We got LOA!!!!!

Hello All-

I am filled with joy this week (even though it was also the deadline week for my magazine) as on Tuesday, May 18th we heard from our agency that we received LOA!! LOA stands for Letter of Acceptance and it is one of the biggest things that you wait for in this whole process. It means that the China gov't has given their official approval that Chen Jie/Jade-Rose is ours.

As you can see from my April 5th post, there is still more paperwork to be done, before we get the next big thing from China, which is TA (travel approval). Here is just a little bit from that post:

Acceptance Paperwork- When the agency receives your LOA (Letter of Acceptance), we will mail you a packet that contains the following:

The LOA from CCAA

• Legal paperwork for you to officially accept the child
• Statement outlining fees that are due at this time
• Completed I-800 application for you to proof read and sign
• Completed I-864-W for you to proof read and sign
• Completed DS-230 for you to proof read and sign
• Power of Attorney (if you plan for only one parent to travel) (not relevant for us)
• Visa Application

We received LOA on 5/18, we received our overnighted package on 5/19 and Dave and I signed everything we had to and overnighted the package back to the agency on 5/20. Hey Man! We are not foolin' around!

The only thing we did not do was the Visa application, we will be doing that ourselves, but everything else on that list was completed and returned to the agency. Our agency rep. said she would Fed Ex our I-800 to USCIS today as well.

Steps Remaining:

1. Once our I-800 is approved, USCIS will send our paperwork to the National Visa Center.

2. After they process it, they send our papers to the US Consulate in Guangzhou (all the legal adoption activity happens in Guangzhou, no matter where in China your child may be from).

3. After the US Consulate in Guangzhou does their thing, THEN it is sent to the CCAA.

4. It is the CCAA who has to grant us TA (travel approval).

AMAZING, right? Amazing how many steps and how many complete strangers and government offices both American and Chinese are involved in the adoption of a child.

Keep praying for us and sending out positive intentions to the Universe. I believe with God's help, he can assist all of the people involved in our process to move quickly and effortlessly on our behalf. I joyfully intend that we have the fastest TA turnaround that anyone has ever seen. It is my sincere wish..... And so it is.....