Guangzhou U.S. Consulate Appointment

As far as China and the US see us, we are the legal guardians of a Chinese citizen. On Monday we went to the US Consulate to present all of our documentation to allow Audrey to immigrate to the United States. We were among around 30 adoptive families that came to the Consulate General that day.  We took an oath that all the forms and information was truthful and then we were called one by one to a teller to have our passports verified and to sign some papers. In a day or two we wll receive Audrey's Chinese passport with an American visa and an envelope we are not to open to give to Customs in Chicago with all of the forms for Audrey's citizenship. After we clear Customs in Chicago, Audrey is offially a citizen of the USA. In about a month and a half we will get in the mail her certificate of citizenship.

Tuesday we had our "Red Couch Photos" taken. A traditional part of the Chinese adoption process for American families is to have their pictures taken on the one of the many red couches on the second floor of the White Swan Hotel. Usually all of the children and some of the parents will dress in traditional Chinese attire for their pictures. We bought Audrey a nice blue silk dress with butterflies on it. Our FTIA group included 12 families. Eight of the families received non-special needs families from Nanchang. The other four families received special needs families from other provinces in China. The eight girls from Nanchang are seated on the couch in the photo and the other four girls and in front. After the children had their pictures taken then each of the 12 families got their red couch picture, then a whole group photo in front of the Christmas tree.

In the two weeks we have been in China, I feel that we have made friends that could last a lifetime. The other girls