So...when do you get to go to China?

Well...that is a bit up in the air all because of paperwork, paperwork, paperwork, or rather the processing of said paperwork. Bob and I have pretty much completed our task of paperchasing and now the long WAIT sets in. WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LOOOOONG? is the question we've been getting lately, so here is the best answer I have in the form of a copy/paste e-mail from my agency:

We know you are anxious to bring your child home, and the next few months will seem arduous and long. You should expect to travel 6-9 months from your log-in date. The next steps are as follows:

1. Letter Seeking Confirmation (LSC): This comes after the CCAA reviews and approves your dossier. Once they have approved your dossier, they will send your file to the matching room with child’s file already tagged to your family. The matching room will “officially” pair your child with your family. Once this is done, the LSC is issued. The complete review and approval process takes between 70-100 days.

2. I-800 application: Once we receive the LSC, you will file the I-800. The I-800 application takes approximately 10 days for approval.
3. Once you receive your I-800 approval, you will send a package back to Great Wall with your LSC, copy of your I-800 approval, and your child’s DS-230. We will forward this to our staff in China.

4. NVC confirmation: Once the I-800 is approved, the National Visa Center will send you a letter stating your approval has been sent to the Consulate. We send this letter to the Consulate along with your child’s visa application (DS-230). The timeframe to receive this letter varies.

5. Article 5: This is a document the consulate issues to our courier stating that all of your immigration approvals are up to date and you are approved to adopt your child. This is picked up by our staff and then sent to the CCAA. This takes 2 weeks from the time your child’s visa application (DS-230) is dropped off.

6. Travel Approval: once the CCAA has your signed LSC and the consulate’s Article 5, they will begin working on your Travel Approval. This takes them about 2-3weeks to send to us.

7. Departure will be 2-3 weeks from when we receive your Travel Approval.