The Black Hole, Also Known as PGN

She anxiously dialed the phone this morning with certainty that PGN would tell her, "You're waiting for the final signature." Instead she heard, "You're with the 2nd reviewer." Still? Really?

Yes, that's right folks, our case has not moved on for final signature. I was at least able to find out that we haven't had a previo and we're obviously still in PGN, but it's now been 7 1/2 weeks and after seeing so many people get out in 8 weeks, I was so hopeful that our case would also be out in 8 weeks. The chances of that happening now have become slim, but I'm still going to hold onto hope that our case will be officially signed off sometime next week.

Now, even though getting through PGN is certainly a major milestone in this process, it appears our wait might not be nearing the end just yet.

Once we exit PGN, our attorney will get Lili's birth mother's final signature and then we will be submitted to the civil registry office for a new birth certificate listing Dave and I as her parents. This is where we might hit some snags. Lili was born in the city of Mixco, which is near Guatemala City. Mixco is also the city in which her birth certificate is registered, therefore, the Mixco civil registry office will have to issue the new birth certificate. For the last 3 months, give or take a few weeks, Mixco birth certificates have been difficult to obtain. Although I'm still awaiting word from our agency, others have reported information given to them from their agencies and it appears that Mixco is now completing their own investigation before issuing the new birth certificates. It has been reported by one agency that the Mixco civil registry office states some attorneys were forging PGN approvals and as a result Mixco is now requiring verification from PGN on each case. Another agency reported there are at least 30 families currently waiting on their Mixco birth certificates and the number is growing daily.

How long will we wait for our birth certificate once we exit PGN? That is a good question. Someone recently received their Mixco birth certificate in just over 2 weeks, while others have been waiting 6+ weeks. Again, we will just have to wait and see what happens. We hope that this problem is resolved very soon, not just for our sake, but for the sake of all the other families who have been waiting and even more for the children waiting to go to their forever families.