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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 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

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

Specific Adoption Paperwork Prayer

July 7, 2011 By
redthread

Friends, family and prayer warriors,

Thank you so much for your intercession today. The information, ideas and solutions are flowing… It was a good day.

With the help of our Social Worker, Randy Barlow, we were able to submit the information that we believe is sufficient to answer the USCIS Nairobi’s request!

Please pray specifically that the USCIS Nairobi office would accept and approve our updated home study “AS IS” just like the USCIS Accra office accepted and approved our previous three home studies.

The previous three home studies and this new update are all virtually the same. For some reason, the first three were not questioned but a specific item in this fourth one is being questioned.

Encouraged and full of positive expectations! Glory be to the One who is above all powers, thrones, rulers and red tape! Let us hold steadfast in prayer!!!

Filed Under: China Adoption, Crowsons, Murphy, Prayer Needs Tagged With:

Another Adoption Paperwork Snag

July 6, 2011 By
rippled-chinese-flag

Dear family, friends and prayer warriors,

We have come across another adoption paperwork snag and need your prayers.

The USCIS in Nairobi has asked us to provide some information that I don’t have and don’t know how to get. It’s complicated, so much so, that I don’t even understand it all.

We have contacted numerous people who might know the information that they need and are trying to be patient as we wait to hear back from them.

For now, please pray that the information that we need to give to the USCIS in Nairobi can be provided to us quickly so that we can respond to them soon. We have 30 days to comply with their request.

On an exciting note, China matched children with waiting families for six LIDs this past month which puts them through July 6th! (See this page for an explanation of an LID)

We are just six LIDs away from receiving a referral which could mean that in just 4-5 weeks we may be matched with our daughter (Our LID is July 12th).

However, nothing can move forward until our USCIS paperwork is re-approved.

You can imagine how nervous we are that we are still doing paperwork! It’s especially frustrating to me because I am powerless in this situation. When things are impossible, that is a great time for God’s power to shine through. Pray that it does, to His glory and to our joy. Most importantly, for the sake of a precious little girl who needs a loving family.

Filed Under: China Adoption, Prayer Needs

Disciple Maker Kabeza

June 8, 2011 By
disciplemaker-kabeza

One of our daily prayers in Rwanda is that God would raise up more disciple makers (Luke 10:2b). We praise God for answering this prayer over and over. Here is a story about Ejide, a young man who came to Charles Kabeza (ATN‘s Director) asking to be mentored! Pray for Charles, that he would disciple Ejide to follow Jesus. Pray for Ejide as he seeks to be discipled by a Godly man.

Note from Charles Kabeza

Murphy,

I wanted to share with you a new opportunity that God has put in my way.

Last week I got a call from one young man who is a student at SFB (School of Finance and Banking). This young man is involved in the Xtra Mile Community in Nyamata.

When I met him he told me that he is involved in a Compassion International Program. That program advices them to have a mentor. From our conversation he told me that he has observed what kind of person he may learn from and he found that Karoli (Charles in Kinyarwanda) is the model person for mentoring.

His request is more than what compassion asks them to do but he wants to learn all aspects of life including spiritual.

For now I do not know well his commitment to Jesus but I will. So I wanted to share with you this as my intimate partner to promote DMM.

Please pray for me so that I can be really a good model not only a Christian by name.

Find the picture of Ejide and Kabeza.

Blessings,

Charles Kabeza

Filed Under: Featured, Prayer Answers, Prayer Needs, Rwanda

China Adoption Update – So Close!

June 1, 2011 By
chinasdoptionpaperwork-may2011

One of our mentors and long-time friends encouraged us to focus on what “we know” and not let our minds wonder and speculate about what we don’t know. This encouragement has been very helpful and increased our confidence that this is going to work out and that God’s timing is going to be just perfect!

So, here’s what we know:

  • God has blessed our paperwork processing for over five years now. Beginning with the initial home study all the way through our last I-171h renewal. He has opened doors, providing us with contacts, brought people to our aide, given us wisdom and provided all the funds that we needed every step of the way.
  • We have been approved by the USCIS to adopt three times already (2006, 2008 and 2009).
  • We have been approved by the China Government to adopt.
  • Our FBI fingerprints have been taken and processed successfully four times.
  • God miraculously returned all of our adoption paperwork when it was left in a taxi in 2006.
  • The Kigali Embassy, USCIS Accra and Nairobi staff have been helpful and kind all along the way.
  • God has given us the patience and strength to wait for over five years.
  • We are within 2-3 months of receiving a referral from China and could possibly travel to China this fall.
  • China has referred children to families with LIDs through June 30, 2006. We are just 12 LID days away from receiving a referral. See our adoption page for an explanation of LIDs
  • In May of this year China referred 10 day’s worth of LIDs (June 21-30). This many LIDs have not been processed in over five years! If they continue this trend and refer another 10 days of LIDs in June then that would put them through July 10th. Again, our LID is July 12th which means we could possibly have a referal from China in July!
  • God has brought us this far and will carry us the rest of the way! We are so close!

