A Taiwanese American Boy! March 4, 2011

         We sighed another sigh of relief today. In the eyes of our government, Chang Wei became Nathan Wei Homoelle, and received his U.S. Visa.  We arrived at the American Institute of Taiwan for our 8:00 appointment to see at least 50 Chinese people in line outside the door and twice as many inside already. Since we had an appointment, we could head to the third floor, where it was much less crowded. To see all of those people applying to come to the U.S made us smile with pride. We are blessed to live in a land of opportunity.

       After a few more documents to be completed and a 1 hour 30 minute wait, we were called to a window. Greg and I had to take an oath that everything in our documents was correct, and then the interview began. We had been told this could be a daunting interview. There is so much speculation about corruption that both the Taiwanese government and the U.S want to make sure this was not a money making scheme or that any trafficing is involved. We were asked specifics about where all of our fees went to. While adoption seems expensive, what people don't see is the amount of bureaucratic paperwork and court cases, translation fees, and so much more. Now that we've been here and seen all the people that need to be involved to make it successful we are confident that the Taiwan program is legitimate.  Our interviewer was American and had a 5th grader himself, so I think that helped us a little :)  However, the number one reason it went so well was due to All God's Children being so thorough.
       Nathan had no idea how important today was.  He just hung onto Greg as we answered questions. We were told to come back and pick up his Visa at 2:30.  So, after the 3 of us napped, we woke up and walked back to the AIT building.   With that, all the formalities of our adoption is now over in Taiwan. Once we get back to the states we'll start a readoption process to give him a U.S birth certificate and SS number. For now, Nathan Wei is ready for the U.S.A!