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Thursday,
September 13, 2007
Our US Consulate appointment was scheduled for this morning. Our
guide Cici was the only person who needed to be present at this
appointment to submit paperwork for all four families in our
group. We needed to stay in our hotel rooms from 9:30 to 11:00
a.m. in case the consulate had any questions on our paperwork.
Our personal appearance at the consulate was scheduled for
tomorrow, which is typical. Cici called around 10:30 a.m., which
made me nervous. She quickly said our paperwork was okay, but
the consulate wanted us to appear in person this afternoon
instead of tomorrow!
We dashed out for more Shamian shopping and a quick lunch at
Lucy’s so the kids could nap before heading out at 2:45 p.m. The
consulate used to be on Shamian Island but is now about a
40-minute bus ride away in a non-descript large office building.
Photos are not allowed in the consulate for security reasons, so
all we got was a shot in the lobby. Once inside, Cici again got
us to the front of the line, ahead of families who were there
before us. They noticed. After a brief interview at a bank
teller like window, all the families assembled took a group oath
(right hand raised), then we were done!
Lilia will be traveling home on a Chinese passport with a US
immigrant visa. Amazingly, we got our kids’ visa packages this
afternoon before we left the consulate. It is very rare to get
the visa package on the same day as the initial consulate
appointment. Once Lilia’s visa package is opened at HNL airport
on Saturday, she will be a US citizen.
Dinner tonight was at our usual Cantonese restaurant. Cici is
doing a great job ordering different dishes each night, so
eating there three nights this week is not so bad. Cici also
treated us to dinner tonight to celebrate the US side of our
paperwork being done in record time.
Two more nights in China before we make the long journey home.
Other families we spoke with today leave early tomorrow morning
on even longer journeys. One family is going home to Boston with
a rather rambunctious six year old. Glad we’re not on that
plane. |
This is the building where the US consulate is located in
northern Guangzhou. I would never have guessed.
Here we are in the lobby, proudly displaying our sealed brown
envelope. Once this gets opened at HNL International on
Saturday, Lilia becomes a US citizen! Please also check out
Lilia’s outfit. I worked the after fourth of July sales real
hard to find this.
Celebration dinner at our favorite Cantonese restaurant on
Shamian Island. |
