She has Emigration Permission!!

What does this mean?

The EP is the Emigration permission from the Korean Government. In other words, they have checked to make sure she is legally available for adoption and she is now eligible to leave the country.

This step has nothing to do with our fingerprints or the orphan petition (I-600) we turned in on July 1, 2008. The fingerprinting and orphan petition is what gets her an entrance VISA into the US.

The EP, Passport (which follows the EP in about two weeks), and the I-864 (this is part of the papers we signed and sent back with all of the acceptance papers) are sent to the US Embassy in Seoul at the same time (one package). They sit the US Embassy in Seoul and wait until they (the Embassy) receives the US VISA approval from the US (this is what we did the fingerprinting for).

The VISA approval (I 171) from the USCIS.

Short version (sort of):

A. EP + Passport+I864 = Taken to the Embassy. Now the Korean side is done.

B. Fingerprints+ I 171 (we receive a copy) + VISA approval sent by regular mail to the NVC (National VISA Center) + NVC send approval to US Embassy in Seoul. Now the US side is done and everything is at the US Embassy in Seoul.

A and B are being done simultaneously, one in the U.S. and the other in Korea


C. A + B = Travel clearance and travel arrangements are made.


ANOTHER PIECE OF NEWS:

At 10:51 yesterday…approx 30 min prior to the EP email from Dillon, Life Song for orphans called. The lady who reviews the applications told me that she was going to recommend us for the full $4,000 matching grant. Now is has to be approved by the board and the funds will have to be available. So we will see what happens. She said that we should hear something in a couple of weeks.

We received a $2,000 matching grant from this same foundation for Simon's adoption. We barely met the $2,000 match then. Our hope and prayer is that if we did get the 4k matching grant that we would be able to meet it in full. The matching grant foundation establishes a fund in the child's name. Families send out a letter asking for financial support from friends, family and church family. When anyone makes a contribution to the foundation in honor of the child, their donation is tax deductable. The donated funds are matched by the foundation and sent to the adoption agency. We still have $11,000 to pay with the agency, plus round trip plane ticket(s) to LAX. I have no idea what to expect in plane ticket prices, since we will have to purchase at the last minute.

Thanks again for your interest and prayers.

Cherri