Status Update

Its been a while since I've given a status update of our adoption on the blog.  Unfortunately there isn't anything big to report, but I can say that things are still moving forward.  March saw the first batch of families submitted for EP (Emigration Permit) for the year.  I think most of them have traveled by now.  There was another batch in April and we learned that the next batch will be submitted May 2nd.  Holt contacted each family that will be in that batch - we are not one of them.  We had our fingers crossed, but we knew it would have been a stretch to be included.

The good news is that we have some consistency now and therefore some predictability.  We know that groups are being submitted on a monthly basis and that travel call falls roughly a month and a half after submission.  So this means that the next batch is likely going to be the first week of June and that they travel mid to late July.  This would be the earliest that we would travel at this point.  If we don't get in that group then the next possible dates would be EP submission in July and travel late August.

So what is the probability that we get into the next batch you ask?  Unfortunately I think it's still rather small.  To get a general idea of where we are in line you look at everyone's ATK date.  That stands for Acceptance to Korea.  That was the paperwork we sent in saying that we've accepted Sam as our child.  Our ATK is 7/29/11.  The families that are being submitted for May mostly have ATK dates of May 2011.  That means the next submission in June will be mostly families with an ATK of June 2011.  If the pattern holds, then we are most likely in the July submission group.  However since our ATK is late July, it could be more likely we are in the August group and traveling in September.  Did you follow all that?

Now, before you get too bummed, realize that the EP submission process is not always chronological with respect to everyone's ATK dates.  For instance, there was a family with ATK of July that was submitted in April!  There have been others that haven't followed the pattern as well.  Some of this is because there are other factors at work like if the child is older, has special needs, or if the family is of Korean heritage.  But sometimes, it seems kind of random.  And yes, I have a spreadsheet keeping track of this!

So what I'm saying is although we are most likely traveling in August - September, there's still a chance it is earlier.  We will be anxiously awaiting news about the next group a month from now!

We appreciate your prayers and words of encouragement during this process.  Its been a much harder wait then we anticipated, but we are getting closer!  Look for a possible shower/BBQ/Korea departure party this summer!