While on LaGonave we were able to check E-mails only a couple times. Sunday evening, after most of the visitors left we checked our e-mails and found one from an Immigration services officer of the orphans adoption unit of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service of the Department of Homeland Security.
He was checking on how often we received our mail as our fingerprints needed to be received in 45 days or our application would be denied. His E-mail included an attachment of what we needed and stated that we could have this done at the embassy.
Monday morning Cory headed to Port-au-Prince with his first stop being the USA Embassy. One needs to have your USA passport to enter and we also needed it to renew our Haitian residential visas at the Haitian Immigration office.
The security woman at the entrance told him we needed to be in line on Tuesday morning before 7 a.m. We were in line by 6: 40 a.m. having left the Ortlip Center shortly after 5 a.m. By 7:30 we moved passed the first check point with our letter.
Then you hand in any cell phones outside the Embassy and receive a small plasic card with the number of the cubby your phone will wait in. Then you pass though security much like an airport-placing your personal items and belts in a tub while you walk through a metal detector.
After a short walk though a yard you enter a building with a brightly painted orange and light purple waiting room with many windows like at some banks on one side.
At first we went to the US citizen room but as we did not have an appointment [Cory tried several times to call on Monday but could not get the right person] we went back to the main room. After a bit of a wait our names were called and a nice lady took the letter and asked us to wait.
Then we were called to one of two homeland security windows to answer when we would be returning to the USA. Well we do not have any travel plans at this time so she went to talk to her supervisor while we waited again.
Good news-someone will come to take our prints. Just have a seat and wait. While this wait took a bit longer we did not mind knowing that had we traveled all the way home a return trip to the Embassy would mean 12 + hours of road travel and an overnight or two.
A young lady came and took our prints twice. A bit of panic when she noted she would not take our prints if we did not know the complete address of our employer but thankfully in Cory's wallet he had a card with the address.
One last wait after washing the ink off our fingers and we walked out of the Embassy with our forms 4 1/2 hours later.
Tuesday we will send off this last piece of documentation.
Prayers:
- I-600a approval
- Approval of new law
- Continued progress for families waiting or stuck
- New system of matching in Haiti
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