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China Adoption: USCIS Appointment

October 7, 2011 By
china-adoption-uscispaperwork-honolulu-2011-2

Last Wednesday (September 28, 2011), our guide delivered Raean’s US Passport with her IR3 Immigrant visa to our hotel. On Thursday morning we set off on our journey to Honolulu, Hawaii via Seoul, Korea. The journey was long and wore us out! I do want to say though that in my last 20 years of international travel I have never experienced better customer service than with Korean Airlines! I wish they flew to Africa from the States! When Stephen was throwing up during the night due to motion sickness they took care of our every need! They didn’t treat us as “customers” but as friends. So thankful for their service, care and attention! They also took great care of Raean and made sure we had bassinet seats and everything else we needed to take care of her.

After we arrived at the Honolulu airport (9am) we proceeded to immigration where the officer said, “Are you the family we’re supposed to ‘expedite’? We loved the sound of that! “Yes!” we replied. He told us he would make sure the USCIS got our file that day.

We rushed to get a car rental, find a bite to eat and then make photocopies of adoption paperwork in preparation for our appointment that after noon at 1:30 with the USCIS office downtown. I was only 10 minutes late after trying to find the office! I paid the N600K fee, submitted all supporting documents and then the immigration officer said that we probably needed to redo Raean’s passport photos (we had taken extras in China in prep for this appointment but the color was faded). I didn’t have Raean with me and their office was closing. So, that meant another trip into town on Friday to have her passport photos retaken and submitted. At this point, we had done all we could do. Now it was time to wait.

Yesterday (Thursday, October 6, 2011) the USCIS office called (and emailed) us our interview appointment date and time! We are hoping that this means THERE ARE NO PROCEDURAL CHANGES in the Certificate of Citizenship application process for us and that next Tuesday, October 11th, we’ll be able to complete the interview and receive her CoC.

In the last week we’ve been working on four paperwork issues at once and have made numerous trips to OfficeMax for copying, scanning and emailing:

  • Certificate of Citizenship: We now have an appointment for 10/11/2011 for an interview.
  • 1st Post Adoption Report (PAR) for China: Our first PAR is due October 31st which means that we had to find an accredited Social Worker in the Ft. Worth area to visit us while we are in Texas and do a “home” visit and prepare all of the necessary documents to file our 1st PAR. To begin the process we had to fill out more paperwork and submit it to the agencies office in Austin, Texas (via email)
  • IMG Health Insurance: We were able to file the application and medical records this week and IMG already granted her Health Insurance Certificate adding her to our family insurance. They even back dated her coverage to the day she was adopted in China!
  • Re-Adoption in the US: We were able to file the necessary application forms and supporting documents with a law firm in Ft. Worth to “Re-Adopt” Raean in the US and get a court date for October 21st with the Tarrant County Court to complete the process. This will ensure that in US legal terms, she’s our adopted daughter! When the process is finished, we will have a US Adoption Certificate definitively stating that she’s our daughter! Here’s the legal wording that will be in the court document that we just love:
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that Petitioners’ request to adopt the child in the United States be, and it hereby is, granted; that the name of the child be, and hereby is, RAEAN LI CROWSON; and that the parent-child relationship exists under Texas law between the child, RAEAN LI CROWSON, and Petitioners, MURPHY ATHEL CROWSON and CHRISTINE CAROL LANGSTON CROWSON, as if such child had been born to Petitioners.

If/When we receive Raean’s CoC next Tuesday, the next “filing” will be for her US Passport in Honolulu.

In-between all of this paperwork we have been able to enjoy several days at the beach, 2 snorkeling trips, a Hawaiian Luau, a visit to the USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor and lots of swimming:) We’ve also enjoyed having Papa and Mama Dear (my parents) here with us as we continue to “bond” with Raean as a family.

