The US Embassy in Hanoi released a statement last week concerning adoptions from Viet Nam. You can read the full announcement here, but I want to share some of the points that jumped out at me.

This announcement was made very shortly after the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) and the Department of State announced that there would be changes made to how the I600 Petition is submitted. It used to be that Petitions were submitted while parents were in country, after they had adopted their child. Now, parents much submit their petition via mail to Viet Nam prior to traveling. This change came about because the USCIS was seeing too many adoption cases come through their offices that had discrepancies or incomplete paperwork and they were unable to identify the adopted child as a true orphan by their standards. These problems were causing an increased amount of NOIDs (Notice of Intent to Deny) to be issued, and leaving many families left in limbo scrambling to have their child’s visa approved.

The Embassy’s current announcement was also made as a result of the high number of NOIDs being issued and the irregularities being found in adoption paperwork. The Embassy is concerned that the number of children being abandoned has risen in the past two years, and they are especially wary of abandonment cases in Phu Tho and Thai Nguyen. The announcement states:

The ongoing number of irregularities that we are currently seeing strongly indicates that the adoption process in Vietnam still lacks sufficient oversight and regulation. Specifically there is insufficient control of the so-called child finders and an inadequate regulation of the fees paid to individuals and institutions.

They are urging Viet Nam to become a member of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions. The announcement confirms that the Embassy has seen cases of baby selling and children being offered for adoption without their birth parents’ consent; and there is little being done to punish those guilty of such offenses. There is also great concern for the lack of uniformity and regulation from province to province, and the DIA (Department of International Adoption in Viet Nam) is being urges to work with the provincial offices to create integrity within the adoption system.

The Embassy (and I) urge all prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) and adoptive parents as well to stay current on the information out there concerning Vietnamese adoptions. Adoption agencies and facilitators need to be researched in depth to ensure ethical and legal practices. I am glad that the Embassy released this information and feel it should be required reading for all future and current adoptive parents. I appreciate their candor and hope that it opens others’ eyes and encourages parents to seek out ethical adoption agencies to work with to bring their children home.

photo credit: Rebecca Hess