The Long and Winding Road

People often ask us how things are going with our adoption. The truth is that adoption is truly a game of "hurry up and wait". We work really hard at getting our paperwork completed, signed, and notarized, and then wait for either the US or Vietnamese government to approve it before we complete the process again with yet another set of papers. Here is a BRIEF overview of what an adoption from Vietnam requires.

1. Homestudy-A social worker review personal and financial information to make sure that we will be suitable parents. Also includes background checks.

2. US Immigration I600A-This is a general "pre-approval" that we as parents have passed an FBI background check to bring a foreign born orphan into the US. The more important immigration step comes later, but this form is required first.

3. Dossier to Vietnam-A large collection of paperwork is notarized, certified by the state, and authenticated by the Vietnamese consulate. This includes things like passport copies, our homestudy, photos of us and our home, income reports, and our VN adoption application. Once these are sent to Vietnam, our agency translates them and presents them to the Vietnamese government.

4. Wait for Referral-Most families then wait months (or years) for a referral of a specific child. We were lucky in that we were matched with Wyatt through a waiting child program early on.

5. First DIA notice-This is the first of 2 notifications from Vietnam's Department of International Adoption. It is basically the start of the approval process pairing us with our child. At this point, the orphanage and province collect the child's paperwork to submit to the DIA. This is the step we are currently on.

6. US Immigration I600-At this point the US investigates whether the child is an orphan. If you've seen news reports on Vietnamese adoptions lately, you may be aware that the US is alleging corruption, including baby-buying. The Vietnamese government was quite offended by this, and right now the US-VN relationship is less than diplomatic. Many families are waiting months for this investigation. Without this approval, the child will not be able to get a visa to come into the US.

7. Second DIA notice-At the same time the US is investigating, Vietnam is also approving the child as an orphan. This second DIA notice is the last thing needed before the child's province can arrange the Giving and Receiving ceremony and invite us to travel.

The current adoption agreement between the US and Vietnam expires this September. As things stand now, it likely will not be renewed. We are far enough into the process that our adoption should proceed. There are many families without referrals that have spent a lot of time and money hoping to adopt from Vietnam and will likely not bring a child home.

Clearly, international adoption is not as easy as Angelina Jolie makes it seem!

On a positive note, we received new pictures of our chubby-cheeked boy, who we are still hoping to meet this summer!

Meet Wyatt Huy...

Since Wyatt IS the reason for this blog, it is about time that I tell you more about him. He was born Huy Phouc on February 7, 2007 in Ben Tre Vietnam. At this point we don't have specific information about how he came to be placed in the orphanage, but it is our assumption that he has been there nearly his whole life. We have been fortunate to get photos not only from our adoption agency, but also from other families who have traveled to Ben Tre to meet their children. When we first were connected with him in October, he weighed 16.8 pounds and was 28 inches tall. The latest measurements we received for March indicate that he weighed nearly 21 pounds and is 30 inches tall. I know to most of you he still seems very small, but considering that Isaac, at 3 1/2, is not quite 30 pounds and 36 inches we think he seems well sized!

Where in the World?

I want to give you all an idea of where Wyatt is and where we will eventually be heading. Vietnam is a south-east Asian country half-way around the world; they are 13 hours ahead of us here in Minnesota. Vietnam is slightly larger than New Mexico, but as you can see is long and quite narrow.

Wyatt is currently in an orphange in Ben Tre, which I've highlighted on the map in red (you can click on the map to enlarge it). It is a southern province located in the Mekong River delta. When we travel, we will fly into Ho Chi Min City, which is the current name for Saigon. From there we will drive a couple hours south to the province of Ben Tre. We hope to be able to spend some time in Ben Tre with Wyatt before the adoption to help him adjust and get used to us. We will eventually return to Ho Chi Min City. To complete our paperwork and receive Wyatt's visa, we will need to travel to Vietnam's capital, Hanoi. This is in the northern part of the country, and we will take a flight to get there.

At this point, we don't know how long our trip will take--or how well Wyatt will adjust or travel. We would love to be able to explore more of his beautiful birthcountry and have numerous photos and stories to share with him.

About Us!

Welcome to our blog about our journey to our new son, Wyatt Huy in Vietnam! We are currently a family of 3. We, Bill and Kim, have been married nearly 12 years. We are the proud parents of a 3 1/2 year old son, Isaac. Isaac was a domestic adoption, born in St. Paul to Vietnamese birth parents.

In October, we were "introduced" (via pictures) to Wyatt. During the last seven months we have completed tons of paperwork to complete our dossier. In an ideal world, we hope to travel this summer to meet Wyatt and welcome him home. We'd love you to follow our story!