Dear Sean & Angela,

It is with a very heavy and frustrated heart that we write to regretfully inform you that we heard from the U.S. Consulate today and received confirmed Consulate appointments for your group in the month of October. 

Last night in an attempt to follow-up on our appointment requests made on Thursday, September 1^st, we faxed, emailed, called and had our local Guangzhou representative personally visit the Consulate.  The Consulate informed us that they were fully booked through the second week in October due to receiving a massive number of appointment requests at the same time.   

After some time on the phone trying to discuss and explain your position with the head of the Adoption Unit at the U.S. Consulate, we were told that there was no possibility of earlier appointments.  We requested their first available appointments according to you arriving in China immediately after the national holiday and received a confirmed appointment for your group on October 19th.  This means an estimated travel timeframe of October 6-21.  This timeframe also means that you will be in Guangzhou during the Trade Fair which will result in additional costs.  We will plan your trip so that you have the fewest number of nights possible in Guangzhou. 

We are very sorry that we were unable to make a change in the Consulate's mind, heart or schedule.  We tried as hard as we could last night.  Although we cannot turn anywhere else for help, if you would like to take matters into your own hands you could attempt to contact your Senator or Congressmen for help in making a case to the U.S. Consulate for an earlier appointment. 

We have contacted your child's orphanage to inform them that you will be unable to come as quickly as we had hoped and planned for.  We have also requested updated information on your child which we will forward to you as soon as it becomes available.  We trust that they will continue to take good care of your child until your arrival.  

We will now move forward in planning your travel.  We will contact JC Travel so that they can start looking into tickets for you and we will contact you with official travel dates as soon as possible.  In an effort to allow JC Travel the time they need to find new tickets for you we ask that you do not contact them today.  This will enable everything to move forward as quickly and smoothly as possible. 

Again, we are very sorry to bring such sad news.  We will do everything we can to make your trip as smooth as possible.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.  Please call or email us in the Travel Department at any time. 

Sincerely,

Your CCAI Travel Team

Here is the letter I sent to our Senators and Congressman

Dear Senator -----:

I am writing you about an issue that is near and dear to the hearts of an increasing number of Mississippians.  We are part of a group of parents who are adopting children from China.  While this process has become increasingly streamlined thanks to new policies enacted
by the US government, there is still maddening red tape in the system.

 

My husband Sean and I specifically have been waiting to be united with our daughter since July 29th.  We are being told we can not get a Consulate appointment until October 19th.  I find it very frustrating that our OWN government are the ones causing these delays.  I hesitate to even write this with so much going on in our state at this time but am hoping there might be something you or your office can do to assist us.  Please see the details discussed below -

 

Currently, a big hold-up to the process rests with the US Consulate in Guangzhou.  The last step in the adoption process is an appointment with that consulate that all parents must attend in order to bring their children home to the US.  Generally, this step happens about 4 weeks after we receive our child's referral information.  Well, the consulate is now scheduling these appointments for 10 weeks after referral.  That means that although the Chinese government is prepared to send our children home, the US Consulate is requiring our daughters to stay in the orphanages 1-2 months longer than they need to be.  This is unacceptable.  There is no apparent reason why this time line has extended, and our adoption agencies cannot influence the Consulate.  But perhaps your office can help. 

 

Any influence that you can wield to get the Consulate back on track will benefit all taxpayers.  For every 3 months our daughters are in the orphanages, they are developmentally delayed by 1 month.  Those delays will eventually catch up with the taxpayers here in the US in terms of more dollars needed for Early Intervention programs in the schools.  But all of that can be avoided if we could just get the Consulate to stop dragging their feet.

Thanks for your attention to this matter.

Angela and Sean Canaday

8505 Regal Bend Dr

Olive Branch MS

38654

662-890-0797