This post is, well, delayed. Not the delay referenced in the subject line, but rather late in being posted. While most of Minnesota enjoyed a lovely weekend outside, I have "enjoyed" some quality indoor time with a rather nasty cold. I'm finally back among the living and ready to share the latest development in our quest to prove Oliver is a citizen of the United States.
Flashback to Thursday evening. We arrive home after dinner and collect the mail. I'm already feeling the tickle of what will be a full blown cold the following morning, and am tired. I see an envelope from USCIS and feel concern because it is folded and can't possibly be Oliver's official Certificate of Citizenship.
My concern is quickly confirmed. Apparently they received the certified document back from the USPS as undeliverable and are giving us 180 days to provide our current mailing address before destroying the document and forcing us to start the process again.
What?! We didn't receive any notification that a certified document was waiting for us. There was no note in our mailbox or sticker saying we needed to come in. And clearly they have our correct address since the letter asking for our current information promptly reached us.
I cannot believe that there is yet another delay. Next week will mark one year that we have been trying to obtain an amended certificate of citizenship for Oliver. It should take 5 to 6 months!
Leave it to my two boys to add levity to the situation. Upon reading the letter I was livid. I could nearly scream, but instead of scaring Oliver, I just said that I was losing my mind. Tony promptly told Oliver that Mommy needed help finding my mind and asked that he help look for it. After a little digging, Oliver found it and put it back inside my head with a soft pat. Melt my heart! Just what I needed.
So while I wait for USCIS to try again, I have his packet of information ready for the Social Security office the moment we get the official certificate. The finish line is in sight, just a bit further away than I hoped.
Red tape. Yuck.
I will leave you with a photo of Oliver enjoying his tractor for the first time this season, and a couple more great phrases/words of late.
- "Oh, it takes a little while." (Said anytime we aren't getting to where he wants to go fast enough -- getting home, getting to his birthday or another holiday, getting through the line, etc.)
- apparently
- "When you get to be my age" (he thinks we will somehow get to be 3.5 again. If only he knew!)
No comments:
Post a Comment