INS Appointment and Off to Hanoi

On Monday morning we finally had the big INS appointment (with US Dept of Homeland Security). The purpose of this interview is for US approval of our adoption – to ensure that it has been done legally and ethically according to US regulations. This approval is needed before adoptive parents can apply for a Visa which allows the child to enter the US and become a US citizen. The interview went easier than we expected. The woman was very professional and understanding. We appreciate her efforts to make sure that adoptions are done ethically. On Monday afternoon our coordinator from the adoption agency’s Ho Chi Minh City office retrieved our approval in a sealed envelope.

We were not able to obtain a flight to Hanoi for the Visa application interview until Tuesday afternoon. The other family and we moved into the same hotel for our last night in Ho Chi Minh where we were also able to spend time with our Groucho’s family and there new daughter. Crystal also had the opportunity for one more Ho Chi Minh shopping spree. When we arrived at the counter to check in for our flight to Hanoi we discovered that we had not purchased tickets for the babies (at ten percent of a full fare). We were sent to the “Excess Baggage” counter to purchase them! We finally made it to the gate about 15 minutes before the flight. This 2 hour trip was to be a test flight before our twenty plus hour trip home. We all did pretty well.