Monday, March 17, 2008

It's official - officially BS**

Ok, well, today we received the letter I referenced last week. Since this letter was sent to me; I can no post it in its entirety. Grab a beer before you read this. Or a martini. (Get two). Enjoy.



Dear Mr./Ms. ****,


The USCIS office in (Minute's home city), Vietnam, is in the process of reviewing your Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative (Form I-600), to determine whether the child qualifies as an orphan under US immigration law.

Please be advised that (Minute's birth -hospital) administrators and Vietnamese officials have prevented the U.S. Government from conducting an inquiry into the status of the child identified in your petition. This interference will add significant time to the processing of your case while the U.S. Government seeks to resolve the problem or find alternative ways to conduct its inquiry. You should know that this interference could result in a determination that the child may not be eligible to immigrate to the U.S. as an adopted child.

In all cases, USCIS strongly recommends that you do not travel to Vietnam until USCIS has provided notification to you that the child qualifies as an orphan. Traveling to Vietnam prior to getting this notice from USCIS will not advantage or prioritize your case, and may result in a prolonged stay in Vietnam. The USCIS office in (Minute's city) will provide you with an update on the status of your case in 60 working days.

If you do not wish to wait until such time as the Vietnamese authorities allow the U.S. to proceed with a field inquiry in your case, you may request a final decision on your petition based upon the incomplete record. Please note that this may result in a denial of your petition.

Alternatively, you may wish to consult with your adoption services provider or attorney to consider the other options that are available in your particular case, including, but not limited to, withdrawing your petition, filing a new Form I-600 after identifying another child for adoption, filing a new Form I-600A and selecting a different country, or filing a written request for a change of country with USCIS. Please note that these options may require a new or updated home study and/or incur additional fees.

Just for the record, this is TOTAL BS. I can't even go back into it....


** I love the comments, people. THANK YOU again. My fav came from Andrea b/c it made me smile! A sense of humor is CRITICAL these days!! The prayers are awesome too, so keep 'em coming.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry! That is absolutely horrible and ridiculous! Can your agency find an attorney in Vietnam to get the hospital and USCIS to work together? Your poor innocent child! My heart goes out to him and your family for the pain you are suffering.
My prayers are with you.
Shere'

Andrea said...

Ahh, but look what wonderful options they left you:
withdraw your petition,
identify another child for adoption,
select a different country,
incur additional fees.

What a wonderful, wide-range of options - all that treat children like commodities!

I agree, TOTAL BS!!!!!

The Gregs said...

AHHHHHHH. I hear you, and I am right there with you. Stay strong.

Unknown said...

I am so sorry. I couldn't imagine what you are feeling.
Susan

Kendra said...

Holy cow. I've been following along with your blog(s) for quite some time now, mostly as a lurker. But I just had to comment on this. What absolute crap! Infuriating can't begin to describe this situation!

My heart goes out to you guys... A very similar thing happened to my sister many years ago (with Romania) -- an awful lot of heartache on both ends (child and wanna-be-parents) and I'm SO sorry that you are faced with this.

You'll be in my thoughts and prayers.

Kendra

James and Melissa said...

I am so sorry that you are having to go through this. It isn't right and the letter sounds so impersonal. This is wrong. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.