USCIS approval!

We got our USCIS approval letter today! Giddy was the right word to describe me as I flipped through the mail, past the Christmas cards and catalogs to find a plump envelope from the USCIS. I immediately planned a visit to the Secretary of State's office tomorrow for another apostilling adventure. (I will take 4 quarters this time to spare myself a trip to McDonald's, if you remember last time.)

I was a bit deflated, however, when I found that I needed letters from our physician, instead of just our physical forms...which means I immediately called our doctor's office, leaving a message that we would love to have those letters ASAP. So, I am not sure when they will get done. But you better believe that as soon as I get them in my hands, I'll be burning rubber on the way to Springfield.

As soon as everything has the (literal) seal of approval, I will send it off to our agency. I am really not sure how long Step 4 will take. The entity responsible for our children must meet to formally approve us, and we don't know when they will meet again. 

Assuming they approve us, we will get a huge amount of paperwork and that will process our last (maybe) USCIS approval.

I say "maybe" because we are on a time crunch. If we don't get back to the US with our kids by 3/21/13, we need to apply for an extension from the USCIS.

Today is encouraging, so we're thankful for progress.

Update the Paperwork Process
Step one - Physicals -  DONE!
Step two - State of IL approval - DONE!
Step three - USCIS approval - DONE!
Step four - Poland approval
Step five - USCIS approval
Step six - wait 30 days before we can travel
Step seven - meet our children!