[KirbyLane]

Hi guys~

Ok, we accepted our referral back in August - August 19th to be exact and brought all the paperwork the agency had given us at that time back in on the 22nd and today I just got a letter from Homeland Security. It says Notice of Approval of Relative Immigration Visa Petition. And it says my petition was forwarded to Seoul, Korea. Is this so that the baby can now get a Visa? I thought the passport came first. Anyway, does my agency need this form? Does this help measure travel time from this point? Probably not I'm guessing but wouldn't it be nice! I think I remember my agency telling me to expect a letter from HS in a few weeks but I was so excited that I don't remember exactly.

Anyway, if anyone can put this into lamens terms for me, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks,

Jackie

[cthy757]

This is good news!!! It's the last step on the U.S. side before travel. With our agency, the legals (papers from Korea that tell us the this child is legally free for adoption) are sent to us and we send them to USCIS using the I-600 form. Some agencies do this for you. Once the legals are sent to USCIS, immigration faxes the favorable notice to the embassy in Seoul and they send the adoptive parents this notice also. During the process over there, someone from your agency in Korea will file for a one way travel certificate for your child to legally enter this country (similar to a passport). This is how customs will know that this child is entering the country legally...Hopefully, the next bit of news you get will be your travel call...And, yes, your agency will need this form just in case there is some glitch and USCIS needs to fax the form to the embassy again.

Cathy

[ahfdragonfly]

I think we were about 2 - 2 1/2 mos from visa approval. I'm pretty sure we sent a copy of the notice to our agency, I remember e-mailing them. Everything is now up to Korea. Hope it's a short wait!

Millie