Getting to the Bottom of It

Okay, we finally got an answer about all of this ‘administrative processing’ for Samuel’s visa that makes sense. In an email from the Embassy this morning it said:

Thank you for your inquiry dated June 29, 2010. When dealing with adoption cases the Consular section must be confident in all documents and information provided. The I-604 investigation that accompanies this case is typical of all adoptions, there is no specific timeline we can give for each individual adoption. We hope this information is helpful to you and please let us know if we may be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
U.S. Embassy Accra
Consular Section

You may remember me telling you about this new investigation for Ghana adoptions that went into effect back in April of this year (I posted about it here). When our I-600 was approved, the U.S.C.I.S. officer handling our case was to also fill out the I-604 form and send it to the U.S. Embassy in Ghana along with our I-600 approval. Then the U.S. Embassy in Ghana would go through a field investigation (to approve the I-604) which further reviews adoption cases in more detail. Here is the information we received a few months ago regarding this I-604 investigation:

The U.S. Embassy in Accra, Ghana wishes to advise adoptive parents of procedural changes that may increase the processing time for some adoption cases. Adoptive parents should be aware that an I-604 (Determination on Child for Adoption, sometimes referred to as “orphan investigation”) must be completed in connection with every I-600 application. Depending on the circumstances of the case, this investigation may take up to several weeks or even months to complete. Therefore, adoptive parents should not plan to travel to Ghana until they have confirmed with the U.S. Embassy that their visa interview appointment has been confirmed.

Prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers are reminded that a consular officer is required, by law, to complete a Form I-604 (determination of orphan status) before issuing a visa in all IR-3 and IR-4 adoption cases. In some cases this may require only a conversation with the birth parent, but in others it may require a full field investigation possibly lasting several weeks. Since verifying the parent-child relationships in Ghana is difficult, we also expect that in some cases where the child was relinquished by the birth parent, DNA testing will be recommended in order to establish a blood relationship between the adopted child and claimed birth parent (s).

Adoption agencies are encouraged to submit case paperwork to the U.S. Embassy for review before the Embassy schedules the immigrant visa appointment. In some cases the I-604 determination could take several weeks or more from the time a case is submitted to the U.S. Embassy to the scheduling of a visa interview appointment. We understand that in such cases this will result in a longer period before parents are able to bring their adopted children to the U.S. However, this additional scrutiny is required to ensure that the adoption is legal under both U.S. and Ghanaian law. The U.S. Embassy will work with adoptive parents and their adoption agency to ensure that each case is processed in the most expeditious manner possible in accordance with laws and regulations. Families should continue to work through their agency and the Embassy to schedule immigrant visa appointments and answer questions regarding pending cases.

So, this information is pretty clear. BUT, we have come to the realization that there was definitely a miscommunication between either the Embassy and Kofi or Kofi and our adoption agency or our adoption agency and the Embassy, or all parties involved as to what our visa appointment back on June 21st actually was. We had a visa appointment scheduled with the Embassy. That was why we traveled. However, from the information above, it sounds as though a visa interview appointment cannot even be scheduled until the I-604 investigation is complete. So, this is all highlighting yet another miscommunication. What exactly was our appointment on the 21st supposed to be? We were told it was ‘an appointment to pick up the visa’. But from the last sentence in the above information, it sounds as though other visa appointments can be scheduled just to 'answer questions regarding pending cases'.

I am frustrated. And my first reaction is to start blaming people. But I will save you all the yuck of that and kick myself first. I had emailed our case worker a few times after this notice came out in April (and again after we received our I-600 approval) with my concerns that we hadn’t received any sort of I-604 approval. It was nagging me in the back of my mind. Our case worker assured me that the I-604 form was already completed when our I-600 was approved (and in fact, yes, the form had been completed, but not the investigation). I took that answer and didn’t look into it any further. Since we returned home without Samuel, I had started thinking about this I-604 investigation again. And, I emailed our case worker about it again this week, and again was told that the I-604 form was already completed to coincide with the U.S.C.I.S investigation that we had already been approved on. But, the problem is that the form was completed. Not the investigation. And we had not gotten the I-604 approval prior to travel. However, the Embassy had also scheduled our visa appointment, which led us all to believe that all investigations were complete and they were ready to issue the visa. And that was what we were told – that we were to come in and ‘pick up the visa’.

Writing this all out makes me even more frustrated. However, I am also relieved to finally have an answer that makes sense as to what exactly the Embassy is still ‘processing’.

Word to the wise: if you are going to take part in a pilot program for adoption, look into every single detail. Don’t make ANY assumptions. Don’t assume the people ‘in charge’ know the answers….they are learning the process right along with you….hence the term ‘pilot program’.