Yeah Really

Where are we now?

Once we received our I800 approval all of our documents were delivered to the US Embassy in Guangzhou. This included the visa applications for A and I to enter the US. This step "is the only standard wait" of the process. Everyone waits 14 days from drop-off of documents to pick-up of article 5 (A5). That means the US Embassy has said your child meets the criteria for an orphan, you meet the requirements, you have filled out the right forms and paid your fee. Our A5 pick-up came....and went. There was some additional information required for one of the littles to meet the visa orphan criteria. This pushed our pick up from May 2 to May 7. Only days wait but still.

After we were issued A5 we them moved into waiting for TRAVEL APPROVAL! That is the final step. People wait, generally, 12-20 days. We are at day 9. Do you see where those 5 days make a difference?? I sure do. SOOO we are waiting for TA and our appointment with the US Embassy in Guangzhou....and the embassy is closed. For a holiday you ask? No. Was this a planned closure? No. The embassy received a suspicious white powder on Monday so the embassy has been closed ever since. That means the families there are just hanging out. The embassy needs to reschedule them, there are families piling up and no appointments are being made for families who are needing them. At this time we don't know if/how this will impact our travel. We don't know if will create a long lasting back log, if the embassy will schedule appointments when they re-open or even when they will re-open.

With all that being said we REALLY need to receive our travel approval by next Tuesday/Wednesday to allow us to travel May 29. Keep that in your thoughts and prayers.