[Yash]

Adopted Children Immigrant Visa Unit
Warning Concerning Adoptions in Vietnam

April 2008

The Department of State continues to urge prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers not to initiate new adoptions from Vietnam at this time. The 2005 Memorandum of Agreement, required by Vietnamese law to authorize adoptions between the United States and Vietnam, expires on September 1, 2008. In addition, recent field investigations have revealed incidents of serious adoption irregularities, including forged or altered documentation, mothers paid, coerced or tricked into releasing their children, and children offered for adoption without the knowledge or consent of their birth parents.

The United States is strongly committed to processing legitimate intercountry adoptions from Vietnam if possible. Our primary concern is to ensure that the children and families involved in the adoption process are protected from exploitation. The Government of Vietnam shares this concern. Both countries acknowledge that more needs to be done to address deficiencies in the current system.

On April 25, the Government of Vietnam announced that it will allow adoption to be completed in cases where prospective adoptive parents have been matched with a child and received an official referral prior to September 1, 2008. It further stated that in accordance with Vietnamese law, the DIA will suspend the acceptance of new dossiers on July 1, 2008. On September 1, 2008 any dossier that has not received a referral will be closed and returned to the Adoption Service Provider. In view of the processing time required in Vietnam from placement to the Giving and Receiving Ceremony, an adoption process begun now cannot be completed before the current Agreement expires.

Prospective adoptive parents should be aware that documents relating to adoptions in Vietnam, such as birth certificates, abandonment reports, relinquishment agreements, and investigative reports are generally issued by orphanage directors, local People’s Committees, Provincial Departments and the Department for International Adoptions (DIA). The facts asserted in these documents are not verified by the issuing officials. Attempts by U.S. officials to verify the accuracy of these documents have routinely uncovered evidence of fraudulent or inaccurate information. Therefore, documents issued by the authorities listed above, and any other documents containing information not verified by the issuing authority, cannot be considered adequate evidence of the facts claimed. They may be used in conjunction with primary and contemporaneous secondary evidence, or must be independently verified by U.S. officials in Vietnam, before they can be considered valid for immigration purposes. (Vietnam Reciprocity Schedule)

Consular officers have routinely completed field verifications of orphan status in over 35 provinces in Vietnam. However, in some cases, Vietnamese officials have prevented the U.S. Government from conducting independent field inquiries into the status of children identified in I-600 petitions. Embassy outreach, as well as support from adoption agency officials, have thus far allowed independent investigations to resume in some areas that were previously impeded. We continue robust efforts to resolve this issue. Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict when we can complete the field inquiries in areas which are still closed to our staff.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and the Department of State have instituted procedures to verify that children identified for placement meet the requirements of Vietnamese and U.S. law, before the child has been adopted under Vietnamese law. Information about these procedures is available from USCIS or through their website USCIS Home Page. The Embassy strongly advises prospective adoptive parents not to travel to Vietnam until they have received notification from the Embassy that their case is ready for final processing and travel is appropriate. Parents should contact the Embassy immediately if anyone, including their adoption service provider, encourages them to travel to Vietnam prior to receiving this notification. The Embassy can work together with adoption service providers, Vietnam’s Department of International Adoptions, and local authorities to resolve issues such as the scheduling of a Giving and Receiving Ceremony.

[Synesthesia]

*groan*
Why does there have to be so many problems with IA?
I hope the problem will be resolved soon, as Vietnam is one of the places I want to adopt from.

[bobandbonnie]

i hate to be negative, but all this new info makes me nauseous! We do not have a referral yet and now I am not sure I WANT to get one b/c I am afraid it won't work out. Sorry to be a bit pessimistic, but I have been trying to be positive and things don't seem to be looking up. Anyone have any good news/positive perspective? hope everyone else is doing ok!

[Yash]

bobandbonnie,

How long have you been waiting for a referral? Have you talked to anyone at your agency? My agency doesn't think the problem is as bad as INS is saying it is and they are thoroughly investigating the children they refer. I really sadly think this is once again a few bad agencies ruining things for the good agencies, but mostly for the poor innocent children who won't find loving families.

[Synesthesia]

Is there any reason why they can't just simply fine or shut down the agencies that are breaking the law?
It's difficult to do something about the Vietnam side of the fence, but there hasto be something we can do to mend our side!

[Yash]

I'm not sure why they don't shut down the agencies that are the unethical ones. Maybe none of their clients with children are willing to say anything against them in fear of what that could mean about their adoption or what the investigation might reveal about their adoption.