...to be fingerprinted by the USCIS. March 28, 2011 at 3 PM. I found this out after placing a call to the USCIS National Benefits Center, which handles adoption applications. I have to admit that, being a cynic, I was expecting to be on hold for a long time and not get a very sympathetic response. I was pleasantly surprised on both counts. After selecting "1" for Hague adoptions (we are considered a "Hague case"- not to be confused with a "head case", which I certainly feel like at times - because our original immigration approval has expired and both the U.S. and China have now fully implemented the Hague convention on international adoption), the line rang once and then a REAL, LIVE HUMAN BEING answered the phone and checked on our application. She found our appointment date and was printing our appointment notifications (which we will need to bring with us) as we spoke. So they should be in the mail today and we will receive them within a couple of days. The really good news is that we don't have to wait until our appointment - once we have the notification form, we can show up and be fingerprinted sooner - we'll just be in line behind everyone who has an appointment at the time we choose to go.
The nice lady at the Benefits Center also said that their processing time has been between 45 and 60 days. I said, "For the whole application, or just for the fingerprints?" She said, "Oh, for the whole thing." Which means we may receive our I800A approval by early to mid April, at which point our I800 application (for specific permission to bring our daughter home) can be sent to the USCIS right away, as well as our request for travel approval from the Chinese government. Travel approval (TA) can take from 11-15 weeks to receive, but I don't think it will take that long...
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