Thanks to Elizabeth’s (charged!) iPhone, I was able to email her and hear reports from the immigration process in Miami.
After the first few emails welcoming her back and a photo of the both of them looking ELATED, I received the following emails:
9 pm “if you didn’t have a completed adoption in Haiti kids are being sent to foster care in Miami and parents are not allowed!”
9:08 pm: “All cat 2 kids going to foster care!! It is against everything counselor says for gaining trust with adopted kids. I am confident Lily (cat 1) will be ok. Parents are flipping out”
9:54 pm: “They printed lily. Waiting for the verdict.”
Our welcome to the US is being bussed to a group foster home with our children so health svcs can evaluate us AGAIN as parents at some pt tomorrow. Thank you, USA, for overlooking Lily’s official category 1 status, adoption decree, federal medical exam and passport. Apparently border patrol trumps dos and international uscis. I keep learning new things. Night 9 sleeping on a floor. At least we are here.
11:38 pm: ” ‘don’t care what your status is with uscis, i make the decisions.’ Night 9 on the floor- Miami group home. I am disturbed at how I have been mistreated…I gt 3 senator back ups and 1 from uscis lily is to be released to me
tonight. They are letting me sleep on the floor. There are 100 kids. I am one of few cat 1 and they won’t honor it from what I have heard so far;(. Boo! Poor lily.”
2:16 am: “I am still getting cleared! After 5 days at the us embassy you think they’d know me by now;). Lily is sleeping in a separate areas. I have dirt under my fingernails.”
3:45 am ? (via Facebook): “Lily was the first released due to the completion of file and the insane amount of documentation I brought! Yay! I am pulling her out of the “home” and getting a hotel. She has been sleeping the whole time. Dare I say I will shower and sleep on a mattress?!!!”
10:15 am (via Facebook photo: “Lily on plane to clt with her first dunkin donut. I have a bottle of water and some banana splashed on me. She is hilarious!”
And the latest, from what I can piece together: snow down South, which may or not delay Elizabeth and Lily’s reunion with Tim and Genevieve. I’ll send a picture as soon as I can.
Wow! What a journey!