Ch - Ch - Ch - Changes

The adoption world has been buzzing with changes that USCIS is making to the procedures that we follow in order to obtain permission to bring our child into the USA. As recently as earlier this week, the process was as follows:

• File an I600-A, which gives us advanced permission to start an international adoption
• Receive your referral, get your travel date, and after the G&R ceremony, start the process with USCIS to file the I600 (which is permission to bring a specific child- your referred child- into the USA)
• The USCIS makes sure that the child is legally an orphan while you wait in country, and that no improprieties, bribes, etc. were involved
• A visa is issued, and you come home.

Now though, people have to file for an I600 after getting and accepting a a referral. This may add time to the process, but lately a few families were not allowed to return to the USA with their children, until investigation on whether unethical practices were used in getting those children. So hopefully, this will prevent unethical practices from continuing. Although I feel sorry for these families, they are with certain agencies that are having incredibly quick referral times for very, very young infants and in the process, the agencies may be employing certain unethical practices. Many times, if things look too good to be true, they are and it seems now USCIS is catching on.

Hopefully, by having to file for an I-600 before being able to travel, the problem will be nipped in the bud and these agencies that are securing young infants inappropriately will be stopped and will have their license taken away, rather than ending Vietnam adoptions for everyone. Adoptions were closed down once in 2003-2006, let's not repeat it again and punish everyone when it's only a few agencies that aren't playing by the rules.

So if you are starting the process to adopt from Vietnam now, please make sure you research any potential agencies thoroughly. There is a Yahoo Group Adoption Agency Research dedicated to providing you with information so you can make a well-informed choice. Remember if something looks too good, it probably is. Do you really want to wonder whether your child was gotten ethically or if their parents were convinced to put them up for adoption for possibly financial incentives? Remember Vietnam is a 3rd world country and what we might not think is a large sum of money, may have a very different meaning in Vietnam. You could not only be risking things for yourself, but for all of us prospective adoptive parents now and in the future.

I'm feeling a little bit better; not great, but better!