Timeline and what comes next

After receiving our referral on 8/4, we had our pediatrician review Isabella's medical report. We wished that had happened overnight, but our pediatrician happened to be on vacation until 8/10. She called on Tuesday 8/10 and gave Isabella the all clear.

With the pediatrician's ok on the medical report, we could then submit our official acceptance of the referral to our adoption agency. We signed all the forms on Tuesday night and sent the whole packet overnight mail on Wednesday 8/11.

On Tuesday 8/17 at 6:30pm Julien received a phone message that one critical form was missing from our packet to be sent to USCIS (Homeland Security). THAT caused a mad scramble! Luckily a phone call on Wednesday morning calmed us down with the news that the form in question is one page and only required Julien's signature. Good news since Sabeth was on the Left Coast getting ready for her brother's wedding. Whew! Julien hand-delivered the form Wednesday afternoon and our I-800 packet was complete! We were told it was sent to Homeland Security that evening.

Now we wait -again... Waiting for Homeland Security to review our I-800 packet and issue a provisional approval. With that approval, the adoption house in Colombia (CRAN) will be able to give us a "gotcha" date - which will translate into a travel timeline for us.

When we get a "gotcha" date, we will have to scramble to buy plane tickets, get our visas, pack, etc. Based on friends' recent experience, we hope we'll be meeting Isabella around October 1.