Archive for July, 2008|Monthly archive page
A bit of recent history
Filed under: About Jaden's Journey | Tags: MOU, news, referrals, waiting families
Leave a Comment Around February of this year the Department of State announced that the U.S. and Vietnam had not been able to come to an agreement in renewing the international adoption memorandum of understanding (MOU). This was a tremendous blow to all of the families with dossiers in Vietnam who were waiting to be matched with their children through referrals from the orphanages that their agency works with. The buzz was that dossiers would not be accepted after July 1st, and if the MOU was not renewed prior to Sept 1st, then Vietnam would return the dossiers of any family without a referral. This news came only one month after we had sent our dossier to Vietnam, yet some of the families from our agency, especially those waiting for baby girls, had been waiting nearly a year already when this news was released.
In spite of this news we were still hopeful because our agency had only twelve dossiers in Vietnam waiting for referrals. We all prayed that in the seven months between the announcement and the deadline that one of three things would happen: 1) We would all receive our referrals 2) the MOU would be renewed or 3) those with the power to do so would ‘grandfather’ the dossiers already in Vietnam by July 1st, allowing referrals after September 1st. We wrote our Senators and Congress(wo)men. We asked our friends and family to write letters to their Senators and Congress(wo)men. We supported A Child’s Right Campaign for Vietnam. We celebrated each time a referral was received. We looked for any news on all of the adoption support groups. We continued to pray.
I have come to know many of the families with dossiers in Vietnam, especially those I met through the yahoo groups, so it was very difficult to hear this week that there will only be two more referrals from our agency before adoptions in Vietnam are discontinued. I am ecstatic for the two families that will receive their referrals in time. Yet, this news carried with it the harsh realization that approximately 8 dossiers will be returned to families who have been in this process for over a year, expecting all the while to travel to Vietnam to find their child. My heart goes out to each and every waiting family, all of which are probably wondering what they will do should the MOU not be renewed. I am continuing to pray that by some miracle there will be a way for all of these families to complete their adoptions in Vietnam as originally planned.
There is a reason for everything. We are very blessed that we were chosen to be Jaden’s parents. We anxiously look forward to the day we receive the call saying we can travel to Korea to pick him up. In the meantime I continue to look at his pictures every chance I get. I cannot wait to hold him for the first time. I hope that all the waiting families will have the chance to feel the same way very soon.
Just an ordinary day
Comments (1)After weeks of paperwork to change our country to Korea, accept the referral of our son, and get all of the necessary agency approvals, we now wait patiently to travel. Did I say patiently?
Both South Korea (hereinafter “Korea”) and the U.S. have to give the paperwork the final stamps of approval before we can travel. Yesterday we were told that the paperwork is moving so quickly we may travel in 8-10 weeks rather than the 4 months we were originally quoted. (YAY!) We are so excited and looking forward to meeting our son for the first time.
I never realized how superstitious I am until now – I’m almost afraid to put all of this in writing. I think that is why I did such a good job procrastinating ordering the furniture for the nursery, despite the four grandparents offering to buy it for us (thank you, thank you, thank you!!!) for quite some time now. We finally went last night to order the set we picked out, and we were told it would take 8-10 weeks for the furniture to arrive at their warehouse. 8-10 weeks?! What do you mean?! I expect to be traveling to Korea in 8-10 weeks!! I can see it now – putting together a crib at midnight after a long 15 plus hour flight home. teeheee…
Timeline
Leave a Comment2007
March 7:
Our first meeting at our agency for information on the adoption process
March 23-25:
After many discussions with the agency, we decide to adopt from Kazakhstan
April 4:
We mail our application to the agency and begin the homestudy
April 11:
Our first “intake” meeting with our agency. We learn about changes in Kazakhstan and are encouraged to consider a different country.
May 8:
Our first meeting with our social worker (SW). After much thought we decide to adopt from Vietnam.
May through August:
We collect homestudy documents and gather information about Vietnam adoption, the culture, the people, travel, and the Vietnamese language. We start learning a bit of Vietnamese. We have our 2nd meeting with our SW at her office.
September 7:
My solo meeting with our SW
September 20:
Hubby’s solo meeting with our SW
September 27:
SW comes to our house for inspection. We know we are moving, so the inspection is done in the new house. The inspection goes great.
October 10:
Our all-day adoption education meeting (part of the home study process). After the meeting we head to local police station for fingerprinting for the state’s approval process.
October 13:
We go to USCIS for fingerprints for CIS approval process.
December 18:
Completed dossier and sent overnight mail to the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco.
December 27:
Vietnam consulate returns documents, approved.
December 28:
Our agency receives our dossier.
December 31:
Our agency calls – we forgot to include two passport photos! They cannot send dossier to Vietnam without them.
2008
January 2:
We get our certified checks and passport photos. I drive to the agency, drop off the checks and photos. The agency sends our dossier to Vietnam that afternoon. We are officially DTV!!!!! Now we wait for a referral (and wait, and wait)…..We are #6 out of the families waiting for our referral.
April 7:
Our agency receives a referral for a girl. We move to #5.
April 23:
The Embassy announces that adoptions from Vietnam are being discontinued, and any family without a referral before September 1 will have their dossier returned. We pray.
May 1:
Our agency receives a referral for a girl. We move to #4.
May 27:
Our agency receives a referral for a boy. We move to #3.
June 12:
We meet with our SW to discuss the possibility of switching to Korea.
June 27:
Received a call from our SW; another agency is looking for a forever family for a baby boy in Korea. She wants to know if we are interested. Are we interested?!!! Of course!!! We will know more on Monday…
June 30:
We receive a call from our SW. She is still waiting to hear from the other agency.
July 1:
Our SW calls – we have more paperwork to fill out for the other agency.
July 2:
We complete the paperwork and send it to Agency #2
July 7:
We receive the referral!!! We have more paperwork to complete, including a letter to the birth parents and a photo album of our family.
July 11:
Application paperwork completed. We officially accept the referral. We send the application overnight express to Agency #2, and overnight a request to CIS to change our approval from Vietnam to Korea.
July 12:
Agency #2 confirms receipt of paperwork and referral acceptance letter.
July 15:
We receive another package of paperwork. This is intake paperwork for agency #2, approval paperwork for Korea, and the USCIS I171.
July 16:
All forms completed and sent overnight to Agency #2.
July 17:
Agency #2 confirms receipt of papers.
July 21:
Agency #2 forwards papers to Korea. Agency #2 also receives the legal paperwork for our son, which they forward to USCIS for approval.
July 25:
Update from Agency #1; adoptions from Vietnam will likely stop effective September 1st barring a miracle. There will be only two more referrals from our agency by September 1st.
July 26, 2008:
Received approval of I-600A, change to Korea. It was sent to our old address but forwarded by USPS to our new address
July 30:
Called you-know-where to make sure address is fixed. Was told I should wait six months and if the I-600 approval never arrives, to call back. WHAT??!!! Called agency #2. They will take care of it for us.
August 7:
Email from USCIS, I-600 approved and on its way to us via mail. YAY!!!!! Maybe 4 more weeks????
August 12:
Spoke with Agency #2 about travel plans.
August 13:
Received I-600 approval in the mail and sent a copy to both agencies.
August 29:
Received letter dated 8/26 from National Visa Center; case forwarded to US Embassy in Seoul.
September 6:
Mom and sis threw an awesome baby shower.
September 17:
Still waiting for the call.
