What's next?

I wish I could say that we are now waiting to travel, but that will still take a few more weeks until we can officially be waiting for that.  This next step(s) in the process is new to us, we did not have to do this with Xander.  We adopted Xander before the Hague Treaty was signed by both China and the US, and since that has happened much has changed...mostly more paperwork and more time involved.  Anyway, here is what will happen for the rest of wait for Lyla.

We have our LOA and we must sign it, fill out our I800 (and some supporting documents) and send it to our USCIS officer.  (Are you confused yet?)  The USCIS officer will make sure all the paperwork matches up and give it her approval, that approval (which tells China that the US approves us to adopt Lyla, who is a foreign born child) will be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC).  Once the NVC has it in their system they send it on to the US Consulate in China.  At that time they will issue an Article 5, which is what allows Lyla's visa to be issued.  The Article 5 must be picked up from the Consulate and delivered to the CCCWA (China's adoption headquarters).  And then , once that is received we wait for our Travel Approval, which is what says...

COME GET YOUR GIRL!!!!

Now, if that doesn't give you tired head nothing will, so here is the break down and the steps that we will be tracking:
1. I800 Application sent
2. I800 Approved
3. NVC Cable
4. Article 5 drop-off
5. Atricle 5 pick-up
6. Travel Approval

So, it doesn't really matter what each of those things means, just that we have to go in order.  It seems like a lot of stuff, but it typically takes about 10-14 weeks to complete.  We're crossing our fingers and praying real hard to travel in March, but April is more likely.  Watch the dates in the timeline on the right of the blog, I'll be keeping track there.

Oh, also, because we got our LOA our agency requests an update.  So hopefully, soon, we will get some new measurements and pictures of our big girl.  This mama has a closet to fill!