Minor Annoyances, Potential Delays

I'm going to try to explain this in the most un-convoluted way possible, but I may not succeed. We have a Case Officer at USCIS (Immigration) who has to make sure everything is in order with all the forms and paperwork we've done so far. I believe this includes everything from our fingerprints to our homestudy to all the adoption acceptance paperwork.

A few weeks ago our USCIS Officer contacted us and requested additional proof of relinquishment from the birth mother. This was no big deal, as our agency had already contacted us and said basically, look, if you're asked to supply more information about the birth mother's relinquishment, don't worry, just let us know, and we'll send it. They have it, they just view it as a privacy issue, and don't give it up unless they are asked. What bugs me is that if they know that adoptive families have been getting routinely asked for this information, why not just supply it outright as part of the packet? Anyway, we took care of that (and in less time than originally projected) but there still seems to be a lingering issue of our missing home study addendum.

Our Officer had also mentioned that she couldn't find our home study addendum (which we had to have done when we moved). I had sent it myself in February, and have proof of delivery and all that. Because the Officer said she didn't have it, we requested last week that our agency send another copy of the addendum, which they said they would take care of for us.

But now, the letter we received yesterday seems to imply that our Officer needs a whole home study, not with a separate addendum. Huh? I'm confused. She needs them combined into a single document? Why? Since when? I mean, obviously our agency didn't think it was a problem to send the original home study and then an addendum when we moved. But now it is? Wade is going to get in touch with Holt today and see if he can clarify what needs to be sent to our USCIS Officer. All I know is that we bounded through the potential delay the relinquishment paperwork posed, only to get potentially stalled again by our home study, which was originally completed in January 2008!

I've heard people in the international adoption process complain about the paperwork. We haven't had a problem with the paperwork, it has been straightforward and relatively simple. What we do have a problem with is the bullshit red tape and bureaucracy that is making it difficult to comply with changes to procedures or whatever is going on here. All I know is that this is delaying the approval of our I-600 form and the issuing of our I-171. Which is then holding up our travel call to go and bring Sean home.