time frames

Hello all! I haven't posted in awhile because I've been doing the waiting thing on fingerprints and my dossier. I went for fingerprints on 4/13/04 and got my approval which was sent to the American Consulate/Embassy in Panama City on 5/5/04. I'd have to say that wasn't a bad turn around time. Spoke with my agency and they'll be ready to send my dossier to Panama within the next week or so. Whatever that means. Nothing more I can do but wait. I asked about time frames and this is what they said: After you dossier is sent to Panama, expect up to 6 month wait for your child/children to be identified and matched to you and up to 10-12 months from when dossier was sent for you to plan on traveling. They try to give at least 1 month notice for travel arrangements and make plans to be there at least 2 weeks. I questioned why we need to be there for so long and why we can't have several meetings scheduled in a single day and they really didn't have a response. Good news is that they have a couple whose dossier was sent in October 2003 and they'll be going in June to pick up their child - that's only 8 months from dossier being sent to going to get your child! I choose to live my life day to day and when they give me that call then I'll start counting days/hours/minutes:p Just a note, I'm working with FIA and if you're not clear on who they are, you can drop me an email. They've been very forthright with information and fees thus far. Also, I bumped into a colleague last week who adopted 6 years an infant girl from Panama. This was before they really had any agencies and they weren't military but doing it independent. It took them over 2 years to complete and around $30,000. He says it's definitely worth it and never give up but don't count down the minutes until it's really going to be a done deal as there were lots of disappointments along the way. He forwarded her most recent pics and of course she's beautiful! He and his wife already had 4 boys but after doing our missionary work in the orphanages and told his wife about the babies, she traveled with us on the next mission to pick up their baby but, delays prevailed and they were successful in the adoption when the baby was nearly 2. I'm so very happy:D for all you guys who are about to travel - our prayers always get answered just not necessarily in our human time frames!