We have had a few challenges in Paradise though…. The traffic in souther Oahu is TERRIBLE! One day we spent over 3 1/2 hours in traffic! Can you imagine my frustration! Raean DOES NOT LIKE BEING CONSTRICTED IN A CAR SEAT! Every car trip is fill with lots of tears crying for mama to rescue her! This is one active little girl that does not like to be tied down! On day three of our car rental this parking lot post/column jumped out of the ground and hit our car on the driver’s side causing some significant cosmetic damage! Did you know that Hawaiian parking lot columns are ALIVE!  So glad we bought collision insurance. Lots more paperwork now though filing the claim. I joked that as we were coming to an end of our adoption paperwork that I was subconsciously looking for more! NOT!

We appreciate your prayers for our paperwork processing to much. It’s all coming together at once! If all goes as planned, expected and hoped, we will have Raean’s Certificate of Citizenship next Tuesday, apply for her US Passport that same day (with a two-day turnaround) and then leave for DFW next Friday night! We’ll let you know how things go!

 

Filed Under: China Adoption, Crowsons, Pictures, Prayer, Prayer Answers, Prayer Needs, RaeAn Li

China Days 8, 9 & 10: U.S. Consulate

September 26, 2011 By
We took the immigrant oath on RaeAn's behalf in fulfillment of the US Immigration requirements.

We took the immigrant oath on RaeAn's behalf in fulfillment of the US Immigration requirements.

Last Friday, after getting RaeAn’s passport, we boarded a plane for Guangzhou, China. Our flight was super easy and RaeAn did great! She played, took her bottle and slept the entire trip without a single tear! We thought the altitude would hurt her ears, but evidently it didn’t!

As we exited baggage claim we were met by our new guide, Elvan. He’s hilarious! We have been laughing at this jokes and stories since we first met! When he was in school, he tells the story of how his English teacher wrote 45 English names on the board for the students to choose from. Peter, Paul, John, etc. Unfortunately, he was sitting in the back. So by the time it was his turn all that was left was “Elvan.” So, he’s been Elvan for the past 15 years!

Saturday morning our family went to a medical clinic where RaeAn had a Medical Exam in preparation for the US Consulate appointment. Saturday afternoon, Elvan and the guys spent two hours going over our paperwork to make sure every little detail was perfect.

Sunday we visited another Buddhist temple where Elvan explained that for the majority of Chinese people, Buddhism is more “tradition” than it is “religion.” We saw lots of people burning incense and praying to the different Buddha statues. Elvan mentioned that for most people there, they were just going through the motions as they have specific needs in their lives. Made me wonder how often we just “go through the motions” of worship on Sundays because of our Christian worship traditions. Is that what our God wants from us? It’s a far cry from loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength…. Something to think about for sure.

Sunday night we enjoyed dinner at Burger King! Yum, yum:)

Monday morning we went to the US Consulate (along with dozens of other families adopting from China) to finalize adoption paperwork and take the “Immigrant Oath.” The consular said everything was in order! RaeAn’s US IR3 Visa will be ready tomorrow! For those who have been following our adoption journey from the beginning, this was THE DAY that all of the paperwork was for! All the notaries, authorizations, home studies, fingerprinting, payments, applications, etc. were in preparation for this day! Hip, hip, hooray!

We’ll get her Chinese passport back tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday) and then Wednesday is a “free day”. Thursday we leave for Honolulu and more USCIS paperwork processing! Still praying that proposed changes in the Certificate of Citizenship application process won’t take effect until AFTER RaeAn’s CoC is completed….

It’s been one week since they first put RaeAn in our arms and everyday just gets better and better. She’s such a bundle of sweetness and joy! She’s bonding well with all of us, something we are VERY thankful for!

There’s one other thing I’d like to mention…When we first received her medical report at the time of her referral, it noted that she was “Active.” Oh my goodness, this baby is ALWAYS ON THE MOVE!!! The only time she’s still is when she’s asleep:) Go, go girl!

Posted more pictures… Enjoy:)

Filed Under: China Adoption, Crowsons, Pictures, Prayer, Prayer Answers, RaeAn Li

China Day 4 – Together at Last!

September 20, 2011 By
Together at last!

Together at last!

