So, after waiting almost two months for the US consulate in Jakarta to send Martha the stuff she needs to fill out, I decided to recheck my approval notice and give the INS center a call to see what was going on. To my dismay, I discovered that the package had been forwarded to the US consulate in Medan, where Martha was born, instead of the consulate in Jakarta, where she lives. To add insult to injury, the Medan consulate closed in 1996!!

Now I'm scrambling about trying to figure out what to do and locate my petition. I've taken the following actions:

• Contacted the US Embassy in Jakarta. They say they're looking into it. Looking like this will be a pretty slow response solution.
• Filed an I-824 (Action on an approved petition) asking the INS to forward the approval to a new consulate, namely the one in Jakarta.
• I'm also considering contacting my congresspersons, asking for some assistance. Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

Well Friends and neighbors, a bit has happened since I last updated so I'll try to be brief.

• The I-824 Action on an Approved Petition was received by the Laguna Niguel INS center and I got my Notice of Action, which informed me this request would take 240 to 250 days to process!! Obviously, a waste of time (and money, like $120)
• The same day I faxed all the stuff I had along with a cover letter to the Jakarta embassy. I received an email reply almost the next day. The very nice lady there informed me that I could present my ORIGINAL Notice of Approval along with a statement of intent to marry and she could move forward with the process. Since I was planning a trip at the end of August anyway, this sounded perfect.

In the rush to copy, put together, collate, organize, etc., etc. I managed ( I could kill myself ) to send the ORIGINAL NOA to the INS with my I-824. As this notice is VERY important down the road I've contacted my Representative to give me a hand retrieving it. When I arrived at the  Jakarta embassy with my color photo-copy, the lady said she would cable the INS here to get confirmation of approval and then things would move forward. She expected to hear back in two-to-three weeks. That was on or about August 23rd. Needless to say, I'll be asking my Representative to assist me with this also.

Well it looks like someone finally got it together. Martha now has the paper work in her hands. She's completed her medical and police records. It looks like I'm going to get a GREAT birthday present, my Love. PS: November 13th is my b-day :>