U.S. Consulate Day

Yesterday, our adoption agency coordinator went to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou to turn in our travel group’s paperwork for an immigrant visa for our adopted children. Today at 3 PM, every one staying at the White Swan Hotel with a U.S. consultate appointment (which included multiple adoption agencies, not just Heartsent) hopped aboard a White Swan Hotel bus (actually there was a caravan of at least four buses) going to the U.S. Consulate. At 4 PM, we all gathered in a room, swore we truthfully completed the visa paperwork, and received our children’s Chinese passports with U.S. immigrant visas. I think that our appointment was a bit longer than usual because they were celebrating National Adoption Month. The Counsel General led the oath (usually it is led by a lower ranking Consulate official), the Counsel General gave a short speech, there were invited Chinese officials in attendence, and each adoption agency group got its picture taken with the Consul General (i.e. there was a Heartsent families group picture with the Consul General).

Tomorrow, we plan to do last minute shopping and then, at 3 PM, hop aboard a shuttle bus to the Guangzhou airport to fly home (via Hong Kong).

We’ll be landing in San Francisco Saturday evening.