Visa Interview

Today we completed what started January 9th, the day our paperwork was filed with the American embassy to get approval to get Beatrice a visa.  Over four months later, on her 11-month birthday, Ngo Minh Hanh is now the proud owner of a visa issued by the embassy of the United States of America. This little piece of paper will become automatic citizenship when we land in Chicago Friday afternoon.  We brought a binder full of papers that they could possibly ask for to show proof of us meeting all our requirements, but in the end all that was needed was to show our passports, sign in two places, and swear that everything we submitted was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  All eight families were there and it was great to see the babies reunited, not having all been together since the G&R six days ago. Many of us are going out to eat together tonight along with our agency staff, to thank them and to celebrate the fact that we can go home as planned and nothing and no one can take this baby from us or prevent her from becoming a U.S. citizen.  I felt a bit of anger walking in, since I've been so frustrated by the final wait we had to endure at their hands, and I found it perfectly appropriate that Beatrice decided to leave the nastiest diaper since we've known her in their building; however, by the end, I feel grateful to be a U.S. citizen and blessed to have this paper for her since I know the large majority of people outside that building in this city would give anything to trade places with her.

And since I wouldn't dare write a post and not include a photo, here are some of our "yoga baby" in her stroller. All these months I thought her hips were displaced or something, I've learned that she's just incredibly flexible. I tried to get her in her favorite position of sticking her middle toe up her nose, I kid you not, but couldn't catch it.  This girl would be signed up for the Olympic Gymnastic Training Center were she born in China.  Her legs could almost be pulled up to both sides of her body. We wanted a picture of the babies under the U.S. Embassy Seal but no photos were allowed inside or outside of the building.

By the way, 9 new families have arrived in Hanoi, all with babies in Bac Ninh, and their G&R is tomorrow afternoon.  There are mighty few families left after this group, and the adoption unit at the embassy was empty except for our group.  I know many folks will be unemployed due to the closure of the U.S.-Vietnam adoption program; moreover, thousands of orphans will remain in orphanages.  I started some preliminary packing and decided to give up another bag full of items to donate to the orphanage.  It just seems so greedy to have all we have, and all Beatrice is going home to, and not leave more for the babies left behind.  They will stay with me forever and, everywhere we go, people remind us how lucky Beatrice is since orphans have a "sorrowful life and a very limited future." Every time, I make it clear to them that this is a "good for her, good for us" situation.  We are the three luckiest people in the world.