Friday, April 4, 2008

Good News, Good News and Uncertain News

It is almost our 11 month anniversary on the waiting list and over 15 months since we were approved to adopt from Vietnam, as well as a little over a year since we signed on with our agency. We originally had been going to adopt from China, but that is another story that you have probably already heard and is found on our old blog, Journey to Our Chinese Princess.

I'll start with the uncertain news and end with the good news. As many of you know there was an internal USCIS that was leaked or publicly posted or whatever, by another website. The memo from USCIS (Citizenship & Immigration) said that Vietnamese adoptions would now require DNA testing for all children who were abandoned by there parents. This was posted on April 1st, so many of us were hoping this was some sort of cruel April Fools' joke. It since has been announced to be true by our agency, as well as many others. How this will impact future adoptions is not fully known, but children whose parents gave them up willingly for adoption, will now need to be DNA-tested (both the child and the parent (s)). This will probably lengthen the already lengthen the already long wait between referral and travel. The parents will need to be located and flown to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to get tested along with the child. This extra cost will probably be the responsibility of the prospective adoptive parents.

But on to some good news and luckily there is quite a bit to share this week. As of April 2nd, Kevin's and my dossier was sent to Vietnam. It will take several days for our agency representatives in Ho Chi Minh City to receive our dossier, as well as the 11 others that were sent out at the same time. Once it has been received in HCMC, it will be sent out for translation (into Vietnamese) and then will be sent to the DIA (Dept. of International Adoption, I think its called) to be logged in. They expect this process to take a couple weeks. So hopefully, we will hear by the end of the month or sooner that we have been logged in. This is very exciting news, but unfortunately does not mean we are anywhere close to receiving a referral. Just got to stay positive and keep us and the process in prayer.

The other good news was that 2 referrals were received this week, both were infant boys, one was 7 months and the other was 11 months. It has been a couple weeks since any referral was received, so this is news we should all rejoice too for the lucky parents of these little ones. Also, later next week, there will be 4 families flying to Vietnam to adopt their children.

I will be away this weekend in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan visiting Kevin's family, so I will not have any computer access. Last weekend, I also got my haircut, and have a different hairstyle, so next week, I will post before after photographs. Have a great weekend and hopefully, spring will start springing forth very soon.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so happy to hear that you guys had some referrals. Hopefully you will get a LID quickly. Enjoy the weekend away. We are also going to Michigan, but not the UP. Enjoy & relax!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm excited to see your new hair cut! I know that's not the most important thing in your post, but I had to say it before I forgot. Congrats on getting your dossier off. Let us know when you are officially DTV. Congrats on the HUGE step. I think tings sound really hopeful for CHI families who are logged in before Sept. 1st. I know the DNA stuff may lengthen the wait b/n referral and travel, but trust me, any amount of time is worth it to bring home your little one (and you know how long we waited). Doesn't make it suck any less, but it is worth it. Don't forget the photos...and enjoy your weekend!

Anonymous said...

I so cannot wait to see your new hair cut! I hope that you are not waiting too long for your referral! Congratulations on all that amazing paperwork making its way to Vietnam!

angie said...

dtv...whoohoo!

dwayne and melanie said...

Hey, Karen, we have requested and infant 0-12 months healthy. It only took our dossier about 4 weeks to get logged in, so maybe the wait for log in won't be long. Keep positive.

RPF said...

Hang in there and keep the faith. We know the feeling well as we are entering our second year in the process.

Our thoughts are with you as your process continues.

Richard, Kristi & Lilli Foster
http://katelinskrossing.blogspot.com/

Danielle & Barnabas said...

Congrats on getting your DTV. That is exciting news even with everything else going on. Just remember, you are one step closer!!