[Adopting-Ethio]

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/ar...p/10004338.txt

Please pray that the Red tApe will be cleared for this little girl to come home. If you are in Illinois and feel led contact your representatives!

[kretzklan]

How many of us had not had "trouble handling stress" caused by others during our process? This is absolutely horrible...

[Hopeful_Jen]

We too go through the Chicago office of USCIS. We have spoken with them three times and they have been professional and nice. If there was a concern about a prospective adoptive parent, especially with all the news about Russian children being abused once they came to America, I think they did the right thing to ask for the "professionals" to take a closer look. USCIS is not fast, their process takes time, but they are responsible for making sure that couples have been properly evaluated and are ready for the responsibility of bringing home that child.

Everyone states that you need to have more patients with this process than you have ever had with anything else in your life. There is a reason for this and you really need to be careful before confronting someone, especially telling them that they aren't doing their job when you really don't know what they actually do for us.

We have to remember that we are paving the way for others who come after us. I thank those ahead of you who have kept your cool and have been a good ambassador for me.

I will pray that this little girl gets to come home to America soon, that she gets the best medical treatment possible, and that she lives a long and wonderful life.

[Kasey]

I feel for this family and the little girl, it is ashame that it has even gotten to this point. They have obviously submitted all the proper paperwork, documentation, psych eval and the family is in Russia, they could at least expedite the case for them.

while I appreciate the patience sentiment-sometimes people lose their cool and you can't help it, doesn't make them bad people or bad parents. This process can be very frustrating and when you truly feel someone is hindering your process, it is very hard not to say something, believe me I have been there (so obviously no one will be thanking me for "keeping my cool" ) I lost it on a guy in City hall who was more concerned on getting out for his cigarette break then helping me for the additional marriage cert I all of sudden had to get, I melted down. well mine was more of an hysterical sobbing, but still, this process can bring you to breaking points here and there and it doesn't mean you will be bad parents or should seek therapy for handling stress. It just happens, I am sure most of us have had people throughout this process push us to our limits?

I do hope this is resolved soon and this family can come home.

[Kendal]

What a maddening situation. Who among us has not lost our cool thoughout this process? Seems to me the woman at USCIS is a pretty vendictive person. For her sake she better hope all her "i's" are dotted and "t's" crossed because if I were this mother I would not rest until I had her job by the time it was said and done.

[SingleMama2B]

I Agree Kris...... If you have been through the entire process, you will have been pushed and pushed to the limits. Limits that most people (who never adopted) could not imagine. The emotional rollar coaster is NOT a joy ride. After reading the news paper article, I too could see that ALL paperwork, including (which may have been un-neccessary) was completed here and in Russia. I have come up against domestic workers of which I thought where not completing their jobs in a timely fashion (with information to back up my suspicions), but, me not being a 'lawyer', I took a different approach. If I where a lawyer, who knows. My adoption was NOT an added "Medical Issue" either!

I feel for this family, and SINCE they have completed ALL that was required of them 'here and there', I hope that the "red-tape" is finally cut, and that Masha can get the medical treatment that she sooooo needs!

[lovestruck]

The most difficutl part of this process is having absolutely no control. Once you turn in your paperwork you have to trust and believe that people are doing their job and when things don't appear to be going the way they are suppose to it's difficult not to wonder and/or ask if people are doing their jobs, because the reality is....we don't know, we simply have to trust, and sometimes that is much easier said than done!

It makes me so angry because of the cases that have killed or seriously abused their children it leaves such a double edge sword....if they did bring their daughter home and something happened to her or any of their children, the worker would have been condemned by the US and Russia for not following up. Once again, it's the very few people who abuse the system or their children that make it so difficult for all of us who just want to bring our children home to love! I hope they are able to get Masha home soon!!

[lovestruck]

let me follow up by saying, I'm not angry that PAP's need to be thoroughly evaluated, because we want the kids protected!! I hope that wasn't questionable from reading my post.

[momm2be]

No one blames USCIS when there is an abuse incident -- it's the family, agency, homestudy, neighbors, family that should have seen it coming - so I can't see how that worker is covering her butt.

I think this worker is being flat out vindictive. This is an office worker who probably does not have a social work/ psychology background - Not in the position to pass this judgement. If the homestudy said okay --- that is the expert opinion.

I hope this is straightened out quickly.

[mikeintexas]

It's always hard to tell what really happened between the USCIS worker and the PAP. The "truth" is probably somewhere in between the two stories...and we'll never really know what that is.

However, I am happy it is receiving some media attention. If USCIS is going to respond this way, it needs to be public knowledge. Likewise, the PAP doesn't come off smelling like roses either.

Still, boy do I know just how thin one's emotions become - esp. when in another country, exhausted, jetlagged, etc.

This appears to be another incident where the child gets caught in the middle...and regardless of who is at fault, that is very sad.

Mike