Visa News!!!

I just checked the BLS website and our visas have been completed by the consulate and sent back to BLS this evening. YAY!!! I will be calling Ken, our visa agent, in the morning and ensuring that the agent picks it up and overnights it IMMEDIATELY!!! So  it looks as if we will be going to India on Saturday!! WooooHooooo!!! It seems surreal! Continue praying that the visas arrive quickly. Thank you so much for your prayers, thoughts and positive energy!!

Visa, Visa, Visa, Where is the Visa?

Well, the BLS Atlanta office asked us for copies of the ID card for the surrogate. SCI provided a copy for her and her husband almost immediately. The agent that works for my visa procuring company went to BLS immediately and the agent she works with to expedite wasn't in and the agent she spoke to said the visa wouldn't be issued until the 4th. We are scheduled to leave on the 1st. Our agent, Ken, said she is going to speak to her contact today in order to see if we can expedite. This is very frustrating as we have spoken to other IP's and none have heard of copies of ID's being required and Ken assured me that the ID requirement is not on any official list of materials required for the medical visa. I will be in contact with Ken this morning to see if we can make our original departure date. Please say a prayer. We will lose quite a bit of money and valuable time if we receive the visas late. I will keep you informed. Thank you for the prayers!!

Dreaming of India

Still no word on the visa. I will call Ken in the morning and get an estimated time of completion. In the meantime, I found a few more pics of beautiful India. As you can tell, I love the beautiful people and the amazing colors.

More Beautiful Pics of India While Waiting

Beautiful Pictures of India While We Wait

We tracked our Visa package and discovered it was received yesterday morning. I haven't received a phone call so I take that as a good sign. I found some great photos of India and, since we haven't traveled there yet, I thought I would post some beautiful shots of the land of our future babies birth for all of us waiting to travel and/or pick-up.

Visa Info. Discovered a Few Days Ago

 I found a service that does all types of visas to India. We mailed off our packet to them this morning. The service is rushmytravelvisa.com I am dealing with Ken Altman. His direct number is 561-337-1016. The cost was 139. per person and they offered valuable advice concerning the proper completion of the visa application and he allowed me to call him numerous times while filling out the form and he answered pertinent questions. Some of the information you would have no way of knowing if he hadn't supplied it. Also, they actually take the packet to your regional office and then overnight it back to you once they go pick up the completed visa.

Some of the valuable info. provided was as follows:

1) If your name is John Robert Doe Jr., on the visa app. you would put Doe, Jr. under Surname and John Robert under Given name. Middle name is included with first name.

2) Zip codes must be listed for every address provided.

3) When providing a DL as proof of residency, the address on the DL must be the address listed as your permanent address and all spellings and abbreviations must match on the application exactly. An example: My DL said my address was 123 Oak Lane and my husbands said 123 Oak Ln Each had to be written exactly as it appeared on the license.

4) After you supply your permanent address, there is a box to check if it is the current address and when you click it, it automatically fills in the next section, but DOES NOT provide a zip code. You must manually add a zip code in the box with the name of your state. Tricky!!!

5) When you print the visa app., you will sign on the front page, in the box, and the name cannot touch any line. It must be within the box. You will also sign normally on the bottom of the second page.

Please be aware that the service is only going to tell you the items you generally need to provide for the visa, in addition to those supplied by SCI. So you will need to use the check list provided by SCI and the one supplied by the visa service. Below is the complete checklist of items you will need to supply. make copies for yourself and each item will require 2 copies (except the original contract), one for each person.

1) Original Surrogacy Contract

2) Visa Invitation Letter

3) Letter showing treatment will occur in a registered ART clinic recognized by ICMR.

4) Letter from the US Embassy stating they recognize surrogacy and baby born through surrogacy will be granted citizenship.

5) Undertaking Letter stating you will care for child born through surrogacy.

6)Copy of marriage certificate (Photocopy is fine, doesn't have to be original)

7) Letter from doctor stating why surrogacy is needed.

2x2 inch passport style photo for each person (DO NOT ATTACH TO APPLICATION)

9)Validity letter stating why a 1 year, double entry visa is needed.

10) An official Copy of your itinerary, preferably showing your flight (a print out from priceline, expedia, the travel agent, etc.)

11) 2 Postal Money orders for required amount, made out to BLS International

12) 2 Valid passport with two blank pages, not counting a page with addendums

Please also be aware that you cannot travel out of the country while this is being processed as you won't have your passports and it will take longer than you expect. Apply earlier than you think you should. Also, if you don't live in a state that uses the Atlanta office, there can be slight differences each office requires and Ken can assist with those requirements.

Hope this info. helps. I will answer any questions about this, if I can.

Visa fun, continued.

I made an entirely new blog and transferred the old posts to this one. They are all in order, except the one discussing paperwork. I am new to the blog world so I am having to learn as I go.

We finally received the last of our passports back from the passport processing center on Tuesday. We made the mad dash to compile all of the required documents and got the application in the mail before our trip. They arrived today and now we just wait.

