We had an early morning start yesterday to catch a 6am flight to Sydney. We were asked to arrive at the American consulate 20 minutes prior to our 10:30am scheduled meeting time to clear security. This involved bag searches and being screened with a metal detector on the 10th floor of the MLC centre. Once we passed security, we were allowed to travel to the 59th floor, where we again went through a bag search, surrendered our mobile phones walked through a metal detector and were buzzed through a security door.
Entering a waiting area, we took a number and then a seat and then began a long wait... About an hour later, our number came up, we went to a counter and submitted some paperwork (passports, photographs, visa application fee receipts, etc.). We were then told to take a seat and wait for our interview. In the interim, we had a nappy download from Nic. There were no ‘bathrooms’ on that floor of the building, so I left the waiting room, only to have to go through the same security clearance procedures on my return.
Our interview took place at about 12:30pm - at a counter, with an official behind a thick glass barrier. The whole interview took about 5 minutes. We were told that the paperwork would be processed on Friday or Monday. That would mean we have our passports returned about Tuesday. I guess we will soon be on our way!
In the meantime, Luc was being looked after by his grandparents. This involved a trip to the Gold Coast to visit the beach and his great grandparents. The photo above shows Luc with Great Grandma Elva and Great Grandpa Patrick.
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