Here’s the current situation:

  • Our third I-171h (approval from the USCIS to adopt a foreign born orphan) is expiring and we need to renew it. (We submit an I-600A application and if it’s approved then we receive an I-171h.)
  • When our 2nd I-171h expired we had moved to Rwanda and fell under the jurisdiction of the USCIS Nairobi Office (We were under the jurisdiction of the Accra, Ghana office while we were living in Togo.)
  • In 2009, when we asked the Nairobi office about our application to renew our paperwork, they told us that we had to submit our application with the office that initially processed our file. So, we mailed our updated police reports, home study, etc. to Accra, Ghana and they processed and renewed our I-171h.
  • In 2011, as our 3rd I-171h was about to expire, we sent our application back to the USCIS office in Accra.
  • After reviewing our paper work (they received it on March 15) they determined that we needed to file this application with the USCIS office in Nairobi and that they were sending our paperwork back to us. It arrived this past Monday, May 30th (2 1/2 months after they received it). I do not know why it took so long to make this determination, but it did. They did apologize for the omission and forwarded the email explanation on to the USCIS office in Nairobi.
  • After receiving the paperwork Monday (May 30), we quickly wrote new cover letters and reorganized the updated application documents and sent them to the USCIS Nairobi (Kenya) office yesterday (May 31st, Stephen’s Birthday) via FedEx. We took the picture above after we prayed over the paperwork and just before we headed to the FedEx office.
  • Now we must wait for the Nairobi office to process our paperwork. We have not had any contact with them by phone or email thus far. The Accra office was very good about communicating with us via email. We hope and pray that this will be the same for us with the Nairobi office.

Specific Prayer Requests:

  • That the person in charge at the USCIS Nairobi office would have our paperwork on his/her desk by this Friday June 3rd.
  • That the USCIS Nairobi office would communicate with us promptly via email or phone.
  • That God would grant us favor with the USCIS officials and staff so that our I-600A adoption application can be processed with expediency without complication.
  • That the officials would review our 4th I-600A application and updated paperwork by June 15th.
  • That the USCIS would approve our application, granting us a 4th and final I-171h.
  • That we would receive our I-171h before we receive a referral from China (This would be icing on the cake!).
  • That God would bless mine and Christine’s “nerves” as this is mentally and emotionally stressful!

We made double, triple, quadruple sure that all of our paperwork was in order. We had our FBI fingerprints taken and submitted months ago so they should have been cleared by now. We have paid all of our fees. Now, we just need the grace from the USCIS Nairobi office to process the application and grant us another I-171h! Pray that it is done in time so that we have approval in hand before our referral comes from China!!!

God has been and will continue to be faithful in answering our prayers. Let us remain steadfast on our knees until the very end. As Stephen put it last night in his prayer, “God, we can’t do this without You!”

Filed Under: China Adoption, Featured, Prayer Answers, Prayer Needs Tagged With: ,

China Adoption Update – Prayers Needed!

May 24, 2011 By
murphycrowson

Today we received an email from the USCIS office in Accra, Ghana saying that they were returning our adoption paperwork renewal application to us. They cannot process the file. We need to renew our paperwork with the USCIS office in Nairobi and not with them.

We were supposed to file our renewal paperwork before the old paperwork expired, which we did with the USCIS office in Accra.

However, since we filed with them, our paperwork expired (before we had a chance to file in Nairobi). It took over a month for them to tell us this.

I have no idea what this means in terms of the length of time that it will now take to renew our USCIS paperwork.

Christine is at a retreat this week and I haven’t been able to contact her all day, so I’m bearing this new news alone tonight.

I need some prayers… I’m concerned that an error on my part, filing my paperwork with the wrong office, could possibly jeopardize our whole adoption, one that we’ve been waiting over five years for!

I’ve writen numerous people asking “what does this mean” but it’s after hours and I won’t hear anything for a day or two because it takes that long to hear back from the USCIS and possibly others.

Please pray that God will grant me a peace that passes understanding, a gracious USCIS officer in Nairobi and the ability to renew our I-600A.

I don’t know why, but it’s critical that we be able to renew the I-600A and not have to switch to the I-800A. So, please be specific in your prayers…

O Lord, have mercy, we’ve been waiting soooo long!!!

Please, please pray about this … We cannot bear this burden alone … The long journey has made us tired and weary …

Filed Under: China Adoption, Prayer Needs

Praying for Gisenyi Disciple Makers

May 4, 2011 By
Gisenyi Disciple Makers - Christine and Vedast

Praying for Rwandan Disciple Makers!

Charles Kabeza recently visited Gisenyi, Rwanda to follow up on three disciple makers who are actively involved in starting and leading Discovery Bible Studies. Here is his report… As you read, pray for Innocent, Vedaste and Christine, that the Lord would fill them with the Spirit of Truth and Power as well as wisdom as they make disciples of Jesus. Vedaste and Christine are pictured above…

Vedaste

We had planed to meet  at a college where he introduced the DBS. I met him there and I happened to meet a couple of others who are in that team, unfortunately many of them are still in holidays. But with small number I noticed that their meetings are about reading and studying bible (Vedaste introduced to them the DBS model for studying the Bible).

Christine

Since a couple of days ago, she has been in fasting prayers, so I managed to meet her this morning. My idea was for her to meet with Vedaste and let them know each other. This morning we were so blessed to have a DBS together and remind each other what God is doing in our lives. Christine gave us her testimony how she got to know Jesus and how she commit to serve him. At the end I asked them both to work as a team that is focusing on making Jesus disciples more than promoting this religion than that other.

Innocent

Yesterday I met him, and our conversation was about the progress of putting into practice what he learned in the last DMM (Disciple Making Movements) workshop. He is still confronting with his church leaders who think that his mind is to start a new denomination, yet his desire is about making the youth into a real disciples of Jesus. Though he still invite the youth for soccer every sunday morning and through that soccer some young people changed and get baptized.

I tried to encourage him and let him know that we pray for him. Finally, I asked him to join our team to Sudan and he said that he is interested to that opportunity.

Filed Under: Featured, Missions, Murphy, Prayer, Prayer Needs, Rwanda Tagged With: , , ,
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