Here's the letter that I wrote to send to my Ohio representative and senators:
April 18, 2006
The Honorable Mike DeWine
37 W. Broad St., Ste. 300
Columbus, OH 43215
Subject: Foreign adoption
Request: Please help extend expiration date of USCIS form I-171H
Dear Senator DeWine,
This letter is to voice my concern over the expiration timing of form I-171H (Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition) and the fingerprints associated with this approval process.
Currently, adoptive parents are required to resubmit to fingerprinting after 15 months, and resubmit the entire application after 18 months from date of initial approval. There is significant cost and burden time associated with both of these steps.
In recent months it has become clear that processing time for international adoption, from China specifically, will possibly exceed the 18 month expiration window. In the near future there will likely be an extraordinary number of families needing to reprocess paperwork if there are no changes to the current expiration dates.
Increasing the period of validity of this document to at least 24 months (preferably 36 months) would benefit both the adoptive families and the USCIS offices that are required to process numerous applications per year.
We realize your time is limited so we appreciate any attention you can give to this issue and any results you may be able to prompt on our behalf.
Sincerely,
my name
Any of our family or friends are more than welcome to copy this letter or write your own to your representatives to help all the adoptive parents plead their case :-)
You can find contact info for your state's people by going to www.congress.org
Thanks!!
4 comments:
Thanks, I used your letter an emailed both Senator Dodd and Senator Lieberman! Thanks for putting it on your blog!
Thanks, I used your letter an emailed both Senator Dodd and Senator Lieberman! Thanks for putting it on your blog!
I love your idea and I've shared a link to your example with others. Hopefully we can make a difference.
Thanks for the inspiration - I will write today! One thing others should know is that snail mail letters are taken more seriously by members of Congress than emails (don't know why this). Hope that by joining forces we can make a real difference.
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