It Arrived - Now What?

I'd mentioned before that the Dossier seems to be flying around the world on its way to the RMI... well, it's officially arrived! I'm so excited that it moved as quickly as it did but there's still a process that has to run it's course. No one has posted any questions for me so I may just blather on about what we expect to happen next since that seems to be the thing most people are asking me in person.

The disclaimer... I just want to reiterate that any timelines we experience or expectations we have about the process are ours alone. Other couples might have longer/shorter wait times or have requirements different from ours.

Okay - what happens next and how long is it going to take? Probably the thing most people are asking. There are two items in process right now:

1. The Dossier (arrived in the RMI on 2/2)
   
   The Central Adoption Authority (CAA) will review our information and determine whether or not they think we're a good fit for their program. I cannot underscore what a huge step this is! Unlike most open adoptions in the US where a birth mom (or family) choose the adoptive family, the CAA does this in the RMI. If the CAA likes what they see, they will match us with a child in their program. They will send a referral to our agency (LSS) who will look it over to make sure they agree on the match, and then make the formal referral to us. The timeline for this is unpredictable - it depends on too many variables to be able to accurately predict a date. That said, we're hoping it's not more than a month.
   
   We then have a few days to review the information. During this time we'll have the U of M international adoption clinic review any medical information we're given and make their recommendations. If we accept the referral, I think there are some documents to sign and return to the CAA. At this point, we wait until item #2 is complete.
2. I-600A
   
   The United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received our application and has scheduled our appointment for fingerprinting. I've requested an earlier appointment but expect that it won't be granted and that we'll have to wait until the 2/24. After that, the USCIS will continue processing our application and eventually send us an approval letter.
   
   The entire USCIS process start to finish can take anywhere from 4-12 weeks. We're currently a little over 2 weeks into that timeline. If the appointment remains on the 24th, that'll add another 4 weeks making a total of 6 weeks. I'm hopeful that we'll have our approval within 8 weeks but you never know.

After the 2 items above are done, the RMI will set a court date - not sure how long it takes for them to do that. Once we're notified of that court date, we should have between 2-4 weeks before we travel.

For those of you who just want a simple answer to the question, "How long before you travel?", my best guess if everything falls into place is around 8 weeks. It's unlikely to take less time, but could happen. It's entirely possible things will take longer. This is the waiting game people... and since we've shared this news with you, you get to join us for the fun :-)