Day 7 & 8

Travel day to Delhi

Our flight out was on King Fisher Airlines. Avery nice but older Airbus plane. Our flight back was on a another Airbus but his one had seen some usage. Ah Air India I was a bit unsure about the seatbelts though. They were from a company I know somewhat intimately AmSafe in Phoenix Arizona. Just about all US registered commercial aircraft use their belts. These belts were stamped American Safety Model 5000 B2. The tongue was numbered 442851 and another part 5000628-401-2258 model 9600-3. The latch was broken, Spring came unhinged but it still worked. Hey it met the FAA TSO -C22f so it all must be ok. I just wonder when the company revised its logo... Me thinks these belts may have come from another installation. As for maintenance, check out the cotter pin the belt. It should have been bent better and placed in such a way that you don't need a tetanus shot at the end of the flight. One positive note, we got REAL silverware!

The bad about The Ginger

As soon as I found out when we were travelling I got our hotels set up. Something to note here is to trust your adoption rep in-country. I jumped the gun and got our Delhi reservations done before he had given me his recommendation. Driving in Delhi is much like driving in LA. When someone asks you how many miles it is from destination A to B we 't tell them the miles. Rather depending on the time of day and the direction of travel we tell them how long it will take to get to their destination. Delhi is undergoing major construction. The hotel I chose is one of the older hotels in the chain and is deep in the center of a construction zone. It is also extremely inconvenient to get to both the airport and the embassy. Distance wise it looks ok but it is not. Hind sight says this: Even though the hotel that we stayed at near the airport is farther away from the embassy the Ginger in Delhi is close it takes more time to get to the Embassy from the Ginger than it does from the airport.

Agra – The Trident

Not the cheapest and not the most expensive but well worth it after a 13 ½ or depending on which direction you fly 9 to 11 hour time shift and anywhere from 16 to 20 hours worth of flying and 4 hours of driving. Just get a load of how the laundry is returned to you.

Orphanage – The Ginger, works just fine. Beds are a bit harsh compared to the Trident

Delhi – The Ginger

• Can't drive up to the door to drop off your bags

• No parking for our driver and car

• Right next to the train station – fine if you are taking a train but the train is a MAJOR mode of transportation.

• No place to walk to from here, in the middle of an industrial section, stay inside after dark!

• Cafe which is fine if you know what you are eating but we work better with a buffet.

• Price was right but oh so wrong.

• Beds are old and have been the worse so far.

A Better Hotel

After one night at the Ginger we cut our loses and were able to move to the hotel that our host wanted us to go to, he was staying there too. It was about double what the Ginger runs but this place offers complimentary breakfast, has its own restaurant, and the beds are so much better. They also have bath tubs but again I don't take baths so it was wasted on me. If you get into one of the finer rooms this is what your shower will look like. Ah now that it the ticket. The standard room has standard shower faucets. Get spoilt, worth it after each day sitting and milling about the embassy. And the winner, hands down:

The Hotel Saptagiri. www.hotelsaptagiri.com

There are two hotels in close proximity. One on the main street, newer than the one off the main street. We stayed at the older one as it is more quiet. Yeah!

Day 8

02MAR09

Fist Day at The Embassy

I could write about the US embassy trip but on the Yahoo forum for our adoption agency another member has written just about all the details you need. I used an old version Adobe Acrobat (5.0) and most of the official forms you can fill in and save. It looks nicer if it is typed rather than done by hand. Of course we carried a blank set of forms just in case I made a mistake and we needed to redo them. I've made a minor mod or two but nothing big enough to write home about.

“I must admit I was a bit nervous about the embassy visit, partly because it is a situation where security is high and you don't want take items like cameras and phone that will just be confiscated until you return and slow you down. Yet you have to have your documents that you prepared and brought but haven't touched since before the trip began. Cars can't stop long so its a hurry up and wait kind of process. There are long lines of people trying to immigrate to the USA standing out in the heat for hours. Fortunately as a US citizen there is a fast track line just for you that wisks you right to security (after a 20 minute wait) and then an escort takes you to where you turn in your completed I-600. Just for the record you are not officially adopting the child in India only receiving guardianship. So the answer to that question is no, as she will officially be adopted in your home state of residence when you return home. You do have custody of the child. Once they have that application and copies of your passports including the non traveling spouses, you will then be called back to go over the application and any needed supporting documentation. Again you go to the head of the line while 4 rows of waiting people stare at you as Adoption cases get priority. Since my wife was not here I had to show the proof of power of attorney that had been notarized back in the US prior to coming. In hind site I should have had her sign the I-600 before I came, but he had me sign for her because my other document was completed. In about 5 minutes you are done with Homeland security and off to window 16 or 17 to give the Immigration people the photos you had taken the night or morning before you go there. He will also give you your Visa application ( he didn't have any and said you will get this from window 16 along with the approved doctor list) and tell you to go see the approved doctor for the child physical exam. Come back in the morning to prove you can support this child and turn in your I-864 and possibly the 3 years of tax returns. When they complete the Visa and Immigration interview. You then tell them you will wait for the Visa for your child to go home to the US with you so they will expedite the process. If all that goes according to plan then we will be free to go home. However our adoption agency wants you to have a cushion day or two in the event of unforeseen problems.

The doctor visit is a formality that is required by Immigration law. Not one that I would rely on for conclusive proof of good health. ...1600 Rupies later and an hour of your time you come out with a sealed envelope not to be opened by you. You give it to the official at the Embassy when you return the next day.”

The Visa application DS-230 ( DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration) is one document our agency did not give us before we travelled. You could have this pre-filled too.

What can go wrong?

Not having all the documentation that you should. In our case and I am sure that it is universal for our agency we come loaded with more documentation than will be needed or used. I came back with most of my supporting documentation. Of the tax returns they only took the 1040 for one year, I had 3 years plus the W-2's and the itemized deductions. Of the I-864 they only took mine and said they didn't need the wife's. so when it came to the employer's statement of employment and salary they only took mine. It is better to be well prepared than to not have the information on hand. I also had everything related to this adoption on a flash drive. Every document we signed, notarized, Apostilled was in a pdf form/ If I needed something and I did not have it printed out then all I need is access to a printer. That by the way is another reason to stay at a more “up-scale” hotel. It would easily add half a day especially if it needed to be notarized. Oh my I haven't even though of the ramifications of the US accepting an Indian Notary for a US document. Best to have all your ducks in a row. If you want the laundry list of what we brought then drop me a line on this blog and I will post it.

After dropping off our I-600 the officer asked if we had our medical done. No, I was told that the medical gets done after we drop this off and you give us a list of where to go. Oh he said, well if you had the medical we might be able to get the Visa today. Wow the bureaucracy can move that fast. I held that comment down as my job is also part of the bureaucracy and I know it does not move that fast. It wouldn't matter as the approved Doctor's office was not open anyway. Thus we hit the Embassy first, get photos and the Doctors note and then if time permits head back and drop it off.

Oh and the embassy was undergoing a multi-million renovation. You go in through one gate to drop off the I-600 and have one interview then you go to window 16. Well window 16 does not exist so you go to another outside wall of the embassy and queue up at windows that look like you are going to a theatre. Windows 1-5, Now they don't tell you which is the magical window 16 as it doesn't matter oh wait I am getting onto day 2 at the embassy. I will pick this up on the next posting.

je