It’s been a wonderful and emotional two days! It began Monday morning when we left our hotel at 5am to head to the airport for our 2 1/2 hour flight south to Nanchang city in Jiangxi Province. After exiting the airport we met our second guide, Meggy (I’m sure that’s her “American” name! I doubt I could pronounce her real name:) )

Shortly after we got on the bus she told us (our family and another family traveling with us) that we were going to meet our daughters at 11:30 at our hotel. After our arrival we would have about 20 minutes to get checked into our room and then our babies would arrive! Imagine the excitement! We thought it would be in the late afternoon!

We hurriedly checked into our room and got our cameras ready for the big moment! The plan was for Stephen to take pictures, Matthew to take video, Christine to hold RaeAn and I would interview the Orphanage Director with our list of 26 questions about RaeAn before he left!

Although we’ve been planning and waiting for this day for over five years, nothing could truly prepare us for the emotions of this wonderful moment as they put RaeAn into our arms for the first time! It’s real! We are finally together!

After the Director left, we jumped right into filling out paperwork and signing all kinds of documents (while we ate Papa John’s Pepperoni Pizza!). An hour after we had RaeAn we were off to the Center for Adoptions in Nanchang to finalize her adoption certificate, take her passport photo and be interviewed by their Director. Then we headed to the notary office to have our statements taken and signatures notarized. Then to the police station where they took a picture of RaeAn for a police report. Finally back to our hotel for a delicious meal before heading to bed. (RaeAn went to sleep at 8pm and didn’t wake up until 7am! I on the other hand, I went to sleep at 9pm and woke up at 11:30pm and didn’t go back to sleep until 4am! Just too wound up with emotion!)

One of our prayers for the past five years was that RaeAn would be put in foster care and not have to stay in the orphanage. We found out from the Orphanage Director that after she was found she spent a total of three days in the orphanage and was then given to her foster mother. She was with her foster mother until the very morning they gave her to us. In fact, Monday morning they picked her up from her foster mother and drove 3 and 1/2 hours straight to Nanchang to meet us.

We are so thankful for the wonderful and loving care that she was given until we could care for her ourselves. Leaving her foster mother though was and still is very difficult. The Director said she cried the entire three hours it took to bring her to us. Even now (yesterday and today) she will suddenly get a panic look on her face and begin crying… calling ‘mama, mama, mama’ while looking around the room. Whenever the door to our hotel room opens, she’ll look as if she’s hoping her foster mother will come in and rescue her from this strange family! Tears fill our eyes as we see her grieving for the loss of her foster mother. We are so thankful for her tender love and care for RaeAn! Knowing that RaeAn is missing her so also breaks our hearts…

Today was a great day though and she is taking to us more and more. She’s going through cycles of emotion… playing happily with the boys, crying for her ‘mama, mama’ then smiling and reaching for Christine, then crying because she’s hungry, enjoying milk, formula and apple juice, then sleeping because she’s exhausted, then crying for her ‘mama, mama’, then sleeping, then playing. That’s pretty much been our last two days.

Today (Tuesday) we went to Wal-Mart to buy what one of our guides called, “The Baby Stuff”. We just love that phrase and can’t stop saying it! Meggy had to help us shop because even with pictures, we couldn’t figure out what some of the things are that we needed!

Following Wal-Mart we enjoyed a nice time at a beautiful park. It was fun to walk around and just enjoy being together as a family. The boys got to run, jump and get some pent up energy out too!

We will be here in Nanchang until Friday while we wait for RaeAn’s Chinese passport to be processed. Friday night we’ll head to Guangzhou where next week we will process her US IR3 Visa.

I’ve posted over 40 pictures from the last two days for you to enjoy. I have some great video too but haven’t edited it or compressed it enough to upload to the net yet. Enjoy the photos while you wait!

Many thanks for all of your prayers… God is blessing us so much… I have more to tell you about RaeAn, her background and other answered prayers about her life, but those will have to come another day… Know that every single prayer we have prayed for her care, etc. has been answered… So thankful, even as we all go through the emotions of bonding as a family.

Filed Under: China Adoption, Crowsons, Featured, Pictures, Prayer, Prayer Answers

China Day 3 – RaeAn Li Crowson!

September 19, 2011 By
RaeAn Li and Matthew Crowson! Happy Birthday Matthew!

