Good News #1: Big Sam’s student visa was approved last week, and he will be flying to the U.S. along with us on our return flight home from picking up our Samuel! Yeahhhhh!
Good News #2: We were also able to coordinate Ezekiel’s travel with us on our return flight, so he will also be flying to the U.S. with us! Yeahhhhh!
The Bad News: Prince’s student visa was denied on account of the following (excerpt from email from Kofi):
I believe the consular was not satisfied with the answers that Prince’s mother provided to the questions. Due to illiteracy Prince’s mother could not express herself convincingly. An interpreter was later invited so that she could speak her local language but yet could not convince the consular. The consular then advised that we sponsor Prince in a good school in Ghana and re-apply when he attains the age of 16 when he can speak for himself.
This sounds unfair, but this is actually a legitimate reason for student visa denial as outlined below from the following source http://www.abroadeducation.com.np/visa-preparation/reasons-student-visa-denial.html
Impression to the Consular
Even though this applies to nations which organize student visa interviews, this is one of the major reasons for visa denial. To obtain a student visa you need to impress the consular - your words must be impressing and understandable. You need to prove to the consular that you are a genuine student and your reasons for studying abroad makes sense. Most of the time, the mood of the consular also plays a role in the student visa approval. When their mood isn't good they'll not award the student visa, however this is not the general reason for student visa denial.
At any rate, this was pretty devastating. Especially since I know just how the host family is feeling….how they’ve developed a spot in their heart for Prince and are ready in every way to invite him into their family. I just feel awful. If there is any good news in this, it is that it's legally possible to file a motion to reopen/reconsider and re-apply for the visa now and not have to wait until he is 16. However, before we do that we need to clearly be able to present the situation/facts/educational opportunity/host family situation to the consular through the communication of Prince’s mom. Kofi said that the consular was satisfied with all of his (Kofi’s) answers to the questions, but of course the consular was more interested in how Prince’s mother answered since she was speaking on her son’s behalf. I will keep you updated on how things progress with the re-application.
Since we are talking about travel arrangements, I also wanted to share about the awesome travel agency that we used to book our tickets. It is called Golden Rule Travel http://www.goldenruletravel.com/ They specialize in international adoption, humanitarian, and missionary travel. Here is an excerpt off the website detailing their expertise with adoption travel arrangements:
We have specialists at Golden Rule Travel who understand adoption travel. They have essential knowledge of the country to which you are traveling. They have special agreements with a number of airlines which offer favorable terms and conditions at great fares. As all adoptive parents know, the ability to change dates of travel without penalty is priceless when adopting. Perhaps most importantly, they understand how the road to finally bringing home the precious children is fraught with changes, dashed hopes and mixed emotions. Let Golden Rule Travel remove at least one of the uncertainties and stresses of adoption travel and rest assured that they will find the best possible option when the time comes to bring the new family member home.
There is no way we could have figured out how to coordinate all these tickets without their help!
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