back.  I sent it off on Friday and it was supposed to arrive back at CHI on Monday, but there was no one to sign for it so they will receive it on Tuesday.  Here is what it looks like.

See what date it was stamped? It gives this still very sad day, a new special meaning. 

Another smile from heaven?

This will probably be boring and not interesting to most to read, but I'm doing it partly just to get it more clear in my mind.  And if you want, go ahead and read, else don't.  I won't be offended if you don't.  ;)

The next thing I had to do was file forms I-800 and I-864W with USCIS.  Form I-800 is my application to the US for approval to adopt this specific child.  Form I-864W is to prove to the USCIS that this person won't be a burden on the US welfare system and that there is someone to sponsor him until he's a citizen. But in our case it's a bit different, being as Willem will be an automatic US citizen as soon as he arrives.  This is just to prove that he's an adopted child under 18 and doesn't need a sponsor.  I had to wait for my LOA in order to do these steps.  This 1" thick packet of paperwork also went out Friday and it arrived in Texas today, Monday.

After USCIS receives my packet they will email and let me know they've received it.  Then in the mail I will receive a Notice of Receipt from the lockbox in Texas, stating that they've received my application and the date they received it.  On here will also be my case number.  I should receive this in about a week.  They forward it on to the National Benefits Center (NBC) where all I-800 applications are reviewed and approved.  It takes about 3 weeks for approval. I will receive an official I-800 approval letter in the mail.

As soon as I receive this I-800 approval in the mail I need to send a copy of this and form DS-230 (Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration) to my agency.

After the I-800 application is approved my officer will express mail my approval to the National Visa Center (NVC). It could take up to 7 days to arrive, but when NVC receives my approval they enter my information into their computer system.

Within 1-3 business days the NVC will cable (email) my file to the US Embassy in Guangzhou, China.  This is approval of my visa petition.  They then mail me a letter stating that my petition has been forwarded to the Embassy in China.  I will have to send this NVC Letter to my agency, but I don't have to wait for the mail copy.  I can email NVC and check the status of my cable and ask them for an email (.pdf) copy of my NVC letter, which I can forward on to my agency, speeding things up a bit.

After I've (1) received I-800 approval and (2) have been cabled and (3) gotten my NVC Letter it's time for my Article 5 letter to be issued by the US Embassy. This is a step I don't have to really DO anything about, but it is helpful to know what is going on. Once I've emailed my NVC Letter my to my agency, they will forward it to their in-China representative. The in-China rep will take the NVC letter to the US Embassy in Guangzhou along with my DS-230 application and my LOA. The consulate needs to review my new child's visa application (the DS-230), make sure it meets the qualifications for an immigrant visa, and then signs off that everything is in order for the adoption to be completed. This is called the Article 5 letter. I cannot obtain custody of my child until the Article 5 letter is issued! The consulate takes a standard two weeks to complete this process. Once it's picked up from the consulate, it will be delivered directly to the CCCWA for Travel Approval!  I think you can figure out what that means!