Waiting and Waiting....

I just got on the computer to engage in a very unhealthy form of cheering one's self up.  Retail therapy.  It is always my last resort right before binge eating every baked good and chocolate covered candy in a one mile radius.

We received Luka's official referral on May 10.  Yippee!  So, while we still had/have a few questions about his incomplete medical records and current developmental status, we accepted and I filled out and sent the i-800 form to USCIS.

This i-800 is the last step before we get a hard date to travel.  Our agency's rep has given us a two week target window of June 17 to the end of June for the court date in Poland but we won't know definitely until we get i-800 approval AND the consulate in Warsaw issues an Article 5 officially authenticating the i-800 approval AND our agency rep submits the Article 5 to the court in Poland.

Let's just say that the government wheels grind slooooooooowwwwwww.

The Notice from the Lockbox in Texas (this is like an intermediary postal box) states that our i-800 Petition was received on May 18.  Then it has to be shipped from the Lockbox in Texas to the National Benefits Center (NBC) in Missouri.  I don't know why they do this.  It seems like a completely unnecessary additional step.  I also don't know why we can't just submit our forms and supporting documents electronically and cut additional wait time off.  They don't even require original documents for this particular step.

Anyway, I called the NBC today on their designated Hague Adoptions line.  They still have not received our Petition.  :-(  Not received it?!  I guess they just wait until they get so many documents/petitions/applications so they can bulk ship or something.  Frowny face really does not do the frustration here justice.  Wish I knew how to make aggravated-will-rip-my-hair-out face.

Then, the lady says "it can take 10-14 BUSINESS [!!!!] days to reach us."  I knew that.  But really, when I read that a week ago on the official notice of receipt, I thought, "REALLY? Do they ship this stuff via Pony Express?  Do they wait for the last Stage Coach in functioning condition to return from it's once monthly trip to Missouri to ship out the documents?"  Otherwise, would someone tell me how I can get my Official Notice of Receipt from the Lockbox in about 2 days but it takes 10-14 BUSINESS days to ship our documents to the NBC?

Oh well.  Sorry.  Had to vent.  Now to shopping.