Getting Down to the Wire
As I explained previously, Emily's immigration approval was forwarded to the National Visa Center in New Hampshire last week. The NVC produced and cabled our adoption letter to the US Embassy in China yesterday (almost one week later). This triggers our next wait, which should be between 2-3 weeks. Home stretch, y'all.
We expect our Lifeline China team will be able to pick up our Article 5 letter (Emily's approved visa) around March 4th. Once our Article 5 letter is available, it will be couriered to the CCCWA (China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption), where they will issue us Travel Approval (TA) about 2 weeks later. At that point, it's go time!
Considering where we are in the process and looking at the time frames, we are expecting to travel the last week of March. I can't believe I'm able to say that now!
(Disclaimer: If you are already thoroughly bored or confused by our process, do not read this paragraph.) We can not book our flights until we have a consulate appointment confirmed. This is the appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China to finalize the adoption. Our consulate appointment can not be made until we have TA (travel approval). "Gotcha day" is the day we pick up our sweet girl from her originating orphanage. Gotcha days are always on Monday and they are always scheduled the week before your consulate appointment. So, we will receive TA, then schedule our consulate appointment, then book flights. Based on current circumstances, here's my prediction. We will fly in to Beijing the week of March 24th to experience the culture and sight see for a couple days. We will then fly to Hohhot, Inner Mongolia (the capital of the province where she was abandoned) for our gotcha day, which would be March 31st. Then we fly to Guangzhou the following week to complete the adoption. Then it's back to the US of A for us! Again, this is only my prediction based on normal process times.
I'll have more updates to come as it gets closer. Please pump up those prayers. This is a very exciting but anxious time for our family. There is an unbelievable amount of preparation that needs to happen before we travel. This preparation has already begun and will not be slowing down any. Please accept my apology now for my neglecting or ignoring you over the next several weeks. Wait, now that I think about it, I really won't come out of that funk until... hmmmmm.... way after our return. Oh goodness. Pour on the grace, please. We're gonna need it. ;-)
We expect our Lifeline China team will be able to pick up our Article 5 letter (Emily's approved visa) around March 4th. Once our Article 5 letter is available, it will be couriered to the CCCWA (China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption), where they will issue us Travel Approval (TA) about 2 weeks later. At that point, it's go time!
Considering where we are in the process and looking at the time frames, we are expecting to travel the last week of March. I can't believe I'm able to say that now!
(Disclaimer: If you are already thoroughly bored or confused by our process, do not read this paragraph.) We can not book our flights until we have a consulate appointment confirmed. This is the appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China to finalize the adoption. Our consulate appointment can not be made until we have TA (travel approval). "Gotcha day" is the day we pick up our sweet girl from her originating orphanage. Gotcha days are always on Monday and they are always scheduled the week before your consulate appointment. So, we will receive TA, then schedule our consulate appointment, then book flights. Based on current circumstances, here's my prediction. We will fly in to Beijing the week of March 24th to experience the culture and sight see for a couple days. We will then fly to Hohhot, Inner Mongolia (the capital of the province where she was abandoned) for our gotcha day, which would be March 31st. Then we fly to Guangzhou the following week to complete the adoption. Then it's back to the US of A for us! Again, this is only my prediction based on normal process times.
I'll have more updates to come as it gets closer. Please pump up those prayers. This is a very exciting but anxious time for our family. There is an unbelievable amount of preparation that needs to happen before we travel. This preparation has already begun and will not be slowing down any. Please accept my apology now for my neglecting or ignoring you over the next several weeks. Wait, now that I think about it, I really won't come out of that funk until... hmmmmm.... way after our return. Oh goodness. Pour on the grace, please. We're gonna need it. ;-)
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