[kadyndestin]

Today is only day three after accepting our referral. I had no idea how hard this part would be. Then I feel bad because in the back of my mind I wonder if we should have waited for the INS approval. Then I feel guilty because I feel like God put this little guy in our hearts for a reason. Im frustrated and sad! Someone told me you can ask your congressman to write a letter to INS to get it pushed through more quickly. Does anyone know if there is any truth to that statement? Im grasping at anything to get things going. We had two different people advise us differently, and we had no clue who to believe. We just went with our instincts. I just hope I can make it through this wait without going crazy! My husband seems to be handling it so much better. I guess I wasnt quite prepared for how much I could fall in love with a picture!

[DPline]

Yes, you WILL make it!

You can contact your congressperson, and they MAY be able to help (once your complete file is submitted and if your application is dragging), but do a little research on who you contact. We did this after accepting our first referral without having our 171H, and the congressperson's staff only succeeded in throughly ticking of our local BCIS office and the processing officer. Not only did they not help, they made the situation worse. In hindsight, instead of contacting our local (federal) representative, I wish I had contacted one of our state senators who are known for advocacy on children's issues. You also might try writing a letter to the processing officer outlining your situation. (With a picture of your little one enclosed! )

Do you know what the currect processing time is for 171H's in your state?

[murk]

Yes you should get your congress person involved if you have been waiting for quite some time. We did and miraculously we received approval a couple of days later. So I say - Go For It!!!

[kadyndestin]

Ive heard 3 months....but I dont want to wait that long Not that they care what I want! I know in our state we can our homestudy to the person who does the state approval and they do it the same day....is it possible to drive it to the USCIS office?

[gdbe]

Why don't you post your state and see how quickly others have found your INS office to move on applications. THey may also have call in hours, like ours does. I was able to plead my case directly to the head processing person.

Gail

[DPline]

Exactly that Gail said. Post your state and see what the process is for your state. Ours currently you can't submit in person, you can call, you can't do anything but write, but it varies SO much. Often there is only one person processing applications and often only even part time, so they can get very backlogged and it is really only fair they take them in the order they were received.

Good luck! You WILL make it through!

[kadyndestin]

Thanks! I will go that.

[Mariais5]

In Orlando, if you tell the INS office that you already have a child identified, they will process quicker.. We were waiting on our I171 last year. I emailed the Orlando INS office and asked them to please hurry as we had identified a child, and they cabled our approval to the Embassy the next day ~ this was about 35 days after our fingerprints were done. I spoke with our home study agency just this week, and she said that cases she's handling with children coming from Columbia are getting INS approval in 30 days because they tell them they've identified the child... I'm sure all offices are different, but it's worth a try!