Fingerprints

Fingerprints.  Fingerprints are now the reason given as to why we have still not received notification on our file submitted to the Embassy on September 7th.  This is now only the U.S. government we are working with but since it is working in Haiti there are still MANY Haiti blamed delays. Delays because of hurricanes, Haitian and U.S. holidays, and then those darn fingerprints! Now mind you we have heard horror stories for years about some people who weren’t on top of things and accidently let their fingerprints expire causing more unnecessary delays in their adoptions (but how is it again that fingerprints EXPIRE?). We were not going to be one of those cases. Our fingerprints have always cleared and always been kept up to date.  We have now been fingerprinted 4 times during this adoption process by USCIS.  Our fingerprints were set to expire on September 14th so being on top of things we made sure to have a new set completed in early August. This would give enough time in case they didn’t clear to do them again before the expiration and before we submitted Elita Marguerite’s file to the Embassy. 

Every other time we have completed our fingerprints in San Antonio, TX. This time we completed our fingerprints at the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, which should have made it easier for them to process considering that’s where the proof of fingerprints taken stateside would have been sent anyways. We were actually saving them a step right? Wrong. Or at least it didn’t save us. I called them a few weeks after we had printed and paid to ask why we had not yet received an updated form. They said we would not receive one this time but that it was current in the system. Of course it was still current because the fingerprints had not yet expired yet in the system at that point! 

I was told after I submitted our completed dossier with E.M.’s passport to the Embassy on September 7th that we should hear concerning I-600 approval within a week. A week went by and no e-mail. I called. I was overjoyed when I heard over the phone “I am looking at your file and it says in the computer that you were approved for I-600 on September 10th”. We were all dancing and shouting around the house! But our celebration was short lived. I asked why I had not received the confirmation saying this since it was a few days after September 10th. The officer said that we should receive it “soon”. I called and e-mailed the Embassy every week after that for 6 weeks. It was 4 weeks in when I was told that our file had been sent to a special scrutinizing unit called “quality assurance” to make sure that the affidavit they requested and we provided when we turned in everything complies with the laws in order to issue the approval. Which law? And why does it take over a month for U.S. government officials working at the largest U.S. Embassy in the world to figure out the laws they themselves put into effect? Seriously frustrated. Each time I called I was told that we would receive an answer “this week”.  Waited 2 more weeks. I demanded an answer as to why they would not give us an answer. I have never heard of anyone taking longer than 1-2 weeks to get a “yes”, “no”, or “we need additional paperwork before we can approve you” after they turn in the completed file with everything needed to process it! Usually they let you know within a day or 2 if there is a problem or they send the approval if there is not a problem. And then there is us. I know sometimes it takes a few frustrating weeks to get a visa appointment but we are just waiting for I-600 approval! Did I say SERIOUSLY FRUSTRATED.? Can I just say that I am even more seriously frustrated when the people who neglected to take our fingerprints correctly and then neglected to tell us when they definitely know that we are waiting and have been waiting for 2.8 years suggest that I be “patient” when I am being completely cordial and calm over the phone (while screaming on the inside)! I felt like saying (and think I did say at least half of this), “Yes. Patience is required in many things and even more so in a Haitian adoption process. But this is really not my issue. We have done everything we are supposed to do and have been very patient with you not doing what you are supposed to do. We like being patient so much in fact that we are actually completely redoing our other daughters adoption process when she should be coming home now as well. We are doing that because your department told us this is the right thing to do. If there is yet another problem in Marguerite’s case then we need for you to tell us so we can try to make that right as you can see we have been doing.” I guess the Embassy officials finally picked up on the serious part of my frustration and decided to actually LOOK and see what the heck was going on with our file. The answer. “Mrs. Ream, apparently your husband’s fingerprints taken in August didn’t clear the system so the system will not accept us to input your information regarding your I-600. Is your husband in the country?” Me: “Yes. My husband is in the country.” Officer: “Can he come in on Monday to redo his fingerprints?” Me: “Yes. But can I ask how long it will take to find out if they have cleared once he redoes them?” Officer: “It will take 2-3 days to find out if they have cleared.” Me: “Ok good. So then can you tell me why exactly it took 2 ½ months to notify us that they did not clear last time?” Officer: “I am very sorry about that. We didn’t’ know until you asked us to check why you were told you had approval and found your file was kicked out of the system when someone tried to enter the information”. 

