The Consulate ~ Congratulations, Emma!

The big day all our months and years of I171H renewals have finally brought us to. The visa and subsequent citizenship of our little Emma. With our paperwork in hand and Emma and backpack readied, we head out to the US consulate for our appointment to approve our adoption, visa for Emma and approval for her citizenship to be granted upon landing in the US.

Nina, Ellie and Gracie stay with Rose and Audrey while we take our little ones for their visit to the consulate.

We gather in the room where an American flag hangs in front and a row of windows with officers of the consulate sitting on the other side peruse families' paperwork. We wait and finally are called to stand and take the oath that we will care for, love and never abandon our new little ones. And then, we are congratulated and there are claps and cheers. This is our final step. After each family is interviewed, we slowly leave the room. We are nearly the last to leave and we leave with a sigh of relief. We are finished. It is official. Now, we await our visas that will be processed and delivered to us in a day or so.

All that is left is to enjoy Guangzhou, relax and soak in more of life with Emma. We head back to the White Swan to find the girls have had a lovely morning out at the pool with Auntie Rose and Audrey. How grateful we are for them. They have been an enormous help and support to us and the other families with us.

And now, we relax and just soak in the rest of our time here.



Pictures from our day: