The USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Service) and the US Department of State have announced that procedures for submitting the I600 Petition will be changed effective Monday October 29th. The changes will have adoptive parents receive their referral and then mail in their I600 to Viet Nam where is will take approximately sixty days to process the petition.

Details about the change:

~The length of time between referral and travel will likely increase because families will need USCIS approval before they can travel.

~All licensed adoption agencies have been informed about these changes, but the USCIS has still not posted an official notice on their website.

~If you don’t currently have a Giving and Receiving date and no immediate travel plans, you will have to abide by these new changes.

~Families who are set to travel soon will receive some accommodations: the current system of conducting an I600 interview in Hanoi will continue until November 2nd. From November 5-16, requests for an I600 interview will be considered on a case by case basis only. Starting November 17th, I600 petitions will only be accepted by mail.

~According to the email from the US Embassy in Hanoi, this change is being implemented because they are seeing inconsistencies surrounding relinquishment and abandonment documents, thus affecting a child’s official status as an orphan. If the USCIS is unsure if a child is an orphan by their standards, a NOID (notice of intent to deny) is issued and parents must submit the required paperwork to have their child’s visa processed. Apparently these I600 submission changes should help decrease the number of NOIDs that are issued.

~The JCICS (Joint Council on International Children’s Services) is advocating for an extension of the change’s starting date and for more provisions to be offered for families with plans to travel soon.

You can find the complete information about the change here, and I will update as appropriate.