Hanson Family: Passport DONE!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Passport DONE!

Finally I can report that Willow's passport is done. What a relief. Apparently the guy who has Power of Attorney for me has taken another job and my attorney couldn't track him down 'til now. Seriously - this close to the end and these absurd things continue happening. I keep waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out of my computer and yell that I've been punked.

Now we pray for the DNA process to happen soon (today would be great) and then the results to arrive smoothly back at the embassy with in a week or two at the most. I should be there in 3 weeks. I SHOULD be there in 3 weeks. Pretend you haven't read that for the last 2 months or so.

Here are some pictures from Sandra. They took her to the zoo last week. She was afraid of most of the animals, but had a good time (as long as she stayed close to Veronica).

My timeline

3/13/09: HOME
3/11/09 7:15am Embassy
2/26/09: 2nd DNA
2/5/09: Birth Certificate Complete
11/13/08: OUT of PGN
May 26, 2008: Resubmitted to PGN
April 18, 2008: Letter state sealed, apolstiled, and couriered to Guatemala City!
April 9, 22008: Kicked out
March 7, 2008: Enter PGN
March 5, 2008: Exit family court!! Major delay (of several months compared to other cases) was due to the social worker's broken computer.
February 29, 2008: First email from Sandra. Best part of the process since Willow's referral to me!
January 19, 2008: Pre-Approval Granted (day 47).
December 4, 2007: 99.9999% results received at the U.S. Embassy. My wait begins for Pre-Approval for Willow's Visa from the U.S. They allowed themselves up to 60 days to grant this Pre-Approval. My case can't move forward 'til I get it.
November 30, 2007: DNA sample collected from both Willow and her birth mother and interview completed with the birth mother. Again, this took much longer than it should have, due in part to the birth mother missing at least one appointment.
October 8, 2007: DNA authorization (permission to complete the DNA test). The sample is collected in Guatemala, and sent to an approved lab in the U.S. It is done to prevent corruption. Most families get this approval at the very beginning of the process. We'll never know why mine took so very long.
June 19th, 2007: Willow referred to me (I got her pics and medical information).
June 4th, 2007: Willow born as Amanda del Pilar Zabala.
March, 2007: Vietnam closed with that agency. Happily switched to Bethany in pursuit of a baby from Guatemala. Began the paperwork saga.
February, 2007: Began pursuit of baby from Vietnam with Children's and Family Serivces