We expedited her birth certificate submission to the state the day she was born.
We went into the city of Philadelphia to the office of vital records the day she was released from the hospital to apply for copies of her birth certificate.
We spent an hour trying to get acceptable passport pictures.
We went back into the city and picked up her birth certificates when they were ready a week after she was born.
We had an official passport appointment two days after that at our local library with both Frank and Helen and Grace which is required for a passport for a minor.
We expedited her passport which we received five days later, which was yesterday.
Today, Mark took them by train to New York City to the Chinese Embassy to apply for an official translation of her American birth certificate for use in China and to get special travel permission from the Chinese government. Even though she is a United States citizen with a United States passport, China recognizes her as a Chinese citizen since she has two Chinese parents, and she needs special travel permission rather than a visa like we would get.
Despite a long wait in a chaotic room that looked remarkably like a Chinese DMV, both applications were accepted. And, now, we all wait another week until the documents can be picked up at the Embassy with 2 business days to spare before they leave to go home to China.
(I’ve been texting them all day and insisting that Mark send me pictures so that I could be a part of the day while I was home with Caleb and then our four. Can’t wait to hear about Grace’s big trip to NYC.)
I am constantly in awe and amazement for this long, hard, and beautiful journey this family is going on to bring their Grace safely into this world. Thank you for helping them. This girl has a wonderful story ahead of her and I can’t wait to watch it unfold.