Saturday, September 30, 2006

You have got to love the paperwork.

Imagine my excitement yesterday when I arrived home from work to find an envelope from the Department of Homeland Security. I thought, "Wow, these Feds are moving quickly with our fingerprinting date." Much to my chagrin, I opened the envelope to find that our I-600A had been returned because we had mailed it with a check instead of a money order.

My first thought was how the heck can two people with juris doctorates miss something like that. Did we have a case of 24 hour A.D.D.? I know I was a little distracted last Sunday with the Steeler game and all, but Karin seemed to be on top of it.

So, they don't take checks, huh? Then I read the instructions this morning, which clearly state that you can pay by money order or check. ........and, here I am scratching my head.

Anyway, I learned awhile ago that if you want something from the folks in the government, you grin and bear whatever they throw your way. So, the application is back in the hands of the U.S. Postal Service and the I-600A should be in the local USCIS office again on Monday.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

The Question...."Why?"

For family and friends, the question of why we have chosen to adopt is probably self evident. You have supported us through some bad moments and we thank you again for your love and prayers.

However, there are probably other questions like "Why now?", or "Why international adoption?", or, more specifically, "Why Vietnam?" These are fair questions.

"Why now" is easy enough to answer. This process will take some time to complete and we are not getting younger. We thought at one time that we would already have a child by now, are not willing to spend years with doctors with no guarantee of success, and want to be parents by the time we are 35. It just makes sense to us.

"Why international adoption" results from our wish to limit the risk of losing a child that has been placed with us, which often (about 1/3 of the time, according to one agency) occurs in domestic adoption. We just don't feel we can handle that. We are also uncomfortable with the idea of "open" domestic adoption which has become prevalent. This often involves meeting the birth mother, paying for her living and medical expenses while she is expecting (and having no way to recover this money if she changes her mind in the end), and exchanging information with the birth mother for the child's first 18 years. There is also a period of time where the birthmother can change her mind even after the child is placed with the adoptive parents, and, in some cases, the biological father must also revoke his parental rights. We recognize that some couples are fine with these arrangements, but it does not appeal to us.

By the time we travel to Vietnam, the Vietnamese government will have made sure to the best of its ability that the child's parents have already relinquished their rights or that they are deceased. We will become the child's legal parents a few days into our trip.

"Why Vietnam." While there are never guarantees, and this includes biological children, orphans in Asia tend to be healthier than orphans from other countries. There are also plenty of children in need of loving homes.

We were originally attracted to the idea of adoptiong a little girl from China. After doing a lot of research, we became afraid of the wait period that seems to be steadily growing in China due to the popularity of adopting from that country. All indications lead to a large backlog, and we would be near the end of it.

Many other countries' adoption regulations would exclude us based on the length of our marriage (less than 2 years). However, Vietnam does not have a minimum requirement in this regard. Also, we will be eligible to adopt an infant, which we would like since we will be parents for the first time. And the wait period (which is expected to be about 20-24 months total) is manageable. So, after considering many factors, we believe that adopting a child from Vietnam is a wonderful way to start our family.

Monday, September 25, 2006

....with the I600-A form.

We took a big step today by sending our I-600A form to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services department in our city. This is our application to the United States government for advance permission to adopt a foreign-born child and emigrate the child to the U.S. In a few months we hope to receive our I 171H form, which will certify that we have advance approval.

In the interim, we have some steps to complete to receive the I 171H. The government will provide a date where we have to go and be fingerprinted by the FBI. We also have to complete what is known as a "home study." The home study will be conducted by a social worker who will meet with us and make sure we are fit to be adoptive parents. Once the home study is completed, hopefully by Thanksgiving, and our fingerprints show we have no criminal record, we should get the I-171 H form. At this time, we hope to have it by Christmas.

Once we have the I 171H form, we will be placed on our agency's waiting list to receive the referral of a child. We are being told by our agency that the wait may be as long as 10-12 months for a boy or 18-24 months for a girl. Apparently, Vietnam is becoming a popular option in general, and especially with our agency. As I understand it, wait times may vary by agency because each agency works with different orphanages in Vietnam. Some agencies are showing much shorter waits on their websites, but that information may not be up to date. They also may not have as many clients. If you are a prospective adoptive parent, look around. Since adoptions to the U.S. have just resumed, it is hard to predict wait times right now.

It feels a little more real today. At the same time, we have quite a wait ahead of us.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

And we begin....


We started this blog to share our experiences as we adopt a baby from Vietnam. We are very early in the process at this time. We have chosen an agency and will mail our I-600A form tomorrow to the federal government. This form, barring some unforseen circumstance, will lead to our receiving permission from the U.S. government to adopt a foreign-born infant and legally emigrate the child to the U.S.

We have found that there is not much information on the internet for families who are considering adopting a child from Vietnam. This is likely because adoptions from Vietnam to Americans just recently resumed after a moratorium of about 2 1/2 years. So we hope to record our experiences not only for ourselves and our familes and friends, but also to help give prospective adoptive parents a resource in the future.

We have just begun what we believe will be a 20-24 month process before we can bring our child home. Wish us luck!