RaeAn Li and Matthew Crowson! Happy Birthday Matthew!

We are excited to introduce you to our daughter, RaeAn Li Crowson. We are also excited to celebrate Matthew’s 11th birthday! What a special day. As you can see, RaeAn is exhausted. They said she cried for three hours this morning all the way to meet us in Nanchang (about a three hour drive).

Matthew sang her to sleep…. so sweet.

This afternoon is legal paperwork finalizing the adoption. I’ll post more pictures tonight!

Oh, I was able to ask the Director ALL of the questions that we wanted to ask! I got to the bottom of the list and said, wow, I’m done! Another answered prayer!

 

Filed Under: China Adoption, Crowsons, Pictures, Prayer Answers

China Day 2 – The Forbidden City and The Great Wall

September 18, 2011 By
The Great Wall of China

 

The Great Wall of China

The past two days were filled with city tours and site seeing. The highlight was visiting and climbing to the top of The Great Wall of China… Lots of steps!

We were joined by two other families also adopting children through CWA yesterday and are so blessed to have others here experiencing all of this with us!

Tomorrow morning we leave the hotel at 5am for the airport to fly 2 and 1/2 hours south to Nangchan City. After checking into our hotel, our guide will then take us to the China Adoption Affairs office where we will meet our daughter! It’s hard to imagine that after 5 and 1/2 years of waiting THE DAY has finally come! I think that we’re 14 hours ahead of Central time. If we meet her at 2pm China time that would be midnight Central time… So, when you wake up Monday morning, we’ll have RaeAn in our arms! How exciting is that!

Pray for her adjustment and bonding with our family, that it will be smooth and quick. As well, please pray that we will be able to interview her caretakers. We have many questions!

Below are a few pictures from Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy:)

Filed Under: China Adoption, Crowsons, Pictures, Prayer Answers, Prayer Needs, Stephen & Matthew

Safe Arrival in Beijing

September 16, 2011 By
Arrival in Beijing

Arrival in Beijing

We had a fun, safe, easy and uneventful flight Kigali to Beijing. After immigration and customs we walked out of the secure area and found Mi Nan holding up a sign for us! We enjoyed a short ride through the city to our hotel as Mi Nan described the details of the next few days complete with “being in Beijing” advice and tips. We took a walk around the block and I kid you not, this city smells like yummy Chinese food everywhere we’ve been! Perhaps it’s because we’ve been walking up and down restaurant alley.

Exhausted and off to bed. Tomorrow we will relax, rest and plan to visit Tian An Men Square and the Beijing Zoo where we’ll see tons of Panda Bears! Tomorrow night we’ll be joined by two other families who are adopting through our same agency (Christian World Adoption). One of the families will be with us the entire time and are also bringing their seven year old on the journey. We’re looking forward to meeting them and sharing all of this with them.

Internet is SLOW….. and I can’t seem to get on Facebook… But I am able to download pictures and hopefully post this message!

Filed Under: China Adoption, Prayer Answers

China Schedule

September 14, 2011 By
redthread

Below is our schedule while we’re in China. We would greatly appreciate it if you could pray for us specifically on each day. As well, please continue to pray that the USCIS will process our daughter’s Certificate of Citizenship in three days as they have done in the past before new changes take place!

We leave Kigali tomorrow afternoon at 3:45pm and arrive in Beijing Friday afternoon around 3:30pm.

We are so thankful for how your prayers have carried us this far!

We are supposed to have internet at different hotels in China and will be updating our blog as often as we can…

Oh…. So excited!

Crowson China Itinerary

China Women Travel Service Head Office
HAO RUN Building 50 Deng Shi Kou Da Jie, Beijing 100006
Tel: 86-10-65254272   Fax: 86-10-85113514   E-mail:ad@cwts.com.cn

Itinerary for the Crowson family / Lu Rui Wen?2010/12/27?

