Matthew to receive his U.S. visa on Tuesday

** Adoption countdown: 3 days until Pam, Terry and Matthew return home **

By TERRY R. CASSREINO

GUANGZHOU, China (Monday, Dec. 15, 2008, 9:30 p.m.) – Just in case readers of this blog think that our trip to China has been all fun and games, I thought I’d give everyone an update on where we stand with adoption paperwork.

Paperwork required to complete the adoption is mind-boggling, confusing, irritating and, in some cases, repetitive. And it has taken countless hours to prepare, both before we left for China and since we’ve been here.

After we finalized Matthew’s adoption last in Zhengzhou, our trip shifted Friday to completing paperwork to obtain his visa we need for him to enter the United States.

Friday was basically a travel day, with much of the day spent moving from Zhengzhou to Guangzhou. While the flight took about two hours, traveling between cities and hotels took much of the morning and part of the afternoon.

Saturday saw me tied up with adoption paperwork for part of the afternoon. Sunday and Monday were free days for us.

The Holt International Children’s Services staff in Guangzhou, however, spent part of Monday organizing our paperwork and meeting with officials at the U.S. consulate about our case.

Tuesday is a particularly busy day: I have a morning meeting with Holt International Children’s Services, followed by an oath-taking ceremony at the U.S. Consulate office where we’ll receive Matthew’s visa.

The visa and a sealed packet we receive from the consulate is important – once we land in Detroit, our point of entry for the United States, officials will process Matthew’s documents and he will automatically become a U.S. citizen.

A lot of what we are doing now is hurry-up-and-wait. Pam and I also are spending valuable time with Matthew, letting him get to know us while we get to know him.

Oh, by the way, we are flying back on Southwest Flight 2978 and are set to arrive at Jackson-Evers International Airport at 9:21 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 18 – capping nearly 30 hours of travel through the air that day.

Copyright 2008 by Terry R. Cassreino. All rights reserved.