|
Kyle
Aaron Morlock |
By
themselves, six numbers and a letter may not mean very much.
Becky
Morlock and her son Kyle are hoping they mean one thing:
Going
home.
Becky
confirmed Jan. 12 that the U.S. Embassy in Delhi – after
several weeks of no communication – has accepted her
application for a visa that will ultimately allow Kyle, who
she adopted last year, legal permission to leave India with
her so they can settle in the United States.
‘‘We
finally have a receipt number!’’ Becky announced via e-mail.
‘‘The embassy officially accepted my I-130 (visa
application) this morning.’’
With the
acceptance of the application – and the seven-digit
letter/number combination – she and Kyle ‘‘are officially in
the system now,’’ Becky added. ‘‘Of course, they couldn’t
make any guarantees about the outcome of my visa. So now we
have to push for expedited processing and a favorable
outcome!’’ |
Last
week was not the first time Becky had submitted the 1-130
application to the U.S. Embassy and awaited an answer; the
first attempt was Nov. 4, 2011, more than two months ago.
At the
time, embassy officials did not formally accept the
application, but told Becky that they would reply in the
near future; however, the only reply made to Becky, to
attorneys working on her behalf, and to representatives from
the U.S. Congress who also wrote on her behalf, was that no
decision had been made but that there would be a response in
the near future. (Sentinel, Dec. 20, 2011 issue.)
In her
e-mail, Becky said she was on her way to visit the embassy
‘‘to get some answers’’ when she received an e-mail on her
smart phone from the embassy. The message said she was
permitted to ‘‘come at any time to file.’’
Once at
the embassy, a manager apologized to Becky for the delays.
‘‘(The
manager) said that it was their intent to help me, and
that’s why they didn’t accept the application before, to
save me money if there was a problem.
‘‘However, I explained to her how horrible the
correspondence has been and that in 10 weeks we received
almost no help, assistance or explanation whatsoever about
my situation,’’ Becky added. ‘‘She said she would take the
blame for that and apologize.’’
Becky is
the daughter of Wayne and Cindy Morlock of Millersburg and
is a 1997 graduate of Millersburg Area High School. She has
cared for Kyle, now age 4, since shortly after his birth in
India (See the full-length story on the Sentinel’s website).
Mother
and son have cleared every hurdle placed before them and
fulfilled every legal requirement asked of them, including
Becky legally adopting Kyle and securing an Indian passport
for him.
Attorneys working on Becky’s behalf also wrote the embassy
recently regarding the lack (up to that point) of a decision
on the visa application.
‘‘I
simply state that Rebecca is an angel and she should be an
example for all of us,’’ Mark T. Silliker, one of those
attorneys, told the Sentinel by e-mail.
