Update from Agency

I received an update from my agency today. It is nice to get updates even though not all the news is good regarding wait times.

I will summarize the main points:

• The update stated that President Bush's visit to Vietnam on Nov. 20 will not impact adoptions at all.
• My agency learned that since the beginning of the year until September 14, 2006, 80 visas have been issued to US citizens adopting from Vietnam. 37 of those visas went to my agency - almost 1/2 of all adoptions in Vietnam to date.
• Timelines continue to be 18-24 month waits for those on the wait list already waiting for a girl, and 6-8 month waits for those on the list already waiting for a boy. We expect these timelines will increase potentially.
• We have been asked to file a POA form so a G&R date can be set up prior to travel. This form will be required after the family is matched with a child. It will not need to be certified or authenticated.
• There are 159 families with approved applications, 97 families who have been approved by immigration and added to the wait list, 31 families with referrals, and 2 families with scheduled G and R ceremonies for this month.

My thoughts -

It is very encouraging to see so many adoptions come to completion! The wait times have increased from 2-3 months for a boy (back in May) to 6-8 months right now. That is very discouraging. I wonder if we will be #100 on the list?

I actually inquired about a Waiting Child last night and found out that you must have your I-171H before you will be considered for a Waiting Child. This was news to me and I am quite diappointed about it since we are so close to getting it. I believe I was the first one to inquire and now 7 familes with their approval have expressed interest.

We inquired about another Waiting Child back in August and no mention of this was made - we were put on "the list" since only one family can review a child at a time. If this is a "new" rule, then why weren't we told of the change? I am really taking this news hard since we are so close to getting it. We would have had it already had we been able to deal with another CIS office with shorter wait times. I do have a call into my social worker to ask about it more specifically, but don't want to cause trouble either.

Not the greatest of days in my book and I am not liking CIS - I knew my good luck early on was just that.