Immigration

I finally got around to doing my immigration paperwork.   I went the citizenship route after my agency recommended this route as it is much easier.  In Canada we have two options: citizenship or permanent resident visa.  With the resident visa a medical is required which can cause delays with the process.  With the citizenship route a medical is not required.  The paperwork was straight forward and they were looking for proof that I was a Canadian citizen so along with the forms I needed to send in notarized copies of my birth certificate, passport etc.  Once everything is reviewed and approved, I will get a case number and the second set of forms.  These will be filled out once the adoption is complete.  I am not sure how long it will take to get my case number. 

I waited a while to fill out the immigration forms as I thought the approval was only good for a year but it turns out it won't expire for two years.  Plus, I now think that I am going to get a referral very soon and I want to be ready.

This time of year.

Two years ago on this very weekend I was happily filling out the paperwork and getting all my documents together for Nepal.  I had my homestudy completed the September before and the agency had assured me that they would be ready to go when Nepal opened on Jan 1.  Well, they were a little late....and it was the begining of a nightmare.  Everything just went down hill from that day forward. 

Last year at this time I was in a state of shock and disbelief at the news that Canada had put a hold on referrals from Nepal and were investigating the program.  We were warned that it was highly likely that Canada would close the program.  It was the begining of months of tears.  And the end finally came in June.

It was also at this time last year that I first investigated the country where my dossier now sits.  It would take me a few months to sign up, after the emotion and the fighting for Nepal was done. 

I still think about what happened and how it all played out.  I think about how I had bad feelings about the Nepal program all along.  How stressed I was.  And how hard it was when it ended. 

I have moved on now though.  And last weekend I actually shredded my Nepal dossier, or the copy of it that the agency returned to me.  It took me along time to get to this point.  I felt that it was time to finally let it all go. 

Now, in a year from now, when I look back to Feb 14, 2011, I think it will be a happy memory because I think a referral is coming.....soon.