Just Past the Stork of Midnite~

Half past midnight on Friday morning, I received THE email notification from the US Embassy in Hanoi. It was my preliminary approval from the I-600 document process and an official notice of travel approval to come to Viet Nam for the baby!

Details:

The I-600 document approval determines if a baby is actually an orphan or “adoptable” by US law. (as defined by section 101(b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended). Baby Brian’s abandonment was documented by 3 officials and all channels to locate his birth parents were exhausted. The US now agrees with that determination, and the adoption process can proceed.

What I have learned about the steps of I-600 for other Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs):

1) The I-600 filing, acknowledgement, investigation and pre-approval was completed by Mary Ann Russell, the Field Office Director at the USCIS, US Consulate General Office in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
2) When those steps were completed, this documentation was sent to the Hanoi Adoptions Unit at the US Embassy in Hanoi.
3) That office (Hanoi Adoptions Unit in Hanoi) is the office that sent me the I-600 pre-approval and travel invitation notice via email.

What this means:

Tomorrow our adoption agency will let us know what day we can travel. It is typically less than a week notice. We are ready to go!

Here is a picture of my Chinese American Texan Montgomery Indian Princess eating her Thanksgiving celebration meal at school today. It was an awesome luncheon. We are very thankful!