Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Fingerprint appointment

Last week I broke down and emailed our local USCIS office regarding our fingerprint reprint appointment. Even though it had only been three weeks since we sent in the request for an appointment, we were still getting antsy. We have many concerns that our expiring fingerprints are going to slow us down.

I got a very quick reply from them and they told me our fingerprint appointment was scheduled for February 22 at 12:00 pm. Our current fingerprints expire on February 25. I know that it can take many weeks for our new prints to make their way to DC and then to Addis. All I could think about was how thrilled I would be to pass court, (once we get a court date, that is), but we would have to wait to receive an embassy appointment until our fingerprints arrived at the embassy. We don’t want to be delayed by weeks or months.

So, Friday I sent out an email to friends and family members, who in turn emailed it to their friends and family members. We asked for those people to pray for the following:

1. Guidance. We are considering contacting our local US Immigration office via email, or just showing up in person, and asking for an earlier fingerprint date. We want to make the right decision.

2. Favor. Please pray for favor with those involved. Please pray that they would have mercy on us and grant us an appointment that is sooner than our original one. Please pray for the right person to respond to our email or be at the entrance desk if we go there in person.

3. A quick court date. Please pray that we would find out about our court date soon. We think if our court date is scheduled before our fingerprint appointment, it would help us have reason to move our appointment. After we pass court, we will legally be her parents!!!!

4. No delays. Since December, we have been praying that the fingerprint issue will not delay us. We believe it will not. We have faith it will not. Please join us in praying for the same. Please pray that all necessary paperwork and our new fingerprints would be quickly processed in our local US Immigration office and at the National Visa Center in Washington D.C., and then would quickly arrive in Ethiopia.

5. Our daughter. Please pray that she is healthy and happy. Please pray that people are holding her and loving on her. Please pray for her growth and development.
6. Other families. There are at least two other families in the exact same situation we are. Please keep them in your prayers. We don’t want them to be delayed either.

Yesterday I decided to email USCIS and ask them if they would consider giving us an earlier appointment and explained why I felt it was important. They emailed me back today and we get to go into their office tomorrow at 8:00 am!!!! This is 11 days sooner than our original appointment. We are thrilled. We are now hoping that we can give them our FedEx account number and see if they can use that to help ship everything more quickly.

Thank you all for your prayer. It is amazing to see the power of prayer at work. We have faith that this will not delay us.
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“We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” – Psalm 33:20-21

7 comments:

Unknown said...

YEAH! Congrats on getting an earlier appointment! Such good news!

AprilM said...

Praise God for his wonderful Favor and ANSWERED prayers!!! Keeping you all in our prayers...

Robyn said...

So happy to hear of the early appt! Ours still have not landed in DC--frustrating!

The Mathews Family said...

awesome!

Anonymous said...

Praying all goes well!! Waiting for a Court Date too!! God Bless You!!

Heidi said...

That's fantastic! We are trying to update our prints and worry about delays too. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. You are in ours too :)

Eryn said...

woo hoo! That is amazing, Katie! God is good. Let's keep praying for those court dates!