Sept. 16: Arriving in Beijing by the flight ET 604 at 15:30
Staying at Jian Guo Hotel
Sept. 17: Free day
Sept. 18: Local sightseeing: the Forbidden City and the Great Wall
Sept. 19: Flying from Beijing to Nanchang by CA1573 (0750/1015)
Staying at Jin Feng Hotel
Meeting the child and doing registration in the afternoon
Sept. 20: Doing notarization
Doing shopping for the baby stuff
Sept. 21: Local sightseeing: the Teng Wang Pavilion and the People’s park
Sept. 22: Local sightseeing: the You Min Temple and the Elephant Lake Park
Sept. 23: Getting the passport
Flying from Nanchang to Guangzhou by MU 5231(1925/2100)
Staying at Garden Hotel
Sept. 24: Taking visa photo and Physical check
Sept. 25: Local sightseeing: the Yun Tai Garden
Sept. 26: Visa appointment at 10:00, and swearing ceremony at the Consulate
Sept. 27: Getting the visa
Local sightseeing: doing shopping in the local market
Sept. 28: Local sightseeing: the Six Banyan Temple
Sept. 29: Leaving for home by the flight KE 866 at 12:40

Hotel information:
1. Jianguo hotel in Beijing
Tel: +86-10-65002233
Fax: +86-10-65002871
Address: 5, Jian Guo Men Wai Da Jie, Beijing?100020

2. Jin Feng Hotel in Nanchang
Tel: 86-0791-8867777
Fax:86-0791-8868888
Address: Zhan Qian Xi Lu 281, Xihu District, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330002

3. Garden Hotel
Tel?+86-20-61136156
Fax: +86-20-38471992
Address: 368, Huan Shi Dong Lu, Yuexiu Qu, Guangzhou,510064

Filed Under: China Adoption, Murphy, Prayer Answers, Prayer Needs

China Adoption Update: Headed to China!

September 5, 2011 By
chinaadoption-chinavisa-featured-640x300

In our last post we said,

There are two possible dates for when we would be able to travel to pick up our baby girl: September 15 or October 28. Obviously, we prefer the date in September!

In order for that to happen though we need two small miracles:) First, we need to receive travel approval from China by the end of August. Second, there needs to be an available appointment for us at the US Embassy in Guangzhou the last week in September. To get to travel that quickly would be “icing on the cake!” So, LET’S PRAY FOR ICING!

If you pray for icing, go ahead and get your cake ready! Both miracles happened and we are excited to announce that we are headed to China on September 15th and our US Embassy appointment is September 26th! AWESOME!!!!!!

If our understanding of our schedule is correct then we will get to meet our daughter on Monday, September 19, two weeks from today. This is also Matthew’s 11th Birthday! What an awesome birthday present:)

We thank you for praying for us, for miracles, for paperwork, for logistics. God is listening and answering. We waited and prayed for so long and now the answers are flooding in!

Our tickets are purchased, hotel reservations made and China visas stamped in our passports! It’s true! It’s real! We’re headed to China!

You can imagine the range of emotions we are experiencing… Rush, rush, rush to get ready to leave. Long “to-do” lists that never seem to finish. Excitement that we are actually getting a daughter. Nervousness about the trip, logistics, and change in our family. Uncertainty as to how to file certain kinds of paperwork. Dazed by the reality that we are leaving in less than two weeks! Prayerful that everything will go just as planned!

Last Friday was a difficult day as we found out about more “unknown and uncertain” USCIS paperwork. It’s confusing even to us! Since we live overseas, the US does not recognize us as “US Residents”. In a normal adoption case, when the US family returned home, the USCIS would automatically process a Certificate of Citizenship (CoC) for their adopted child.

No so for us! We have to file a special USCIS form called a N600K to apply for our daughter’s Certificate of Citizenship.

There is great confusion as to whether or not we can get a US Passport for our daughter without this certificate. Some say we must have it. Some say we don’t need it. The USCIS and State Department seem to disagree on this matter. The State Department will issue a US Passport without the CoC, but the USCIS doesn’t like that and wants the child to have a CoC before they apply and receive a US Passport. This whole process, it is rumored, can take from 2-6 months to complete. We need to have a US Passport for our daughter before we return to Rwanda. If we get the passport before the CoC then the USCIS may (as they have done in the past) deny her a CoC. Confused yet! Obviously, we don’t want to hang out in the States of six months!

