Many of us have questions about the new I600 process – what it involves and the way applications are being processed. Some of these questions are actually answered on the US Pre-approval of Adoption page on the recently renovated Embassy website. While we are all capable of going to the site and reading the information, sometimes it is easier to break things down into specific questions and answers, so that is what I’m going to do here. These are questions we have asked in the last couple of months; the answers are verbatim from the Embassy website, as I read their explanation in relation to these questions. Some answers are repeated as the questions somewhat overlap.
Q: In what order are applications processed? By province? By need? By referral date? By application date? Or a combination of these factors?
A: “I-600 cases are processed by USCIS Ho Chi Minh City in the order they are received. However, as each case is unique, the processing time for cases can vary significantly.”… “USCIS will not expedite the processing of the Form I-600 solely because the petitioner is in Vietnam. If a petitioner chooses to travel to Vietnam to file the Form I-600, the petition and supporting documents will undergo the same processing as those filed and received by mail. “
Q: What are the steps involved, between the embassy’s receipt of the application and approval?
A: “You will receive a notice of receipt when the USCIS Ho Chi Minh City office receives the Form I-600 and supporting evidence. This office will review the documents in order to determine if the child qualifies as an orphan under US immigration law. In many cases, a field verification will also be conducted to ensure the accuracy of the documents submitted. The US Embassy Hanoi will notify petitioners with a decision on the I-600 within approximately 60 days. If recommended for approval, petitioners may travel to Vietnam to complete the Giving and Receiving Ceremony. … Once the adoption is complete, an immigrant visa interview may be scheduled with the US Embassy in Hanoi.”
Q: Will families be notified if a field investigation will be required?
A: “For security reasons, USCIS is not able to inform petitioners of the status of their case between the time the receipt e-mail is issued and the time that a decision is made on the case.”
Q: What happens if there are issues with the documentation or problems uncovered in the field investigation?
A: “If not recommended for approval, petitioners will be provided with written instructions on how to proceed.”
Q: If a family includes their email address when they submit their I-600 application will they be notified as the application progresses? Will families be notified if there is a concern which involves a more in-depth investigation than just the current cursory visits to orphanages? Or will they only be notified when a decision has been made?
A: “You will receive a notice of receipt when the USCIS Ho Chi Minh City office receives the Form I-600 and supporting evidence.” [PAP’s who have submitted their I600 petitions report that they got this receipt via email] “Please note that I-600 cases are processed by USCIS Ho Chi Minh City in the order they are received. However, as each case is unique, the processing time for cases can vary significantly. For security reasons, USCIS is not able to inform petitioners of the status of their case between the time the receipt e-mail is issued and the time that a decision is made on the case. In the rare event that a case requires more than 60 days to process, petitioners will receive an e-mail apprising them of the outstanding issues in their case.”
Unfortunately, we’ve recently learned that some PAP’s waited a total of 63 days from application to I600 approval and did not receive an email from the Embassy. While it is likely this is because the 60th day occurred over a three-day weekend, the fact remains these families waited longer than 60 days without any explanation as to why. We hope in the future the Embassy will make a greater effort to stay within their own estimated 60 days or at the very least notify waiting applicants that there is a delay in processing.
And of course the Embassy site doesn’t answer every question we have about the new process. For one thing, we’d like to see more clarification on the roles of each of the offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi as well as the relationship between USCIS and the State Department in regards to I600 processing. According to the Embassy’s Adoption Procedures page,
“the Department of Homeland Security, Citizen and Immigration Services office in the Ho Chi Minh City reviews and pre-approves the second required U.S. petition (form I-600). Finally, the Department of State (U.S. Embassy Hanoi’s Adopted Children Immigrant Visa Unit) adjudicates the child’s immigrant visa petition permitting him or her to travel to the United States.”
But it is a little unclear what is involved in “pre-approval” and what exactly happens during the “adjudication” step. We’ve sent some questions to the Embassy and if they respond we’ll be sure to post those answers here on VVAI. If you have questions of your own, check the embassy website – there’s a lot of information on the new site and the answer may be there somewhere. If not, send them an email and even if they don’t answer you directly, maybe they’ll add your question to the FAQ page (currently under development.)
4 Responses
I know there isn’t a lot of reliable information available on the adoption process right now, but I for one hope VVAI gets back to issues other than the Embassy and what the press is saying on NOIDs. It seems when this all started there was at least an attempt to be impartial and seek out the truth. VVAI feels like it’s turned into the poster site for the Embassy. I know the moderators of this site are pro Embassy and I will admit I am way more skeptical of them, but I think VVAI has forgotten that the Embassy has it’s own agenda and image to uphold and they will reveal what they want to reveal and keep other things (I am sure) private-so I don’t think we should believe everything they say/post just because it came from them. There are human beings running these agencies and they have egos, faults and their own POV or agendas just like we all do.
I think PAPs are looking for some good information that is unbiased. Your site is very powerful, you have a lot of people taking notice. You are able to get answers that other people can’t-this site could be so much more than what it has turned into. THere is SO MUCH MORE to international adoption and so much more that effects the children, PAPs, agencies and our adoption community than just the paperwork process. I know how hard it is to get anyone to put anything on the record (trust me I tried, it was nearly impossible) but you seem to have the inside track already, PLEASE start using it for more than just telling us what the Embassy wants us to hear.
Tracy
Tracy – this is off topic to the blog post you are commenting on however I’m going to let it go and reply in part to reiterate that we will not be publishing comments that are off topic to the blog posts in the future. If you have a comment or suggestion about our site, you are welcome to email your thoughts here.
Our bias is for ethical adoptions so we don’t tend to publish information that is unrelated to the topic of adoption ethics or information that will help parents assess the program and their choice in agency. There are many websites, messageboards and blogs that cover other areas of adoption information.
We are always open to suggestions for topics to blog, research or cover. We have a lot more going on than just Embassy updates. We also have on-going relationships with other advocacy groups, we have on-going submissions to the Full Disclosure Project, we have projects in the works for expanding information and suggestions for choosing an agency and other adoption ethics “basics”, we have the upkeep of some of our tools for adopting parents, etc. However the blog entries deal with timely issues in Vietnam adoption ethics and right now one of the most relevant issues is the implementation of the new I-600 process.
As always if you feel this blog is missing some vital bit of information useful to other adoptive parents, you are welcome to contribute!
Thanks for the clarification. I know in recent days people have been stressing about the I-600, I think a lot of it is due to incorrect information floating around on the blogs. I think a lot of “opinions” are being represented or at least being taken as fact, when they are merely observations. Thanks again for your clear layout of common questions.
I agree that there so much more to cover with international adoptions. However, the I-600 seems to be the current buzz in Vietnam adoptions. It is important to hear what the embassy has to say (the recap helped me alot!). And Christina does a good job expressing that PAPs and APs want more clarification on the procedures from the Embassy. I recently came upon a blog where a family has already had a G & R but hasn’t had I600 approval. If agencies are still letting this happen, they are obviously not heeding the warnings from the embassy. Seems to me that more need to be educated about this proces so Vietnam adoptions can continue for all.