edited: see bottom of posting
Well, we had the meeting. It was kind of weird, actually. We arrived at the agency, and our Vietnam coordinator came out to meet us. Then she told us that she wouldn't be in the meeting at all, but that the CEO lady would be conducting the meeting. I still am not quite sure why, as she was sitting in her office the whole time. Anyway, The CEO is nice. I sort of knew her already (although we had never met), because she is engaged to one of the attending physicians at the hospital. She sort of new me, because she saw me participate in the New Kids on the Block Dance routine a few months back...which reminds me i never posted video! I'll try to remember.
Anyway, I think i did pretty good with my mean problem. Cris only kicked me under the table once.
So, new info. Well, there basically isn't any. The most frustrating part of the meeting is that we still can't send off our I600, because apparently the documents for Juneau aren't ready. I was floored. How can they not be ready? All of the documents are a part of her dossier. The orphanage has 30 days to compile the dossier (the very very first step in the whole timeline between referral and travel!). These 3o days should have been up in June or July. How could we possibly not have the documents! That means she doesn't have a dossier, and if she doesn't have a dossier, that means we are basically starting all the way from the beginning. 6 months in, with no dossier? Well, to clarify, i guess there are a couple of documents that don't have to be submitted to the DOJ with her initial dossier that are required for the I600, so POSSIBLY she does have a dossier that is being processed, but we still need these other documents. So, i guess the CEO lady sent the in-country facilitator to Thanh Hoa to figure out what in the world is going on.
ALERT!!! this is a personal concern I have. There is no basis for it. I'm not trying to start rumors, just expressing my own fear. The memorandum of understanding is up as of March 2008. This means the US govt will be re-evaluating the situation, and decide wether they want to renew the memorandum and continue with adoptions, or discontinue. We are terrified that the MOU will not be renewed, and that this will be the opportunity the US Govt is waiting for to shut the doors to Vietnam. We have got to get our baby home before March 2008!! I never thought travelling this late would even be a possibility, but as we are now 6 months in with no travel, and at least another 60 days (that is if we ever get the documents for the I600!) after that, we are already in February or so. That is only 1 month from march.
sorry for all the boring info. of course, it's not boring to us, we live off of every little tiny detail of what is happening with our paperwork.
edit: in case you don't read comments, i wanted to post here so i don't spread any false info. I posted above that the Memorandum of Understanding (the bilateral agreement) was up for review in March. If you check out my comments i think e. and Jenna have a little more up to date info. It looks like the agreement will be reviewed in March, but no decisions finalized until summer. Good news!
Juneau
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14 comments:
Holy crap! They don't have her dossier done? Wow, I am so, so sorry. Also, according to our agency, the memorandum of understand (our agency called it a bilateral agreement, but I'm guessing it's the same thing) isn't up until sometime in the summer, but they are starting to work on the renewal process or whatever in March. I'm just wondering where you heard that it was actually expiring in March. Not that I'm trying to cast doubt on you or your info, I'm just wanting to try to find out for sure which it is. I really hope things start going better for you.
Ugh. I'm not quite sure what to say... I can't believe her paperwork isn't completely done yet...that sucks!
Our agency has also decided to stop taking new applicants in the event that things slow down or stop with the March changes. They expained that the process begins in March but I think they have until June or July (don't quote me on that) to reach a decision between the two countries. They also "thought" that those waiting with referrals would be able to complete their adoptions. Again...that was my impression of the statement...I can't say if it's a fact for sure or not. Regardless...I certainly hope you are gone and back before then anyway ;-) I keep following your story and I'm really hoping that things get cleared up quickly!
I am amazed that you kept your cool--I would have been screaming! Our agency has stopped taking applications as well--but I still have hope that things will work out.
There is so much stress! I hope you get the authorization to travel soon.
I am so so sorry. :-( Did they offer an explanation for what exactly has been going on for the past six months? I would have been livid.
HoLY CRAP, and you only got kicked under the table ONCE?! I'm SO sorry Em. That is the crappiest news and I would be PISSED too. Would've been nice for them to inform you that they'd be sticking a thumb up their butts for 6 months, so you could plan around when they finally removed it. That just sucks.
Ok that just sucks, hopefully everything will be done soon and you can move forward!
That just completely sucks- and it is really inexcusable for her paperwork not to have been completed by now. I'm so sorry...
I hope that they can get it together SOON so that you can get Juneau.
I'm just so very sorry. I hope they can pull this together for you as soon as possible to get you to Juneau. My thoughts are with you.
i am so sorry. i cannot believe you didn't just start throwing things.
ugh.
i am glad to see that it will only be reviewed in march. we all need to get our babies home.
Wow, I don't read your blog for a few weeks and now I see this. I am sorry you are going through this. Your hearts must be beating outside of your chest. I am thinking of you.
Actually, the memorandum is up in June 08 and both sides MUST declarein writing 6 months in advance if they will continue the agreement. SO, by the end of January we should all knwo what is happening.
As for your agency not having the info needed for you to file your I-600 something is NOT RIGHT. How on earth would they have referred a baby who they did not have a birth certificate and relinquishment or abondoment papers for. That is just plain irrisponsible on their part to refer a baby without the paperwork. Red flags are flying high about this agency. I wish you the best an hope it all works out for you.
I am so sorry that you are caught up in all of this! My stomach was in knots just reading your post, I cannot imagine how you must have felt living through it all! Best of luck with your adoption, I hope it all works out!
To respond to Jessica - some provinces operate differently than others and may or may not release information to an agency before the adoption is complete. That is not necessarily a red-flag. People are working to address this inconsistency, but until then, we need to remember that there can be a good bit of variation at the provincial level.
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