So if I had not called and e-mailed and called and e-mailed and called and e-mailed, repeat, repeat, repeat, then finally demanded an explanation we would probably still be wondering why we had not heard from the Embassy.  But then that makes sense here in Haiti. Because if you have spent any length of time here or are processing an adoption here you will quickly figure out that:

#1. Nothing bad that happens is ever anyone’s fault. Responsibility level is 0 for both accidents and non. Adoptive parents of older Haitian children should put this at the top of their list of issues they will most likely have to address many, many times each day.

#2. If someone remotely tries to complete a job they can check that off their list even if the job was never actually completed. For example, if someone tried to go to an office to deliver or pick up an important document but the office closed early because it happened to rain that day, they will probably check that off their list just because they went even though the important document was not delivered or picked up. Or if someone tried to send an e-mail to us but couldn’t because the system would not allow them to, the standard here would be NOT to check why the system would do such a thing but instead to just say “I tried”. It didn’t work. And therefore it’s “not my fault”. 

*Much of #1 and #2 have to do with the strong Voodoo influence on this culture, even among Christians. It has to do with the spirits controlling everything and one’s inability to  take any responsibility for ones own actions.

At least we know what happened now and that there is nothing we could have done ourselves to prevent it. And at least we now have a little leverage with the Embassy people who somehow know my voice when I say “Hello” and answer, “Yeeeessss Mrs. Ream?” When I say “leverage” what I mean is that I am hoping because of their fault in the matter in not informing us of the fingerprints not clearing (that would be their job and we did pay yet again for that service) that we will be able to get a visa appointment right away once we finally get I-600 approval. Hoping the 3 different officials that have told me they see we are approved in the system are accurately informed. 

Eric completed his additional fingerprints on October 16th.  We called 2-3 days later. No clearance yet. We called a week later. The Embassy was closed due to the hurricane. No word last week either. Guess they were catching up after the hurricane (I'm being nice)? Beyond seriously frustrated. 

Finally, yesterday we got both verbal and written notification that Eric’s fingerprints have indeed cleared.  Now to get the I-600 approval! Official told me it should come today. It didn’t. The Embassy is closed until Monday for more stupid holidays (not the ones that honor love and Christ but the ones that are scary and evil. We don’t need any more scary and evil in this country and we have certainly had our fair share of both in this adoption process). But my new friend (though she may secretly despise me) at the Consular who issues the visa appointments tells me if USCIS puts our file on her desk early next week then she will have us home for Thanksgiving (either because she is genuinely nice or because she never wants me to call her again). Thanksgiving would be really great timing for me to take Elita Marguerite and the boys for a few weeks for her U.S. citizenship and to visit grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends over the holidays. But if we don’t get tickets soon there either won’t be any or they will be way too expensive and we are already running short on air miles (meaning we have enough for 3 people one way and need 4 people roundtrip). 

Will you please pray over the next few days and weekend that we will finally receive our I-600 approval early next week (preferably Monday)? And if anyone has any American Airlines miles that you want us to take off your hands you can pray about that too. ;)

We definitely don’t understand all of these delays especially when we did everything right and just can’t seem to catch a break. We will not fall for “the devil made me do it…or not do it” theology that sadly prevails in this place. Yet we do understand that our One True God orchestrates all these things according to His perfect timing and for our good. It doesn’t always feel good. It feels “seriously frustrating” most of the time. But God’s fingerprints are all over this too. And His fingerprints roll just the right way giving us all the clearance we need.