Dept. of State Says Limited VN Program To Resume “Soon”

The Office of Children’s Issues posted an announcement on their website that a new limited program may resume “soon.”

Intercountry adoptions from Vietnam to the United States, through a special adoption program for children with special needs, children aged five and older, and children in biological sibling groups (Special Adoption Program) may commence three weeks after Vietnam’s Central Authority, the Ministry of Justice, announces its authorization of U.S. adoption service providers (ASPs). The Department of State anticipates that the Ministry of Justice will announce its authorization decision by the end of 2014.

The announcement went on to explain that in addition to their agreement to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Convention), “The Government of Vietnam has taken a number of steps to improve its implementation of the Convention, particularly in adoptions of children with special needs and for older children and biological sibling groups placed on Vietnam’s “List 2 for matching by Vietnam’s Central Authority.” In addition, while adoptions will be limited to begin with, the State Department will “continue to monitor the Vietnamese child welfare program, to determine if the intercountry adoption program can be expanded.”

However, the U.S. cannot move forward in processing these adoptions until Vietnam licenses U.S. adoption service providers. Therefore all hopeful prospective adopters are strongly cautioned not to move forward with any agency at this time.

Prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers should not initiate, seek to initiate, or claim to initiate adoption programs or cases in Vietnam until the Department of State announces the effective date of Vietnam’s authorization of U.S. ASPs and the effective date of the commencement of the Special Adoption Program.

Further, prospective adoptive parents and ASPs should not file any Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) until the effective date of the commencement of the Special Adoption Program, as USCIS cannot accept any Form I-800 until that date.

Read the full announcement here.