Government Fun

We are still waiting on Bridget's I-600 application to be approved but we have had some contact with INS. Last month we contacted our congressman who said to contact the Spokane immigration office because they were "responsive." They were right. We asked if there was a way for us to stay in the US and get Bridget's citizenship using another procedure. They responded immediately and said that we could wait for the I-600 and return to Malawi when it's approved or wait for her adoption to have been final for two years and then submit a different form. This was confusing as it would mean that Bridget's visitor visa would have expired (they are only good for 6 months and can be renewed only 1 time) and she would be in the US illegally. Our next question was how can she stay illegally to which they replied that she would be an "overstay" and the only problem would be that she would not receive any goverment services that a citizen would be entitled to. Huh? Because it appeared that they were saying it didn't really matter if she was here illegally, I decided to press it further and asked for more clarification. Then I received a very stern response saying that the government line was that Bridget could not be in the states while an I-600 was being processed and we had better return to Malawi because we were in the states "fraudently" and our application could be denied for her citizenship. Huh again?!
In spite of all this, we have received word from Rome that they still are processing her application and today we received notice that her application for a visa extension has been extended. We will just continue to wait.