The solution that many Americans adopting while living abroad have taken is to first enter the US via Honolulu. The USCIS office in Honolulu has, as a service and courtesy to US Citizens adopting while living abroad, processed the adopted child’s CoC in just three days under these conditions:

  • Honolulu is their first port of entry into the US
  • Appropriate appointments are made ahead of time
  • Necessary forms are filed and paid for
  • Proof of citizenship is provided
  • Proof if provided that the parent has lived in the US for at least five years, two years after the age of 14.

As well, in Honolulu, once the CoC is granted, the State Department office there can issue her a passport in just two days.

Thus, our plan fly from China directly to Honolulu to get our daughter’s CoC and US Passport in a matter of days. This is the easiest and best option for our family which will enable us to return to Rwanda quickly.

Friday though, we received a shock!

The USCIS office in Honolulu wrote us (after we had written them of our plans to arrive on September 29th) and told us that their office will be closed and no appointments will be available until October 11th. FURTHERMORE, during this time their office will be conducting an audit AND the procedure for CoC applications may change.

The office was very gracious to us and said that they hoped we would not be affected by the changes! Can you imagine the panic! Christine just happened to look at me as I was reading the email and asked, “What are you doing?” The shock was evident on my face!

So, here is our next prayer request for you:

Pray that our daughter’s Certificate of Citizenship and US Passport can both be processed in Honolulu at the USCIS and State Department Offices as planned. Pray that any possible changes in the USCIS CoC processing WILL NOT EFFECT US and that our dauther’s CoC  and US Passport can be processed under the current system!

We prayed for icing before and God listened and answered. Now we are praying for whipped cream and a cherry on top! May all glory and honor go to Him for He is a Good God who listens to the prayers of His people and answers them in His faithfulness out of His abundance!

 

Filed Under: China Adoption, Featured, Murphy, Prayer, Prayer Answers, Prayer Needs

China Adoption Referral: It’s a Girl!

August 7, 2011 By
chinaadoption-referral-featured

We are very excited to announce the arrival of our China Adoption Referral! (Send me an email and I’ll send you a picture.) She’s seven and a half months old! We are still working on names and will let you know as soon as we decide. She will always be Precious though!

We received “The Call” from our case worker in the States on July 27th while we were at a family encampment for Rwandan Missionaries.

We all prayed specifically that our USCIS paperwork would be completed “before” we received a referral from China and it was! Six dates before to be exact! Wow, isn’t God’s timing awesome!

We received her official file from China four days after the phone call, signed the letter accepting our referral and sent it back to the States. Now our agency will forward our acceptance to China and then they will give us “Travel Approval” which will allow us to obtain China Visas and get an appointment with the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China. Once we have those two items, we can buy our tickets!

There are two possible dates for when we would be able to travel to pick up our baby girl: September 15 or October 28. Obviously, we prefer the date in September!

In order for that to happen though we need two small miracles:) First, we need to receive travel approval from China by the end of August. Second, there needs to be an available appointment for us at the US Embassy in Guangzhou the last week in September. To get to travel that quickly would be “icing on the cake!” So, LET’S PRAY FOR ICING!

We are so thankful to all of you for your faithful prayers all these years! This story is a story of prayer, faith, persistence, patience and mercy!

Filed Under: China Adoption, Crowsons, Featured, Prayer Answers

China Adoption Update: Approved!!!

July 22, 2011 By
crowson-171h-2011

They say a picture paints a thousand words. This one says it all!

We received an email from the USCIS Nairobi office yesterday that our I-600a Petition to bring a foreign born orphan into the US was approved and our I-171h was attached as a pdf!

Specific prayers were answered and we are praising and thanking the Lord!

As well, there’s a rumor on China Adopt Talk saying that the matching process, where orphans are matched with waiting families, could begin next week. Meaning, if they cover six days of LIDs then they’ll be matching us with our daughter within the next ten days! How exciting is that???

Thank you for praying us through this process up until now. Let us continue on in prayer until we can bring our daughter safely home!

Filed Under: China Adoption, Crowsons, Featured, Prayer Answers
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