deflated but hopeful.
My friends in adoption land have just been dealt a potentially devastating blow. The Department of State issued a statement yesterday which basically suggests that if you do not yet have your I171H then you should reconsider the Vietnam program and switch to another country. Though both the United States and Vietnam intend to resign the Memorandum of Understanding (essentially the rules and regs of US/VN adoption), the current agreement expires on September 1st. Given the time between dossier submission, referral, and travel, the DOS believes it is unlikely that folks who do not yet have their I171Hs would be able to travel to bring home their child before the agreement expires. Though talks have begun between our two countries to draft a new MOU, the new agreement is not expected to be in place by the current deadline, thus a period would exist in which no adoptions would be processed and the program would effectively be on hold.
Our agency is remaining cautiously optimistic.
The issues are many, and I don't intend to get into a deep philosophical or political debate. The editors at Voices for Vietnam Adoption Integrity can do that much better than I. The purpose of my post is to provide a tiny bit of encouragement.
I know that the Vietnam program was and is the best fit for some. Many of us with sizable school loans cannot meet China's net worth criteria. Perhaps you are too young for one country or too old for another. Maybe you aren't married, or have a medical condition a foreign gov't finds objectionable, or, like many Americans, simply weigh too much to meet the requirements of some programs. All of us who found our way to the Vietnam program arrived there for a reason. Many of us will find that our children are indeed in Vietnam, but others will feel compelled to explore other options and find that they are in the right place for the right child at the right time. Waiting is difficult. Impossible, really. You want to meet your child and expand your family, and you want it to happen quickly and in the way you planned. Period. Believe me, I get that. But it is likely that many of us had different plans before. Many of us found our way to adoption because of other roadblocks that altered our paths. As devastating as the current news may be to your current plan, maybe this is just another roadblock that will steer you in the right direction to your little one.
Maybe there is hope.
Maybe.
Our agency is remaining cautiously optimistic.
The issues are many, and I don't intend to get into a deep philosophical or political debate. The editors at Voices for Vietnam Adoption Integrity can do that much better than I. The purpose of my post is to provide a tiny bit of encouragement.
I know that the Vietnam program was and is the best fit for some. Many of us with sizable school loans cannot meet China's net worth criteria. Perhaps you are too young for one country or too old for another. Maybe you aren't married, or have a medical condition a foreign gov't finds objectionable, or, like many Americans, simply weigh too much to meet the requirements of some programs. All of us who found our way to the Vietnam program arrived there for a reason. Many of us will find that our children are indeed in Vietnam, but others will feel compelled to explore other options and find that they are in the right place for the right child at the right time. Waiting is difficult. Impossible, really. You want to meet your child and expand your family, and you want it to happen quickly and in the way you planned. Period. Believe me, I get that. But it is likely that many of us had different plans before. Many of us found our way to adoption because of other roadblocks that altered our paths. As devastating as the current news may be to your current plan, maybe this is just another roadblock that will steer you in the right direction to your little one.
Maybe there is hope.
Maybe.
