Case Closed!

Marina worked her magic (all night long, including 3 trips to the Embassy before noon!) and all the paperwork was found and processed by our 3pm appointment at the US Embassy this afternoon! Woo-hoo! Next stop: HOME!!!

Turns out my USCIS fingerprint update was MAILED to Astana months ago, rather than emailed or cabled to Almaty as is normal. Marina, with her usual perseverance, was able to get the Embassy personnell to track it through Moscow, then Astana, then get it faxed to Almaty. Huge THANK YOU to Andrea, Nina, and Marina for all your efforts in sorting this out so we can leave as scheduled!

This is Brady's passport, his birth certificate (they put it in a passport-like book) and the super-important mystery envelope that cannot be opened by anyone other than a USCIS official once we land in Denver. We're all set now. Once we arrive at DIA, Braden Kyler will become a US citizen!



Now, just to finish some shopping, try to shove everything in the suitcase, clean up the apartment a little, and get some rest. Our last day in Kazakhstan is tomorrow, which also happens to be a national holiday, Republic Day. They are setting up tents and other displays on the mall tonight even though it is drizzling. Hopefully it will be sunny tomorrow and we can enjoy the festivities before we head for the airport at midnight.

This after our walk back from the grocery store this morning. If only he would be like this on the plane....