I can’t adopt in Vietnam

Question: I’m from the Philippines and cannot have a child. Thus, I wanted to adopt a child from Vietnam. I’m running into problems now. Is there a situation from Vietnam adoptions?

Answer: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced it
cannot approve a Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate
Relative, filed on behalf of a child to be adopted from Vietnam. The Department of State
(DOS) has determined that Vietnam has not proven capable of meeting its obligations under
The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of
Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention). As a result, DOS consular officers
cannot issue the required Hague Adoption Certificate or Hague Custody Declaration.
USCIS can only approve a Form I-800 in a Hague Convention adoptee case after DOS has
issued a certification of compliance under the Hague Adoption Convention and the
Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000. At this time, DOS cannot issue certificates in
Vietnamese adoption cases. Until further notice, USCIS will not be able to approve any
Form I-800 that is filed on behalf of a child to be adopted from Vietnam. Because U.S.
prospective adoptive parents cannot complete the immigration process for an adopted child
from Vietnam, USCIS strongly urges parents to not file any Form I-800 on behalf of a child
to be adopted from Vietnam. USCIS also strongly urges them not to file Form I-800A,
Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country,
identifying Vietnam as the country from which they seek to adopt.

Question: Why do they make it so difficult?

Answer: The Hague Adoption Convention, which entered into force for the U.S. on April 1, 2008,
protects the welfare of children, birth parent(s) and adoptive parent(s) engaged in
intercountry adoptions. Effective April 1, 2008, new intercountry adoptions between the
United States and other Hague Convention countries must comply with Hague Adoption
Convention standards. Vietnam also ratified the Hague Adoption Convention and the
Convention entered into force for Vietnam on Feb. 1, 2012. In the U.S., Hague Convention
adoptions are processed on USCIS Forms I-800A and I-800.
Before the U.S. and Vietnam ratified the Hague Adoption Convention, Vietnamese
intercountry adoption cases were processed on USCIS Forms I-600A, Application for
Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, and I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an
Immediate Relative. These intercountry adoptions took place under a bilateral agreement
between the U.S. and Vietnam that expired Sept. 1, 2008. On Oct. 16, 2008, USCIS
announced the U.S. and Vietnam would not resume new adoption cases until both countries
signed either a new bilateral agreement or Vietnam acceded to and complied with the
USCIS.

The bottom line here is that the Hague Convention protects children and if the treaty country does not abide by the regulations, there are much more opportunity for corruption and baby trading and kidnapping and all manner of illegal and unlawful trade to occur. Thus, it actually does not protect the kids, but you as well.

At this point, you might want to try adopting a child from a country whereby there are no issues with the Hague Convention.