What's New

Updated Appointment Timeline and Oath-taking Ceremony

In order to accommodate the increasing number of Hague cases and to better serve all of our adoptive families, Consulate Guangzhou’s Adoptions Unit is updating the appointment/visa processing timeline for all adoptive families, both Hague and orphan.  Beginning October 1, 2009, the Adoptions Unit will be implementing the updated appointment timeline, which we believe will better serve our families and help guard against possible delays. 

The updated timeline is as follows: appointment on one day, ceremony on the next day, visa packets ready on the day after the ceremony. Appointments will be available on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.  Oath taking ceremonies will occur on the day following the appointment day, and will thus take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  Visa packets will be available the day after the family has taken the oath, which means that visa packets will be available for pick-up at the Consular Section by facilitators on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Please do not ask for same day visas or rush processing; all families will need to follow our updated timeline unless there is a medical emergency and the Adoptions Officer has approved the expedited service. 

The oath-taking ceremony will now include all adoptive parents (both Hague and orphan cases) signing the DS-230 in front of the Adoptions Officer. 

Facilitators: Beginning October 1, 2009, please do not have your families sign the DS-230.  Instead, please return the DS-230 to each family when they are in the waiting room at the Consular Section for the oath-taking ceremony, and be ready to help collect these DS-230s once the oath and the signing has taken place.  You should ensure that each family member who needs to sign the DS-230 is present at the oath-taking ceremony, and that each family has a pen. Once the families have signed the DS-230, you will collect the forms and return them to the Adoptions Unit staff before leaving with your families.

Adoptions Agencies: Please share this updated appointment timeline with your families, who should prepare their travel plans according to our updated timeline.  We will not expedite visas in order to accommodate flight schedules, so please help your families prepare in advance.

Facilitators: Please note- visas will be available for you to pick up the day after the families have taken the oath.  You may come to the Consular Section at 3:30 PM to pick up the visas for the previous day’s oath-taking families.  Please do not call our Adoptions Unit to request early pick-up. In the event of a medical emergency, the family should speak with the Adoptions Unit directly in order to discuss the possibility of expedited processing.

Sample Timeline: The family’s visa appointment is on Tuesday.  The facilitator brings the documents on Tuesday. The family comes to the Consular Section on Wednesday to take the oath.  The facilitator receives the family’s packet on Thursday afternoon at 3:30 PM and gives the packet to the family later that afternoon.