I thought you might like to know where we are in the official process...
√1. Dossier Translation. Dossier and acceptance papers are sent to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to the Dillon staff. After dossier is received it will be sent off for translation. Once translation is complete, the Dillon staff will send the dossier to the Department of International Adoption in Hanoi (DIA). Translation and processing of the dossier is expected to take 2-6 weeks at a minimum. Done. Hooray!
√2. Log In Date (LID). After the dossier has completed the translation process it is sent to the DIA in Hanoi. Upon receipt, Dillon staff will follow up with the DIA to make sure the docs were translated correctly, and that all documents are satisfactory. If everything is satisfactory then a log in date is set. You can estimate possible travel within 3-6 months of the LID. We were logged in on 2/14. Based on our LID, we can expect to travel between 5/14 and 8/14.
3. Baby Dossier. After the DIA sets the LID, they send a letter to the child's province requesting that the local Justice Department begin compiling the child's legal documentation, also referred to as the child's dossier. It can take about a week for the letter to be received by the local Justice Department. The process for compiling a child's dossier can take 30-45 business days, if not longer. This is currently in process... at least theoretically.
4. Dossier Review. After the child's dossier has been compiled, the local Justice Department will forward it to the DIA in Hanoi. Once the DIA receives the child's dossier, they review both the family dossier and the child's dossier. After they complete the review process of both dossiers, the dossiers are forwarded back to the child's local Justice Department.
5. G&R Date Set. After the local Justice Department receives both dossiers, another review is completed. Once the final review is complete, the dossiers are forwarded to the People's Committee. The People's Committee will review the dossiers. Once they are completely satisfied with all dossier documents, they will then set a date for the Giving & Receiving Ceremony (G&R) .
6. Travel! Families should have approximately two weeks notice before travel. In an ideal world, we would have Beckett home in time for his first birthday. I think we'll travel in June, though it could be later. Ken is convinced we'll go before then. Clearly we just have to wait and see.
We received out Travel Packet last week. There's a ton of stuff in there that is post worthy, but my comments will wait for another day.
According to our agency, 10 families with referrals are currently logged in and waiting on Provincial Approval and then G&R dates. 10 families. According to the agency online forum, and the families themselves, it seems that there are closer to 14 families who are logged in with referrals, and waiting on updates. The optimistic part of me thinks the numerical discrepancies exist because the agency knows good news that we don't yet know. The pessimistic part thinks they just can't add. Either way, it looks like there are at least 5 families heading to Vinh Long in the relatively near future. Hopefully we'll be lucky enough to travel with at least one of them.
