Argh!!!!!

Although we were on Cloud Nine after getting our LOA on Friday, this weekend was a nightmare as far as getting the next round of documents ready. Why can’t the government just once create a form that does not require a team of experts to decipher? The new Hague-compliant Form I-800 (Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative) was such a joy to complete! NOT! Unfortunately, it will require a call to our social worker before every blank is filled in, lest we answer a question incorrectly. Nevertheless, we ought to have two overnight packages going out tomorrow via UPS: one to CWA which includes our signed Letter of Acceptance, and one to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) which includes our (soon to be) completed I-800 and a bunch of supporting documentation.

So what are the steps and timeframes from here? CWA will return our Letter of Acceptance to the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) so that they can complete the processing of our “Notice of Traveling to China for Adoption” or the “Final Approval” or “TA”. Before doing so, however, the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China has to give consent to the CCAA. They will give their consent upon receiving notice from CIS that our I-800 has been processed and approved. It should take about 2-3 weeks for us to get word back (same timeframe for the US Consulate) on our CIS approval. Figure another week for them to review and forward their consent to the CCAA, and that makes it about 4 weeks until getting our TA.

Once we get our Travel Approval, we apply for our China Travel Visas, which are done through a travel agency CWA recommends. At the same time, CWA requests visa appointments from the US Consulate in Guangzhou. Figure another 1-2 weeks for this step. Once the appointment dates are set, we can proceed with making travel arrangements. So, we should be making our plane reservations in about 6 weeks, with travel 2-3 weeks after that. That puts us in the mid-June timeframe for departure.

We are responsible for the international flight to Beijing and home from Hong Kong. CWA makes all in-country arrangements including hotels (the Wangfujing Grand Hotel in Beijing and the White Swan Hotel near Guangzhou), meals, flight from Beijing to Guangzhou, sightseeing, guides, etc. We will most likely be introduced to our son on the first day, and he will be with us from that point on. We will be in Beijing for about 10 days where we will spend a considerable amount of time sightseeing (Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc.) in between getting adoption items taken care of, and will then travel to Guangzhou for about 4 days for Cameron’s medical exam, visa appointment and swearing-in (or however that’s done for a child). Since both Angie and I are traveling to China, he will be a U.S. citizen upon touching down in the States.

That should give you a pretty good overview of what lies ahead for us over the next 2-3 months. Those followers of this blog who are adoptive parents (or prospectives) are likely quite familiar with this process, while those who aren’t may think this is pretty involved. If you are the latter, let me just say that I have put forth a greatly abbreviated version. It can be quite confusing, even with detailed instructions. If you have not gone through the laborious and time-consuming task of adopting internationally, you likely have no idea of the toll this takes on you, both emotionally and physically. Suffice it to say that this journey has been quite an adventure so far, and it’s only just begun. We would have it no other way. Hang in there, Cameron, we’ll be there in a couple months!