Paperwork-10/5/2013

Well, the case manager we are working with is Margarida. She is so prompt with responses. I emailed the enrollment form, copies of our passports, and blood test results. I am awaiting the signed nominee form so I can email it and then we will have all requirements for this stage submitted. I have been reading the blogs of others that have just completed this journey or are still in the final stages and there is a lot to learn about this process. I am now trying to determine if we should receive typhoid vaccinations. Also, there is debate as to whether it is necessary to take the anti-malarial medication while in India. I doubt we will, but taking a course of doxycycline while there would probably be a good idea. Not only would it be effective against malaria, but will help prevent the gastrointestinal issues that could be a problem. I am now going to enjoy the weekend!!!

Still Waiting to Travel-12/28/2013

Well, we got through Christmas and now we are waiting to travel to India to create embryos and have them transferred. We still haven't told very many people, for obvious reasons. We told the couple we asked to be Godparents, our Pastor and his wife, and a couple of friends that live elsewhere. That's it. It is difficult to not discuss it, but there is no need until we are pregnant. We are soooo ready to get started!!

Passport Fun-12/20/2013

Well, I received one duplicate passport in the mail and was wondering what was going on as we mailed the application for both duplicate passports in the same packet. Apparently, the initial application for duplicate passports goes to Pennsylvania, but they are sent to New Hampshire for processing. The duplicate passports are produced in Arkansas. We paid for overnight shipping of the passports, both ways, and I erroneously assumed they were all be sent together. After calling the processing center, I was told that each passport would be mailed separately. The duplicate passports are being mailed overnight from Arkansas. The regular passports are mailed standard mail from New Hampshire. So, we have received one passport thus far. You'd think this system could be a little less convoluted. Praying the other three arrive quickly!!

Visa Fun-12/15/2013

Well, after we completed all of the required paper work, SCI sent is the various documents needed to apply for our visa. As we were preparing to send for the visa we realized that our passports must be sent in to receive the visa stamp. This would normally not be a problem for most people, but we have an upcoming trip that will require our passports and we realized that our passports would be gone with the visa app. We contacted a passport procuring service and they informed us that we could apply for a duplicate passport that is only good for two years and it allows the main visa to be sent away with visa applications while you are traveling on the temporary passport. Apparently frequent business travelers experience this issue frequently and the temporary passport alleviates this problem. We paid an additional fee to have the temporary passports expedited. We hope they return in time or else our upcoming trip will not happen. We'll see!!
Well, three weeks ago my husbands grandfather passed away. He was a Godly man, a good man and he was very kind and honorable. We really loved him. He will be missed, but we know he has now received his reward. His wife was heartbroken and had severe medical issues. She followed him home day before yesterday. They were beautiful people. We love you, Papaw and Mamaw. I wish they had been able to see our babies, but I am sure they have already met them.

Waiting to Travel-11/28/2013

Well, we travel to create embryos the first week of February. We are excited and a bit impatient to get this process started. I have been reading the SCI website to stay up to date on what the other IP's are doing. One of my friends will travel day after tomorrow. I am excited for her. I wish we were going at the same time. I can't wait until we all have our babies. While we are waiting I have been reading blogs, researching the process, reading about India and just keeping busy until the time to depart arrives. We had a great Thanksgiving today. Darling husband's Dad, Uncle, Aunt, Cousin and my friend and her little boy all had an awesome dinner. We had Turkey and Ham, Cornbread dressing, green beans, sautéed portabellas, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, Pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and pecan pie. Waiting, waiting, waiting.....

Details-11/7/2013

Well, the last few weeks we have been finalizing the details. We received a copy of the contract and it made this whole thing very real to see the name of the surrogate in print. We reviewed and approved the contract and the hard copy was sent to us via DHL. we have signed and notarized the contract and we are waiting to send our contract with the visa application. We also booked our flights last night. Yay!!! This is all coming together and we are sooooo excited. I have also met another IP online, from Canada, and it is so nice to have another that is going through the same process. Not many people understand this process and all that is involved. I love reading all of the blogs from the IP's that have been successful in this journey. It definitely gives us hope that we will be coming home with babies. <3  We can't wait!!
I have also ordered some clothes online that will be cool, comfortable and appropriate for India.
We also booked our hotel room a couple of days ago. We will be staying at Hilton Garden Inn. A family member has an employee discount that can be used for relatives, so received a discount. It sounds very nice and the shopping and restaurants will be nice, but I am most excited to go out and see India. We are looking forward to shopping in the markets and going to the Taj Mahal. In the meantime, we will keep dreaming if babies and India

Let the Journey Begin-9/11/2013

This is the first post documenting our surrogacy journey in India. We have started researching clinics in India and we have narrowed it down to two. I don't want to mention which ones until we have chosen one and then I will discuss why. I chose the title of this blog because we are going to India to find the beautiful babies God will send to us.

History: We have been married 4 1/2 years and we both have children from previous marriages. My husband had a daughter that passed during the seventh month of pregnancy and he has two sons. He has always grieved for the daughter that passed and he has always wanted a little girl. We are unable to have children together due to my inability to have additional children, so we decided that surrogacy was the best option for us. We are hoping to meet others using the clinic we decide on that are in the same place we are in the process in order to make friends and support each other during this journey.

Tonight I will be printing out some information sent to us by one of the clinics and comparing it to the information sent by the other clinic in order to make an educated decision. Praying the choice will be quite clear.

I an thankful for this day and for all we are blessed with. I can't wait for this journey to begin.